Arkansas Teacher Corps was awarded a grant totaling $131,250 by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) in March 2022. Grant funds will provide additional supports for fellows in the areas of teacher licensure, wraparound support, and social-emotional learning.
Virtual Coaching Model Sees Greater Fellow Growth
Arkansas Teacher Corps made a quick pivot to virtual coaching when COVID hit Arkansas schools in 2020. Since then, our team's focus on continual learning and improvement have led us to formalize a technology plan, fully implement a comprehensive virtual coaching platform, and see our teacher-fellows make unprecedented gains: increased teacher satisfaction, retention, and growth.
Dollarway Celebrates 2/22/22 With Mindfulness
Arkansas Teacher Corps and Pine Bluff School District partnered together to bring a new kind of celebration to the Dollarway community on February 2, 2022. In a twist of the years-old activity DEAR, students at DHS celebrated the once in a lifetime event with DrEAM (Drop Everything And Meditate). ATC fellow TyKesha Cross organized the event and enlisted ATC partnerships director John Hall to lead a mindfulness session.
Embracing Joy, Appreciation at 4th All Corps PD
On April 2, we welcomed the ATC family back to our last All Corps of the 2021-22 school year! This PD focused on helping our fellows to finish the year strong academically, find joy in the small wins, and show appreciation for themselves and each other.
Summer Mentors Chosen for ATC Institute 2022
Returning mentor Ava Hollins-Rogers (ATC ’20) will join newcomers Brianna Thompson-Young (ATC'20), Cade Vallee (ATC '19), Carah Colbert-Matchett (ATC '20), Erica Weathers (ATC '19) and Dr. Ivy Macaranes in guiding new fellows through the seven-week virtual training in summer 2022.
New Portal To Make Recruitment, Licensure Easier
ATC is launching a new online portal in March 2022 to decrease the time spent reviewing applications and managing licensure, as well as any technical difficulty and confusion experienced throughout the process.
Why We Teach Our Teachers to Meditate
John Hall, ATC’s director of partnerships, has been a long-time believer in and utilizer of mindfulness meditation, but over the past two years this practice has turned into an everyday commitment that fuels his well-being as both a person and professional. He earned his certification as a Koru mindfulness facilitator in 2020 and since then has offered a series of free classes for ATC teachers and other educators from ATC’s partner schools. As he prepares to begin a new course for ATC fellows on March 9, John took a moment to reflect on his journey with mindfulness and the impact that mindfulness meditation can have on students and educators alike.
Fellows Grapple With Vulnerability at 3rd All Corps PD
The Arkansas Teacher Corps came together on Saturday, February 12 for the third All Corps event of the 2021-22 school year, a day of professional development focused on our core value of brave vulnerability. This year has been really difficult in schools with constant changes due to COVID and we wanted to give fellows time to process that the year was not what they expected.
Facilitators Selected for Summer Institute 2022
Jamie Powell (ATC '18), Whitney Carter (ATC '18), Bernard Smith (ATC '17), Dasnee McChristian, Nick Brown, and Tonya Bobo (ATC '18) have been selected to lead and facilitate coaching, logistics, equity sessions, and instruction sessions, respectively, for the 2022 ATC Summer Institute.
ATC Featured in Book “COVID-19 and the Classroom”
Arkansas Teacher Corps has been featured in a recently published book, COVID-19 and the Classroom: How Schools Navigated the Great Disruption, for our work with novice teachers at the beginning of the pandemic! Chapter 12 "How an Alternative Licensure Program Pivoted during the Pandemic" details how our team shifted to a virtual institute model in summer 2020 and the impact it had on our fellows and staff.