Jesus Ramirez recounts a victory story about one of his students while he was a teacher at Minnesota Transitions Charter Schools… A student and gang member whose nick name is Lalo, was part of a group of students taken to Denver for a MEChA summit where he and other students were going to show that
Every day I am so inspired by Ismael. He is an extremely charismatic, kind, and well-spoken individual. He is intellectually curious and often surprises me with a range of conversation topics. Ismael was one of my last students to apply to college. He was curious about what college would offer him and shared all of
Ms. Sexton, a Minneapolis Public Schools legacy, is unquestionably one of the best teachers that I have ever had. She introduced me to Shakespeare, Whitman, T.S. Eliot, and Chinua Achebe, but more importantly, she connected with her students, put “honor before grades” above all else, and fostered a love of learning that transcended the classroom.
I attended a parochial school in all-black Harlem in the 1960s where all my teachers were Irish Catholic nuns. These women were phenomenal educators who knew how to build relationships and give structure and purpose to our lives when, at this time in history, minorities were not treated equally. Recently we had a high school
Ayan Omar understands the power and importance of one’s name. She encourages other immigrants to accept their names and feel pride in their life stories. Born in Mogadishu, Ms. Omar and her family fled their home due to the escalating violence of the Somali Civil War. She ended up in Kenya where she waited for
