Congratulations to 2020 Arkansas Teacher Corps fellow and 5th year Pine Bluff teacher TyKesha Cross for this inspiring feature on the TODAY Show! Not only does TyKesha share the emotional story of her journey to the classroom with TODAY correspondent Priscilla Thompson, but she's also surprised by an on-air visit from the mentor she credits with saving her life, former Dollarway HS counselor and principal Yolanda Prim.
Author archive for: Arkansas Teacher Corps
ATC Alumna Discusses Power of Education
ATC fellow TyKesha Cross (ATC '20) was recently featured in the newest teacher profile of the I Am A Rural Teacher campaign, "Overcoming adversity through the power of education". She shares how she and her family were greatly affected by struggle and strife growing up, the mentor who helped her to graduate high school and later return to the classroom as a teacher, the atmosphere of care and compassion she creates for her students, and the importance of building bridges with parents.
ATC Alumna Featured in Book “Relate, Then Educate”
Arkansas Teacher Corps 2018 fellow Tonya Bobo is one of sixteen educators who have been featured in a recently published book, Relate, Then Educate: The Untold Stories of Teachers, by Teachers. Tonya is a long-time educator who has taught elementary education in several central Arkansas school districts and has also served as an elementary content leader for ATC, mentoring other fellows teaching elementary grade levels.
U of A Wellness Program to Support ATC Fellows
An interdisciplinary faculty team in the University of Arkansas' College of Education and Health Professions has developed a wellness program for Arkansas Teacher Corps fellows with funds from a college WE CARE grant after a survey of ATC fellows revealed a critical need for mental health programming to help prevent burnout and exit from the teaching profession. WE CARE+Wellness kicked off on July 10 with a workshop for the 38 fellows in ATC's 11th cohort, who will continue to receive support on implementing the program into their lives throughout the school year.
2023 Cohort Completes ATC Summer Institute
Congratulations to the 38 fellows in ATC's 2023 cohort for completing the ATC Summer Institute, a six-week program that all new teaching fellows complete before their first year! Split between two weeks in-person at Arkansas State University and four weeks online on Zoom, the ATC Summer Institute is an intensive and demanding experience to prepare fellows to be "Day 1 ready" that many often refer to as "teacher boot camp".
Research-Based Toolkit Addresses Teacher Retention
A graduate research team from the Clinton School of Public Service partnered with Arkansas Teacher Corps during the 2022-23 school year to explore the most salient factors for recruitment, retention, and attrition of teachers in Arkansas. Administrative support at the building level is the most salient factor for teacher retention. The team developed "Grow Your Own" Playbook with a checklist for administrators and check-in template for teachers aligned to the 5C's of administrative support that foster teacher retention.
Fellows Take Moment for Mindfulness at 3rd PD
On Saturday, February 11, Arkansas Teacher Corps fellows and staff met at Chicot Elementary in Little Rock for the third All Corps professional development of the 2022-23 year. The all-day event began with a mindfulness session led by a guest facilitator from the social-emotional learning non-profit Breathe For Change in the morning, followed by content-specific development and equity after lunch. Overall, 90% of fellows reported experiencing a moment of mindfulness during the Breathe for Change session and growing as a facilitator of their content.
5 Join 2023 Cohort After 2nd Deadline
ATC staff recently completed the selection process for our second application deadline of the year. For the January 1 early deadline, we received 21 applications, interviewed 10 applicants, and accepted 5 fellows for the 2023 cohort.
Survey Assesses Students’ Social-Emotional Readiness
A recent survey of students taught by Arkansas Teacher Corps fellows found that students’ self-reported grit has increased since September 2021 when the fall survey was last administered and grit was rated the overall lowest. Students again rated self-management and instruction as the highest overall with little change from before. However, students also indicated a decrease in growth mindset, or the belief that a person's intelligence and abilities can be improved through new learning, challenge, and practice.
10 Selected for 2023 Cohort After 1st Deadline
ATC staff recently completed the selection process for our first application deadline of the year. For the Nov 1 expedited deadline, we received 33 applications, interviewed 19 applicants, and offered 10 fellowships for the 2023 cohort.