Many of you ask how Arbor School works toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. One essential avenue is through our efforts to recruit, train, and support teachers of color. In Oregon, ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity characterize more than 50% of our student population while our teachers remain 89% white. Through our ACT Fellowships, we are working to change this statistic. Bringing ACT Fellows to Arbor School for their licensure and graduate study puts teachers from diverse backgrounds into positions of intellectual authority in classrooms. Research shows that being cared for and inspired by strong teachers of color benefits all students by undermining stereotype threat, reducing implicit bias, and improving cognitive problem-solving. For students of color, learning from a teacher with a similar background increases achievement, self-efficacy, and a sense of belonging in school. Systemically, increasing teacher diversity can also improve overall teacher retention and mitigate teacher shortages. Through our Fellowships, we not only build Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Arbor School, but we contribute to the need to increase diverse representation in the field of education as a whole.
Annmarie Chesebro, Director of Teacher Training, Arbor Center for Teaching
If we raise $50,000, we can together . . .
Bring 3 new ACT Fellows from under-represented ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds to Arbor School as Teacher Residents
Support our ACT Fellows through half-tuition scholarships to Pacific’s MAT and licensure program at Arbor School
Build our capacity to increase this number of ACT Fellows in future cohorts
Do our part to increase the representation of teachers of color by sending well-prepared educators into the field, supported by ongoing mentorship from the ACT
Make a Lasting Impact
Contributing to the ACT Fellowship is not just a financial investment, but an investment in community. The ACT Residency provides a supportive pathway to becoming a teacher while bringing Arbor School’s philosophy to a diverse range of classrooms. ACT Residents leave their two-year training to work in schools across the state and country, making a positive impact on students and classrooms beyond Arbor’s campus.
1 teacher x 30 kids each year x 30 years of teaching = the potential to reach 900 students
Why We Teach
"I came to Arbor knowing in my heart that I wanted to become a teacher. In the middle of my search for a teaching program I was connected to Arbor by a former student who told me that without a doubt, Arbor was the place I belonged. Belonging is at the core of what makes Arbor special, and despite not knowing how I would pay for my Masters and my worry about leaving my family and friends in California, I reached out and took a risk. That risk was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Without having the mentorship of thoughtful Arbor teachers, the housing support from an Arbor Alum, or the tuition assistance from the ACT fellowship, I would not be the teacher I am today. Out of all of the ways we can change the world, becoming a teacher is truly one of the most powerful. To teach is to care deeply, think constantly, and ferociously tend the dreams of each child.
Arbor made me a teacher.”
Lauren Kristensen, ACT Alum, Arbor Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator and Instructional Coach
From the current Teacher Residents…
“For me, becoming a teacher fulfills a desire I have had for as long as I can remember, to support children in their learning and be a role model to them. My hope is that as a teacher, every child I come in contact with will feel seen and appreciated. We need teachers who can be a solid foundation for a child's life away from home and build confidence in their abilities, help them blossom intellectually, and open new horizons for them to explore.”
“I teach because I want to help students learn how to question and understand the world and themselves. For me teaching means helping students develop their own voice as they find their place in the world.”
Windows & Mirrors
The ACT Residency program at Arbor supports teachers who believe that representation matters and that the work that we do in classrooms should serve as a place where students are given opportunities to explore themes through a series of windows and mirrors. The mirrors serve as places where students can see themselves reflected in the curriculum they explore and the books they read. The windows are places where students can think about how other people see and experience the world. Teacher Residents leave knowing that both of these opportunities are important in making sure that the classroom is a place where kids feel safe enough to be themselves and safe enough to ask questions about places and experiences that may be unfamiliar to them. The powerful ways that our Teacher Residents support our students at Arbor ripple out into the communities all around us once they graduate and find classrooms of their own.