“Whether it’s an inch, a mile, a step, or a jump, we’re letting the kids know that there’s more out there for Black people than just what you see on TV. “It feels like I’m leading part of the revolution of debunking the stereotypes about Black people,” said Petty. The Freedom Schools’ “education for liberation” motto resonates with him. Male teachers weren’t a thing,” said Petty, a Pittsburgh native.īut after he discovered in college that he didn’t actually enjoy the engineering courses he’d signed up for, Petty found his way to teaching. If you had asked Petty in high school if he wanted to become a teacher, “I would have said, ‘Are you crazy?’ It was not in my sight at all. At Mastery Prep on Tuesday, students sounded out words, raced through a spelling bee, read, and discussed what books they’d like to include in classroom libraries.ĭuring the school year, Trent Petty is a second-grade teacher at Mastery Prep this summer, he’s the site leader for the Freedom School there. Add only the top books (mentioned 2+ times). Though identity formation is part of the work, the main focus is literacy, and data show Freedom Schools help students make gains in reading. Search for best SAT Prep books and study the top 5 articles. » READ MORE: There are fewer Black teachers in Philly today than 20 years ago, report finds The Freedom Schools, run as summer programs, are a training ground for teachers of color, high school and college students exploring the idea of education as a career. Harvey, a West Philadelphia native studying English at George Washington University, is one of 12 young people working at Freedom Schools Literacy Academy based at Mastery Prep Elementary, and 142 others spread among Freedom Schools in Philadelphia, Camden, and Detroit. » READ MORE: Pa.’s teacher shortage is now a ‘crisis.’ Here’s how the state plans to bring in thousands of educators by 2025. Research shows that a diverse teaching force benefits all students, particularly Black children, in academic achievement, college attendance, and positive racial identity. But the class was also part of an effort to build a pipeline of Black teachers - an increasing focus in education as districts better understand the importance of a diverse educator force for student achievement and well-being at the same time they cope with a national teacher shortage. It was both literacy lesson and a chance for the rising third graders to talk about what it means to be nervous and brave. Inside Promise Harvey’s North Philadelphia classroom, children sat rapt on a recent Tuesday as they listened to Jabari Jumps, a book about a boy anxious about tackling his first leap from a high-diving board.

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