Monica Reed, a psychology major, wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a teacher. Now she knows. After spending the summer as a Summer Teaching Fellow at Uncommon Schools North Star Academy, the Newark native will return to the classroom next year after she graduates from Delaware State University. Monica is among 130 rising college seniors who participated in the Summer Teaching Fellowship, a program dedicated to bringing more young people of color into the teaching profession, and increase teacher diversity in the classrooms.
This commitment and program has gained attention by state officials and educators who visited the Fellows during a training day. New Jersey State Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet has said, according to TAPinto Newark, that increasing the number of teachers of color is a priority for the New Jersey Department of Education. Senator Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark), chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee told the Fellows that more than 160,000 students in the Garden State never see a person of color leading a classroom.