Grades 7–8, Introduction to Spanish and AVID 8

University Heights Middle School, Riverside
Riverside Unified School District, Riverside County

Keisa Brown's middle school Spanish and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) students enter a "warm, Zen-like calm space, created by soft lighting and mellow music" each day, knowing that their teacher is fully there for them. She believes that teaching is about building relationships and letting her students know that she cares about each one of them. Their class mantra is, "Scholars First," and the day begins with a brief energizing activity and "Food for Thought" with the goal of getting students engaged. They end the class period by sharing a "call and response" inspirational moment.

Keisa's "calling," began when she was a mentor and tutor in the AmeriCorps Program, which developed in her a passion for education. As a first-generation college student and educator, her aspiration was to be a guiding light of hope and encouragement for youth. She now delivers a rigorous, yet culturally responsive curriculum to ensure equity and accessibility, and create sustainable change. Paying it forward in her school community, with AVID practices that are utilized in school-wide systems of student support, as are her many community service projects, is one of Keisa's goals. She advocates for AVID exposure for all students, and a schoolwide culture of college and career readiness. In doing so, her AVID team committed to addressing students' academic performance and brought their schoolwide pass rate from 27 percent to 43 percent, with her AVID elective students achieving a 63 percent pass rate.

Through Ms. Brown's leadership, a culture has been created where all her scholars leave with future orientation, and many now see college as an option that was considered unattainable previously. She wants her students to have a voice, and seeing herself as planting seed of giving and caring, in hopes of "sowing compassionate citizens with character and integrity."

Keisa lives "Ubuntu," which is a Bantu term meaning humanity. She says, "I am who I am because of who we all are."