Teachers of Tomorrow pilot program proves an A+

The Butterfly Effect Project has partnered with Roanoke Avenue Elementary School for the 2024-25 school year to implement a new initiative aimed at encouraging high school students to consider teaching as a career. The program, called Teachers of Tomorrow, brings teens from Riverhead and William Floyd high schools into classrooms once a month to work directly with children under the supervision of an experienced teacher.

The goal is to create a “teacher preparation pipeline,” while also allowing students in the Butterfly Effect Project to explore the field at an early age, according to the flyer produced by the school. “What if we got high school students interested in, or even just thinking about, becoming teachers?” asked Gary Karlson, assistant principal at Roanoke Avenue Elementary. “The best way to do that is in the classroom. If even one of them changes their mindset going into college and instead decides to major in education, [it would be worth it].” 

Participants fill out an application to see what their interests are. Some are already interested in going into education, while others are testing the waters. They also write an essay explaining why they want to be in Teachers of Tomorrow, what they want to do in the future and how they could benefit from the program. Finally, there is an interview to make sure the program is a good fit for each student.

One of the participants, Keianni Burgess, was leaning towards a career with children even before she joined the program. Being in the classroom helped her decide on early elementary education, and she was just accepted to Virginia State University. “I’ve always been around kids, my whole life. I’ve watched my cousins, my siblings and all that, my family. So I’ve always been around kids,” said Keianni. “When I found out about this program, I was really interested. I’m like, ‘This is something I definitely want to do.’”

Some students refined their goals after participating. Prinse Ruffin was considering a teaching career when he started, but now plans to be a school psychologist. “I joined the program thinking I want to be an elementary school teacher. I’m now leaning towards the path of being a school psychologist. There’s not really that many Black psychologists, and I would love to be one of the 5% of Black therapists in America,” said Prinse.

Even those who have decided on a different career expressed gratitude for their experience. Jamia Greene plans to be a cosmetologist, but her time in the classroom has changed her outlook. “With little kids, they just tend to laugh it off. You know, problem resolved,” Jamia said. “But in the real world, people sometimes still stuck on things from the past. Sometimes you have to let things go, let it be what it is and find solutions.”

Beyond the benefit Teachers of Tomorrow brings to the participants, it also impacts the children being taught in the program. Prinse noted that Roanoke Avenue has a large minority population and that their presence in the classroom helps those children feel more represented. “I think these kids really benefit from seeing someone who like looks, not exactly like them, but similar to them, in terms of race … Representation to kids — to everyone — is really important, because it’s important to see someone like you and anywhere really, especially in workplaces like education, business law, film.”

The Butterfly Effect Project hopes to add more visit days to their schedule to give more of their participants the opportunity to try working with the children. Roanoke Avenue currently has more teachers interested in mentoring who were not able to do so for this round of participants. “We’re thinking maybe twice a month, so we can kind of rotate more kids in, so they get the same experience that these kids are getting. We selected these [participants] because this is more aligned with what they wanted to do as they get older. But we definitely want to open up the opportunity to more students, to give them a feel of it,” said Destiny Swan, executive operations assistant and teen transition specialist.

The project has a number of these career trial programs, including visits to the jail and the county legislature. “We partner with different organizations to kind of give the kids a little feel of the job. Because we feel experience is key,” said Ms. Swan.

All of the participants felt that Teachers of Tomorrow and the Butterfly Effect Project provided them with a deeper sense of community. “I love the mission and like strives to like, just uphold for so many years, especially with young black boys and black girls all across the East End,” Prinse said. “I think it’s really remarkable what my boss, Miss Tia, does, and I wish to be upheld as a star in the community like she is to local kids and families.”