SELI Alumni Spotlight
Never underestimate the power of your voice.
No matter your background or
experience, you have something important to contribute.”
Jariel Davis, Program Associate and SELI Alum Finding Purpose Through the Southern Education Leadership Initiative For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a teacher. That is exactly what I became. I earned my undergraduate degree in elementary education from the University of Southern Mississippi, fully intending to teach 2nd grade for 35 years and retire from the classroom. But it was my teaching career that truly opened my eyes to the deep and persistent injustices students face, particularly children of color in the South. That realization eventually led me to seek out opportunities like the Southern Education Leadership Initiative (SELI), where I could begin to explore how to address those inequities beyond the walls of my own classroom. I began my career at one of the top-performing primary schools in the state, not because I wanted to stay there, but because as a first-year teacher, I understood the harm that inexperienced educators can unintentionally cause—especially in schools that serve students who are already facing systemic disadvantages. As research shows, schools serving the highest percentages of Black students have more novice and first-year teachers. Nationally, 15% of teachers in these schools are novice and 8% are in their first year, compared to 10% and 5% in schools with the fewest Black students. In states like Mississippi, where I started teaching, the gap is even wider, with nearly three times as many first-year teachers in schools serving the greatest number of Black students. Although I felt called to teach in communities serving greater populations of students of color, it did not seem fair to contribute to those statistics before I had the tools and experience to be truly effective. I sought out a place where I could be supported while building the skills I needed. Although the school provided strong mentorship, I always knew my heart belonged elsewhere. I wanted to teach children who looked like me and who were too often underserved. So, I decided to spend a year learning as much as I could before moving to a community where I felt truly called to serve.
|
ECHOES OF EXCELLENCE |
15
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker