Letter to a Future Leader

Last week, we announced our second year of Innovation Circle Grants — an opportunity specifically for Fund for Teachers Fellows to pursue and create solutions, first independently and then collaboratively, to challenges they see in the classroom using a $1,000 grant. A defining aspect of these Circles is the fact that they are LED by FFT Fellows, as well.

We are in the process of hiring Circle Leaders to coordinate this year’s Circles on the topics of:

• Building Student Self-Awareness
• Learning Partnerships
• Student Agency, and
• Student Civic Engagement. 

To provide some insight into what this opportunity entails, we reached out to last year’s Equity Innovation Circle leader Mekiva Callahan, who shares her experiences below.

[minti_divider style=”3″ icon=”” margin=”20px 0px 20px 0px”]

I believe that everyone can make a difference by choosing a cause and supporting a nonprofit doing good work in that space. For me, that cause is education and the organization is Fund for Teachers. The mission of the organization is so needed and teachers so deserve this support.  Although I received my grant sixteen years ago, I remained involved through various volunteer opportunities, like helping select new Fellows each spring. When I heard about the Innovation Circles, and especially the one devoted to social justice, I jumped at the opportunity to help lead teachers in their pursuit of equity on behalf of and to benefit their students.

My role as a Circle Lead was to facilitate teacher conversations and help them manifest their individual fellowships into student impact. That role could really be defined as “Chief Listener.” Hearing the challenges they faced around teaching and modeling equity, and the creative ways they sought insight and experiences to address that topic during the summer, was really eye-opening. Land equity, food scarcity, and   are just a few of the areas these teachers pursued with only $1,000. When school resumed, we met monthly throughout the fall and collectively fleshed out ways to transfer their independent learning into student impact.

As a leader, I moderated discussions, ran down resources, offered feedback and served as a sounding board. It was inspiring and humbling. I’m now in the higher education space, so witnessing the dedication and professionalism of these teachers was enlightening and made me feel so much better about where we’re headed as a country.

If you’re looking for a way to encourage teachers and insert yourself into relevant, timely conversations around vital topics in education, I highly encourage you to also step into this leadership opportunity. It provides a rare chance to engage teachers of varying experiences and backgrounds around a common topic you value. We all know the challenges our communities are facing, but these Innovation Circles are made up of people facing them head-on. This is your chance to be part of a solution. I hope you take it!

If you are interested in applying to be an Innovation Circle leader,
read more about the role here and apply with this link by March 17.