Teachers for Tomorrow
Teaching Assistant Program – Recent BDEA graduates with an interest in teaching and the intention to explore an education degree, can apply to become a classroom Teaching Assistant. The program, Teachers for Tomorrow, was created at BDEA to give students who faced challenges on their way to graduation, an opportunity to learn what it is like to be a teacher and to pass on their understanding of students’ challenges to their own students. Even more important is the fact that students are taught by students who have been in their shoes and succeeded, and by teachers who are from the same neighborhoods and circumstances.
TAs are assigned to a mentor teacher and take on the responsibilities of prepping and teaching 2-3 lessons, assisting students with work in the classroom, participating in staff meetings and professional development, as well as visiting each other’s classes, providing feedback, and meeting with both mentor teacher and the program coordinator.
This extraordinarily successful program provides opportunities for the teaching assistant, for the mentor teacher, and for students in the TA classrooms. We are grateful to The State Street Foundation for providing the seed funding for the TA program, and to The Cummings Foundation for its continued support and growth funding.