On Wednesday, April 22nd Dray Patterson an instructional math coach at the Marquette School of Excellence, and Jessica Kimbrough a Diverse Learners teacher and mentor at Dvorak School of Excellence spoke at the Chicago Board of Education Board meeting.
Both are graduates of the Chicago Teacher Residency (CTR) and teach in AUSL network schools. Jessica began her teaching career through the CTR, AUSL’s teacher training program, and has served as a Diverse Learners Teacher at Dvorak School of Excellence for over six years. In Jessica’s address to the CPS Board, she described her commitment to the school, “I am fully committed to providing students in North Lawndale with a valid and challenging educational experience.” Jessica also commended the CTR’s key training elements such as pairing residents with Mentor Teachers. “In the safety net of the mentor-resident relationship, I was able to learn from challenges and grow in every new experience.” Through her CTR training, she has found success applying her knowledge in teaching strategies and data driven instructions at Dvorak.
Moving from CTR resident, to teacher, Jessica has now assumed the role of the Mentor Teacher in the CTR program. Jessica finds giving back to the CTR program by serving as a mentor to a resident going through the program as a new challenge. “Though I learned so much as a resident, nothing challenges you more than the charge of developing high quality teachers.” Jessica is able to transfer the knowledge from AUSL classrooms to help CTR teacher residents grow confident in their teaching abilities. Jessica finished her address to the CPS Board of Education with this: “Being a part of the AUSL teaching community has been the single most valuable component of my teaching career.
Dray Patterson teaches as a Math Instructional Coach at the Marquette School of Excellence, another AUSL network school on Chicago’s southside. Dray described his positive past 8 years at Marquette School to the CPS Board of Education citing AUSL’s Chicago Teacher Residency as a key to his success. Dray knew he wanted to switch careers to become a teacher, and he chose AUSL’s program where he learned not only about pedagogy, but “how to support students’ socio-emotional needs as well, which for our students can be extremely important to their success.” He also described AUSL’s residency program as a program that says “it’s all about the kids.”
Dray spoke about his experience teaching and focus on projects in the best interest of the children at the Marquette. His mindset helped him stay resilient during his first year of teaching. Similar to Jessica, Dray was led to become a Mentor Teacher in AUSL’s residency program, helping train new teachers to allow them “the same enriching experience I had and they have gone on to continually impact the students of Chicago.” This enriching experience has created a second home for Dray at Marquette School of Excellence, a place where he has loved teaching and coaching.
