New partnership supports aspiring teachers with affordable housing in downtown Cincinnati
Empowering future educators in diverse urban areas can transform local communities
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Published
Students, faculty, staff and community members celebrate during a ribbon cutting in OTR
New partnership supports aspiring teachers with affordable housing in downtown Cincinnati
•
Published
Educators who live and work within their own communities can have a profound impact upon those they teach.
This is especially true in diverse urban areas, where teachers can enrich entire environments by connecting with the multitude of students and families who live there as well.
“Teaching is a relationship with a capital ‘R,’ and all the possibilities that you have to form relationships by being in the community is going to deepen your teaching,” said Tammy Schwartz, director of ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University's Urban Cohort. “You're going to gain the trust of folks. You're going to know what's going on in the area, and you can develop a curriculum that is situated within the life of that community.”
These are some of the core principles of the TEACh Cincinnati program, which aims to inspire diverse students to become educators and to combat the teacher shortage through a “grow-your-own-teacher” pipeline model.
This mission will be further supported through a new partnership between ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú’s College of Education, Health, and Society (EHS) and in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine (OTR) neighborhood, where TEACh graduates now have the opportunity to acquire affordable housing to live in the same urban communities where they’ll also teach.
After raising $1.2 million to renovate and restore a church-owned apartment property that had remained unused for years, St. Francis is giving ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú students the right of first refusal to occupy the building after graduation.
“It's a great opportunity for students,” said EHS associate dean for external relations and partnerships Brian Schultz. “Not only will it help more local educators thrive in an urban environment by paying low rent rates as they start their careers. It will also provide new teachers with professional mentorship and social support, from both their peers and community members, which is so crucial for success during the first few years of teaching.”
It's also a win-win for the neighborhood as well, as many will also bring their diverse cultural backgrounds and culturally relevant teaching methods to better connect with local youth.
“It’s really important for students to see themselves in their teachers, and not only from a racial standpoint, but from a cultural perspective,” said Sydnie Singleton ’22, a TEACh Cincinnati campus-based coordinator. “Knowing that my teacher had an upbringing like mine, and a story like mine, and who is now coming back to the community is very empowering to students. That also helps with personal issues and problems too. There's someone they can talk to, and confide in, who also can relate. That’s really impactful.”
This new partnership was originally put into motion by Father Al, the St. Francis pastor whose leadership helped secure the funding to renovate the church property. It was his existing relationship with Schwartz, and her work with the Urban Cohort, that first helped align his vision for the project with the mission of St. Francis, which has provided educational and social support to the local community for nearly 165 years.
Today, that vision has come to fruition, and it was celebrated at a recent ribbon cutting ceremony that welcomed ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University faculty, staff, and students, as well as various donors and community members to tour the renovated building.
“There was just an overwhelming energy of support at the ribbon cutting,” Singleton said. “They're very supportive of what the TEACh program is offering, and they want to represent the community in a broader way — to say that this is another place you can come back to. But it's also where you started. And that's a full circle moment.”
This is especially true in diverse urban areas, where teachers can enrich entire environments by connecting with the multitude of students and families who live there as well.
“Teaching is a relationship with a capital ‘R,’ and all the possibilities that you have to form relationships by being in the community is going to deepen your teaching,” said Tammy Schwartz, director of ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University's Urban Cohort. “You're going to gain the trust of folks. You're going to know what's going on in the area, and you can develop a curriculum that is situated within the life of that community.”
These are some of the core principles of the TEACh Cincinnati program, which aims to inspire diverse students to become educators and to combat the teacher shortage through a “grow-your-own-teacher” pipeline model.
This mission will be further supported through a new partnership between ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú’s College of Education, Health, and Society (EHS) and in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine (OTR) neighborhood, where TEACh graduates now have the opportunity to acquire affordable housing to live in the same urban communities where they’ll also teach.
After raising $1.2 million to renovate and restore a church-owned apartment property that had remained unused for years, St. Francis is giving ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú students the right of first refusal to occupy the building after graduation.
“It's a great opportunity for students,” said EHS associate dean for external relations and partnerships Brian Schultz. “Not only will it help more local educators thrive in an urban environment by paying low rent rates as they start their careers. It will also provide new teachers with professional mentorship and social support, from both their peers and community members, which is so crucial for success during the first few years of teaching.”
It's also a win-win for the neighborhood as well, as many will also bring their diverse cultural backgrounds and culturally relevant teaching methods to better connect with local youth.
“It’s really important for students to see themselves in their teachers, and not only from a racial standpoint, but from a cultural perspective,” said Sydnie Singleton ’22, a TEACh Cincinnati campus-based coordinator. “Knowing that my teacher had an upbringing like mine, and a story like mine, and who is now coming back to the community is very empowering to students. That also helps with personal issues and problems too. There's someone they can talk to, and confide in, who also can relate. That’s really impactful.”
This new partnership was originally put into motion by Father Al, the St. Francis pastor whose leadership helped secure the funding to renovate the church property. It was his existing relationship with Schwartz, and her work with the Urban Cohort, that first helped align his vision for the project with the mission of St. Francis, which has provided educational and social support to the local community for nearly 165 years.
Today, that vision has come to fruition, and it was celebrated at a recent ribbon cutting ceremony that welcomed ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University faculty, staff, and students, as well as various donors and community members to tour the renovated building.
“There was just an overwhelming energy of support at the ribbon cutting,” Singleton said. “They're very supportive of what the TEACh program is offering, and they want to represent the community in a broader way — to say that this is another place you can come back to. But it's also where you started. And that's a full circle moment.”