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Alumni Profile - Laura Powers '07

Laura Powers '07 understands the concept of community service. She is working with Teach for America, a national corps of recent college graduates and professionals of all academic majors and career interests who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity. In this interview she shares her experiences and insights on teaching with this unique program.

What was your major at UMass Amherst?

I did a double major in political science and legal studies and minored in Spanish. I was a member of the Commonwealth College and graduated with magna cum laude honors.

Were you involved in community service activities while at UMass Amherst?

Yes, I started off my freshman year volunteering with the Impact Program, which was a one-year community service program in the Butterfield dorm residence. I worked with the Women’s Health Project, which focuses on women’s health issues on campus and in the local community. My sophomore year, I became an Educator Advocate at the Every Women’s Center on campus and went through their 70-hour training program. I was also involved in the Citizen’s Scholars program, which requires 60 – 70 hours of community service per semester. I chose to continue working with the Every Women’s Center.

Was it your goal to go into teaching after graduation?

Not really. I majored in politics and legal studies and was planning on applying to law school.  But, as I approached my senior year, I wasn’t convinced that it was the right time to take that track. That’s when I discovered the Teach for America program and decided to experience teaching for two years and hopefully change the urban education setting and the effect it has on these students.

How exactly did you hear about Teach for America?

Teach for America was highly promoted throughout Commonwealth College. There was a representative on campus that helped me to get involved. I think any one with a heart would be interested in it because the average student who is in an urban setting is 2 to 3 years behind grade level. You have to wonder, how can they be so far behind and if there are such inequalities for children at a young age, then what is going to be the end result of their life?

So, explain what it is to sign on with Teach for America.

Actually, it was a very rigorous application process to get into Teach for America. Once you’re accepted, you sign on for two years to teach in an urban or a rural school setting. But, before you’re sent out to a classroom, you go through a rigorous teaching program. It’s called Teach for America’s Summer Institute, which is basically teaching boot camp.  Since most of the people who join aren’t education majors, you spend a month learning how to be a teacher.

You’re then assigned a location and a grade level, based on your preferences. The program works in 22 different locations in the country, and you’re asked to rank those sites in order of preference. Teach for America has hunters who will literally find a school that needs teachers. You still have to go through the interview process to be hired by the school system.

New York was my first choice and that’s where I was placed. I’m a sixth grade special education teacher. I teach English and Social Studies. Teach for America has 1,000 college graduates in the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx alone. The program’s goal is to achieve two years of reading and math growth. Those are the areas it measures to track the impact of its teachers.

What are some of the challenges that you face in your classroom?

Within the last year there were a lot of schools that shut down in New York and now we’re getting a new population of students from different areas. It’s been a hard adjustment for the kids and there have been culture clashes that led to fights and gangs forming. For some of these kids it’s like a West Side Story situation where the Latino kids don’t like the African American kids. We try to address diversity and tolerance.

I personally have found it challenging to find the balance between being a teacher who can appreciate their inner city culture and also being a teacher that can show them how to give the best impression of themselves to the outside world. A lot of my students have never gone outside of Brooklyn, and so you want to do things with them that are not classroom related, but that are still educational and can expose them to the outside world at the same time.

What have you found to be most rewarding from this experience?

Teaching has really given me a new perspective on our society and our world. I started out thinking I was going to teach for two years with Teach for America and then apply to law school, but since I’ve been teaching my priorities have changed.  I see the accomplishments my students have made—all of my students right now have made incredible growth in their reading skills—and I’ve come to realize that I can help them to reach their full potential.

I try to bring a lot of the community experience that I had at UMass Amherst into my classroom and teach my students that we’re not just a group of people in a room—we’re like a family. There is going to be lots of work, but there’s also going to be lots of fun and time for us to get to know each other and to help one another.  I didn’t think the students would really go for it at first, but they’re happy to do the work because they don’t always have that attention from an adult at home or that desire for them to do well. It’s a matter of knowing not to give up on them and to always keep pushing them forward. They are really creative and really smart. Overall I would have to say Teach for America is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

What are your plans after Teach for America?

I’m really thinking about continuing in the teaching profession, but if I do go to law school, my focus would be something related to education. Seeing the discrepancies between fully-funded schools versus the school where I teach, and to see the effect it has on the kids is enormous. I would really consider going into a profession that addresses the policy issues related to education inequalities, especially for special education students.

Did your UMass Amherst educational experience prepare you well for life after graduation?

Yes definitely! I feel like the biggest thing UMass Amherst prepares you for is those times in life when you have to stand up for what you believe in. UMass Amherst really gave me a good opportunity to form my voice and to express my opinions. I totally appreciate my UMass Amherst education!

By Elena Lamontagne
4/1/08