When Marie Lewis applied to the Nashville Teacher Residency (NTR), she was earning $18,000 per year as a paraprofessional, supporting students with special needs, one-on-one or in small groups.
To make ends meet, she also worked over the summers and during school breaks at a child care center, earning $10.25 per hour. A single Black mother of two, Marie loved children and knew she wanted to be a teacher, but couldn’t afford to pay for a licensure program, which can cost $30,000 or more at local universities for a degree and license.
Lewis loved the work and the difference she felt she could make in children’s lives, but the way things were going, neither her dreams nor her potential were going to be realized.
Sadly, her story isn’t unusual. Such lack of opportunity disproportionately affects people of color at a time when we are facing a national teaching CONTINUE READING: We need more teachers of color. Getting there requires ambitious equitable solutions - Philly's 7th Ward