THRIVING
Bridging the classroom culture gap First five graduates of Pionero program increase teacher diversity in Nashville schools
Angelica
first grade teacher, Hickman Elementary School
Elisa Martinez first envisioned herself as a teacher while working at Chuck E. Cheese. In kindergarten, Angelica Wright lined her stuffed animals up in a row and used the bathroom tile as a “whiteboard” to teach them the day’s lessons. Ruby Aguilar remembers bringing home loads of books from the library and trading book reports with her sister. Alondra Piña Mota practiced teaching through a traditional Mexican dance troupe she founded. And Ahmedina Bacevac was inspired to go into teaching by influential relationships she had with her own teachers, including those she knew while her family were refugees from war-torn Bosnia. These are the women in Lipscomb University’s first cohort of Pionero Scholars, four who graduated in May and a fifth who graduated in December. They are the first regiment in Lipscomb’s fight to reduce the culture gap between the diversity of students in Nashville public schools and the diversity of the faces they see at the head of the classroom. The four May graduates began teaching in Metro Nashville Public Schools this August, and they are each excited about bringing new opportunities and experiences to their students. “I want my (future) students to be self-confident in their abilities,” said Piña, a Glencliff High School graduate and sixth grade English language arts teacher at McMurray Middle School. “That is one of the biggest things I learned as a student. I really want them to see a challenge and believe in themselves and believe they can do it too, no matter their background.” “I look forward to decorating a classroom equipped for strong leaders. I’m eager to create a safe haven for my future students,” said Martinez, a Hume Fogg High School graduate and second grade teacher at Glenview Elementary School. Funded by a private grant, the Pionero Scholars program was established in 2015 with the intent to recruit Nashville students who reflect the diversity of Nashville to go into the teaching field and hopefully end up working in the school system where they grew up.
Photo by Karla MacIntyre lipscomb.edu/news
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