Thanks to a teacher mentoring program created by Today’s Students Tomorrow’s Teachers (TSTT), seven graduates of Worcester Public School District North Hill High School’s Class of 2014 will pursue teaching careers when they start college later this year.
They were among a group of 67 high school graduates in four states who were recognized for their achievements at TSTT’s recent 20th anniversary (“Living the Vision”) kick-off celebration.
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Launched in 1994, the non-profit TSTT has been helping to address the serious shortage of teacher diversity in America’s classrooms by mentoring qualified high school students. Today, there are over 115 TSTT alumni teachers who are changing the lives of more than 150,000 students in 10 states, and more than 800 high school and colleges students who are on their way to becoming teachers in New York, Connecticut, Virginia and, more recently, Massachusetts.
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The Worcester graduates and the colleges they will attend are: Antoinette Mutuyimana and Salah Omar (Quinsigamond Community College); Keira Pimentel and Maritza Rivera-Morales (Framingham State College); Melinda Roman (University of Dartmouth); Michelle Addai (Worcester State University) and Derrick Casey (college TBD).
In a video keynote address (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Trh4HG_Mw) at TSTT’s ceremony, Congressman James E. Clyburn of the 6th Congressional District, South Carolina, said that TSTT had emerged as a viable and valuable national teacher mentoring program to address the need of creating a new generation of teachers of color who will inspire their students to succeed. “Failing to do that, America is at risk of losing its competitive edge at home and on the international stage,” warned Congressman Clyburn.
TSTT began in 1994 with only seven students as part of a strategy by Dr. Bettye H. Perkins, the organization’s founder, President and CEO, to help recruit teachers of color in the Ossining School District (Westchester, New York) to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population
Underscoring the critical mass that TSTT has reached in becoming a national model is the recent significant expansion of its program in Greater Boston area and suburbs including Worcester, Arlington, Andover, Lexington and Brookline. In September, 50 students at four public high schools in Boston will add to TSTT’s growing presence in Massachusetts. “Our program has proven to be relevant in both small suburban school districts and large urban school districts. What they all have in common is a lack of teachers that mirror the diversity of the student population. TSTT is committed to correcting that imbalance,” stated Dr. Perkins.
About Today’s Students Tomorrow’s Teachers™ TSTT is an innovative career development model that addresses teacher shortages by recruiting culturally diverse and economically challenged high school students, mentors and trains them throughout college, and then helps place them as effective teachers in schools in their communities.
TSTT was founded in 1994 by Dr. Bettye H. Perkins, President and Chief Executive Officer. as an early teacher preparation program. According to Dr. Perkins, “Our goal is to close the achievement gap and to ensure that these deserving young people will ultimately be equipped to become highly effective teachers, role models, and leaders in their communities.”
For more information visit: www.tstt.org.
