The Teachers Community Hub was made possible by Overdeck Family Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Strada Education Network, in collaboration with Education Week. Featured in the hub are video profiles of seven educators from all over the country who are early in their teaching careers and exploring their future in education. They sit down with fellow educators like Ron Clark, author and founder of the Ron Clark Academy; Vera Ahiyya, a kindergarten teacher also known as The Tutu Teacher; Arizona’s 2020 Teacher of the Year, Lynette Stant, and others to celebrate differences and talk about identity, equity, representation, and endurance in a field too often characterized by exhaustion and burnout. This May, Education Week will build on these themes with a special report on the challenges of keeping high-performing teachers in the profession. The report will feature results of a nationwide survey by the EdWeek Research Center that asked educators about their career paths, thoughts on the profession, and factors that influence their decision to stay or leave.
“Education is a huge focal point for Roadtrip Nation,” said Mike Marriner, president and co-founder of Roadtrip Nation. “Teachers are role models and inspirations to so many of us, and in an era of unprecedented challenges, we wanted to create a space for educators to connect, be inspired by real-life stories that center the importance of equity and representation, and share insights about how to adapt to the new obstacles of today’s classroom. It’s a place where teachers’ stories can be told and, just as importantly, heard by others in the field, as well as by students looking to pursue a career in education themselves.”
In addition to the nearly 30 videos featuring teachers sharing their stories about facing adversity and finding fulfillment in the classroom, visitors to the site can explore educator profiles from the teachers interviewed for the Teachers Community Hub and other educators in the Roadtrip Nation archive to learn about their paths to teaching. And students who are interested in pursuing a teaching career can utilize this information to gain a wider understanding of what it means to be an educator. Teachers who come to the site can fill out their own profile to share their story and insights about their career in education, and access a wide range of resources for adapting to remote learning, connecting with students, and professional development. To support classroom planning, teachers can also access Roadtrip Nation’s project-based career exploration course, the Roadtrip Nation Experience, for use with students in virtual environments or in person. Through these shared stories and resources, teachers can find support for navigating the challenges of the classroom, gain practical knowledge for a new era of teaching, and reignite their passion for education.
For more information, visit the Teachers Community Hub here.
ABOUT ROADTRIP NATION
Roadtrip Nation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that humanizes career exploration through story and empowers individuals to connect their interests to fulfilling lives and careers. Through its award-winning public television series, New York Times bestselling book “Roadmap,” and educational programs and tools that provide visibility and insights into career possibilities and pathways, Roadtrip Nation gives people from all backgrounds confidence and belief in their ability to persist through challenges and define success for themselves. Roadtrip Nation has been showcased at the United Nations Social Innovation Summit, Clinton Global Initiative, NBC Education Nation, TEDx, Talks at Google, SXSW, and the Harvard Social Enterprise Forum. For more information, visit roadtripnation.com.
ABOUT OVERDECK FAMILY FOUNDATION
Overdeck Family Foundation was founded in 2011 by John and Laura Overdeck with the goal of providing all children the opportunity to unlock their potential. The Foundation focuses exclusively on enhancing education, funding efforts both inside and outside of school in the areas of early childhood, informal STEM education, and K-9 programs that include supporting educators and student-centered learning environments.
ABOUT WALTON FAMILY FOUNDATION
The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. We believe the best ideas can come from anywhere, so we stay open to new thinking from all over. And we partner with those who are closest to the problem because they’re usually closest to the solution. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta.
ABOUT CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK
Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation’s work focuses on the issues that Carnegie considered of paramount importance: education, international peace, and a strong democracy.
ABOUT STRADA EDUCATION NETWORK
Strada Education Network is a new kind of social impact organization dedicated to improving lives by forging clearer and more purposeful pathways between education and employment. Our approach combines innovative research, thought leadership, strategic philanthropy, mission-aligned investments, and a network of affiliate organizations. Together, we work to better serve millions of individuals in the United States seeking to complete postsecondary education and training, gain clear value from those experiences, and build meaningful careers. Learn more at stradaeducation.org.
ABOUT EDUCATION WEEK
The nonprofit Education Week is home to the nation’s largest and most experienced newsroom of reporters, editors, and other journalists dedicated exclusively to covering the education field, from pre-K through high school and beyond. Through print publications, the edweek.org website, the EdWeek Research Center, video productions, EdWeek Market Brief, live and virtual events, and other operations, Education Week reaches an audience of education decision-makers and stakeholders that is unique in its breadth and depth. We believe that all children deserve a high-quality education. Guided by this vision, our mission is to inspire and empower the entire education community, from educators and policymakers to business leaders and beyond.
SOURCE Roadtrip Nation
