“When I was a kid, Aim High helped me to learn in a self-directed way and have conversations with teachers where they weren’t too busy to listen to you. Aim High made me see the world in a different way. There’s more growth in me, I don’t have to set a standard, I can set my own bar. And now I want students to see me and be able to come to me, because I am like them.” – Crystal Soto-Ramirez, Aim High Tahoe/Truckee
Q&A with 3 Teachers from Aim High’s Aspiring Teacher Program
The barriers to becoming a teacher range from the visible (cost of credentialing programs, navigating cost of living during student teaching hours) to the invisible (impostor syndrome and lack of support through the process). Add to that the backdrop of a nation-wide teacher shortage and ongoing stressors that our educators face coming out of a pandemic, and you have a widespread challenge in the field. At Aim High, we believe there are great teachers just waiting to be discovered. Not only that, the research tells us that having more diverse teachers and education leaders is imperative for ALL students to truly thrive. There is an opportunity to cultivate shared experiences and create a supportive environment where students can thrive academically, socially, and reach their academic potential. That’s why we launched the Aspiring Teacher Program to increase the number of young people of color pursuing education careers, diversify the teaching and leadership pipeline, and remove barriers to careers in education. This past summer, 6 Aim High teachers received scholarship funding, coaching with mentorship and feedback, and integrative team teaching practice over the 5-week program to enrich their craft. Hear from 3 of those aspiring teachers to learn more about their summer with Aim High below!JAVIA ANDERSON, AIM HIGH FRUITVALE
On a favorite memory: When I think of this summer, I remember the Lip Sync Battle to ‘Ya Superame’ and I’ll think of Aim High students every time I hear it.
On building confidence: My confidence can be a barrier to me, but it’s grown significantly. It’s mind blowing to me that it’s my job to make sure that my students know their letters and numbers. I think Aim High helped with the confidence boosting. You’re experiencing so much in only 5 weeks (even if you’re just a h.s. intern or assistant teacher), you’ll get your foot in the door with a shorter commitment.
On what hooked her on teaching: My great grandma was a teacher and she had 12 kids, but I’m the first in my family after her to get into teaching! I knew I wanted to work with kids, I just didn’t know in what way until I tried a Child Development course in college. My teacher was SO impactful. That’s when I knew teaching was it for me.
On the Aspiring Teacher Program: It’s helped mainly with exams like the CalTPA and other exams I have to take. I didn’t realize I’d have to pay for some of them. [Aim High] had everything we needed! I didn’t have to make up a curriculum, it was a welcoming community, and we always had someone to bounce ideas off of and get students engaged. I only had maybe one or two teachers of color in my entire K-12 experience. I’m Black and Mexican and it took me a while to understand being multiracial.
CRYSTAL SOTO-RAMIREZ, AIM HIGH TAHOE/TRUCKEE
On becoming interested in teaching: I was part of the first cohort of students at Aim High in Tahoe-Truckee and I could see more diverse types of educators there. I wanted to be a teacher just like Ms. Jameson [Aim High Site Director and Crystal’s middle school teacher]. When I was a kid, Aim High helped me to calm down, learn in a self-directed way, and connect with teachers…have conversations where they weren’t too busy to listen to you. Aim High made me see the world in a different way. There’s more growth in me, I don’t have to set a standard, I can set my own bar. And now I want students to see me and be able to come to me, because I am like them.
On coming through the pandemic: This summer, I liked that our goal was to have fun, make new friends, remember how to have conversations, and for students to find themselves again. They were so quiet on the first day, but by the end, they didn’t want to leave.
On the Aspiring Teacher Program: Right now, I’m doing my student teaching, which is 4 months unpaid, but it’s a full-time job, so on the side I have to pay for state exams. The scholarship takes a little stress off my shoulders. At Aim High, you know kids may be struggling emotionally and mentally and you’re there for them, you don’t push them away.
On motivation: The kids keep me motivated and knowing it will pay off in the end by making a difference in kids’ lives – I’m first-generation, which is a lot of pressure, but I decided to be a teacher. Wanting to change hearts and minds is where it all started for me. My advice to other people thinking about teaching is not to forget what inspired you to do this. For me, I once had a teacher who helped me stay engaged at school during a couple intensive eye surgeries I had to have that caused me to have double vision. If it weren’t for him, I would have missed so much school and not graduated.
BRAYNER ZARCO, AIM HIGH MISSION
On becoming a teacher: Growing up, some teachers called me a ‘troublemaker’ and many were not happy to have me in their classrooms, but I also had teachers who said I could focus my energy and be something more. I wanted to work with students like me, labeled as troublemakers, to become something more. At first I wanted to be a School Psychologist. On his first summer at Aim High: My prior experience teaching was with 2nd graders, so interacting with teens was a lot different. With teenagers, you have to make classes that draw their attention, earn their interest. For 2nd grade, they are already focused on you. I’m happy to say I had a lot of fun and made connections, and was asked by many students, “Are you going to be back next summer, Mr. Brayner?”
On the Aspiring Teacher program: When I first heard about it,I was hitting a wall and didn’t know what to do because I wanted to become a School Psychologist but I was told that I needed to go back to school to get additional credits in order to apply to a Masters, which I couldn’t do because of finances. Leticia [Aim High Director of Aspiring Teacher Program] has been committed to telling me how to apply and get involved.
On a favorite student moment: We have activities and trips every week at Aim High and had been helping with basketball for weeks when the swimming kids kept asking me to come. Like I say, you have to earn the respect of teens, so it felt great that they wanted to be with me longer than just class.
On student to teacher ratios: Every lead teacher has an assistant, but you can also teach in combos. I taught with Antonio who taught math/STEM and I taught humanities, and we both worked with assistants, so we were more like 4 teachers in that classroom. With that ratio, you don’t lose track of the students, you have someone to support you even when you’re losing focus. Another teacher can check you on the time or move forward with a lesson; it’s having that feedback that really matters.
On the Aim High community: My team threw my wife, Salma and me a baby shower at the end of the summer and I am a new father as of 2 weeks ago!
Do you have someone in your life who is thinking about becoming a teacher? Refer them to the program by getting in contact with Leticia Dorado, Aim High Director of Aspiring Teacher Program here.
