KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The right foundation makes a difference whether you’re building a house, going to school or starting a new career.
A new nonprofit in Kansas City, Missouri, wants to help build foundations in all three of those aspects.
The mission of Teachers Like Me is to recruit, develop and retain Black teachers in the Kansas City area.
In 2021, the Latinx Education Collaborative and Urban Education Research Center studied data from 2019 which showed about 30 percent of all students in the metropolitan area (including Kansas and Missouri) are Black, but only 8 percent of teachers are Black.
The study also found that Black students who have Black teachers tend to graduate at higher rates and perform better in core subjects.
A study conducted around the same time by Johns Hopkins University reinforced the local data. It showed nationwide Black students are 13 percent more likely to enroll in college if they have a Black teacher by third grade, and 32 percent more likely to enroll in college if they have two Black teachers by the same time.
“It was a sense of urgency,” Trinity Davis said upon seeing the data.
After 24 years in education, she launched Teachers Like Me in July 2020.
The nonprofit works with college students studying to become teachers as well as new classroom teachers. Both participants receive discounted rent at homes where they live with other participants.
For college students, Teachers Like Me provides tutoring, provides help earning the necessary certificates and offers other support during all four years of school.
For new classroom teachers, Teachers Like me provides a mentor, instructional coach and other supportive measures during a three-year period.
Participants who begin with Teachers Like Me their freshman year of college get seven years' worth of benefits.
Davis said the idea is to break down any barrier that might prevent someone from becoming a teacher or leaving the teaching field.
“What we don’t want the teachers to have is all of these other things that are bogging them down,” Davis explained. “So they can focus on kids and the students in front of them.”
Naomi Nix said she did not have many Black teachers growing up in Colorado Springs, despite coming from a family of educators.
She began teaching freshman English at East High School in Kansas City, Missouri, in August 2021 thanks to Teachers Like Me.
Nix relishes the idea of being the teacher she wished she had.
“We talk a lot about the change we want to see in the world. How to make the changes we want to see in the world. So why can’t I be that? That’s what Trinity inspires a lot in me, to be the person I would’ve loved to have, to be the person that I wished for,” Nix explained.
Teachers Like Me is building a house where it will place participants next school year. The nonprofit owns many other empty lots near East 41 Street and Tracy Avenue where it plans to build more homes and name the block the “School Zone.”
Davis’ goal is to expand the program beyond working strictly with Kansas City Public Schools and work with more districts. She plans to visit many Historically Black Colleges and Universities this spring to recruit new teachers to Kansas City.
Jorge Fuller, KCPS' human resources recruiting who also serves as a mentor to participants in Teachers Like Me, shared a statement about the program's success with the district:
"Teachers Like Me focuses on Black and African-American teachers. Not only does TLM remove barriers that cause teachers to leave the profession, but teachers also get strategic professional development and direct support. One of the cool things TLM has done is have teachers in the program talk to our students who are interested in education careers, which helps us grow our pipeline. TLM also really helps teachers with position attainment. We want our teachers to take on roles that will help them grow and reach their career goals."
Ultimately, Davis hopes her work sets the foundation for today’s students to succeed.
To learn more about Teachers Like Me, or donate to its mission, visit the nonprofit’s website.
