{"id":4272,"date":"2016-08-15T06:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T13:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.rsed.org\/?p=4272"},"modified":"2017-12-04T20:42:09","modified_gmt":"2017-12-04T20:42:09","slug":"united-we-learn-school-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocketshipschools.org\/en\/latest-news\/blog\/united-we-learn-school-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"United We Learn"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Egypt<\/span><\/p>\n

Kenya<\/span><\/p>\n

Somalia<\/span><\/p>\n

Mexico<\/span><\/p>\n

Honduras<\/span><\/p>\n

El Salvador<\/span><\/p>\n

Venezuela<\/span><\/p>\n

Puerto Rico<\/span><\/p>\n

USA<\/span><\/p>\n

Is this about the Olympics?<\/span><\/p>\n

No. It\u2019s a list of the homelands proudly represented by the students in my two fourth grade Humanities classes at Rocketship United Academy (RUA) in Nashville.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I sat with my students on the carpet for our daily Community Circle last Friday, the last day of the first week of school, I was stunned. Speechless, actually. (And as my students and co-teachers can already tell you after one week, that\u2019s not something that happens very often.)<\/span><\/p>\n

As the dad of three girls born on two continents, diversity is one of my family\u2019s core values. Before my first day at RUA, I had seen the school\u2019s diversity numbers on paper: 34% Hispanic, 42% African American, 42% English Learners. But sitting with them on the carpet that day and hearing their stories in the flesh awakened something deep within my teacher soul. And I wasn\u2019t sure at first exactly what it was.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was born in Nairobi. We still have family there. We miss them, but my mother tells me we can get a better education here.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents moved here from Egypt before I was born. I\u2019ve never visited, but I want to. My parents say it might be a long time before we can, but they promise they\u2019ll take me.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was born right here in Nashville, Mr. Egly,\u201d one student said, dropping her head. \u201cI don\u2019t have a cool story like that.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes you do!\u201d I said. \u201cYour story is like my story! You and I have the honor and the gift of learning from so many new friends from places we have never been!”<\/span><\/p>\n

And then it hit me. The reason for my stunned silence. The cause of the soul-stirring moment I had just experienced. You see, I thought I was coming to Rocketship United Academy to teach these students. And I wasn\u2019t wrong, I will teach them. Together this year, with the most talented team of educators and administrators I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of, we will participate in our own Olympics of sorts. We will clear hurdles, climb STEPs, and close gaps.\u00a0 But it’s not just that. I realized in that moment that there was so much more. I was not the only teacher in the room. I was one of twenty-seven. Twenty-six amazing fourth graders and one lucky 30-something with a fourth grader\u2019s curiosity who will share our lives and space for the next ten months, opening each other\u2019s hearts and minds to new horizons of understanding, acceptance, and achievement. Creating a culture that values each individual, and listens to every voice, whether they are from Nashville or Nairobi.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am grateful to now\u00a0be working for a school network that encourages teachers to work for justice on behalf of vulnerable children and prioritizes student achievement. I am so proud to be part of this diverse family of Rocketeers!<\/span><\/p>\n

Share why diversity is important to your school or classroom culture! \u279f @RocketshipEd<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Jason is a 4th grade Humanities teacher at Rocketship United Academy In Nashville and a participant in the network’s Rising Leaders program. His has taught in district, private, and public charter schools and has served as an executive for two nonprofit organizations. As a single father of three adolescent girls, Jason thoroughly enjoys the drama-free company of his three year-old rescue dog, Skittles. He holds a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee and an M.Div. from Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Egypt Kenya Somalia Mexico Honduras El Salvador Venezuela Puerto Rico USA Is this about the Olympics? No. It\u2019s a list of the homelands proudly represented by the students in my two fourth grade Humanities classes at Rocketship United Academy (RUA) in Nashville.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[65,91,259,260,61,35,261,34],"tips_for_teachers":[],"class_list":["post-4272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-teacher-experience","tag-character","tag-community","tag-core-values","tag-diversity","tag-equity","tag-excellent-teachers","tag-school-culture","tag-whole-child"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUnited We Learn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rocketshipschools.org\/en\/latest-news\/blog\/united-we-learn-school-diversity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"United We Learn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Egypt Kenya Somalia Mexico Honduras El Salvador Venezuela Puerto Rico USA Is this about the Olympics? 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