When Teachers Have the Tools
Guest Correspondence
SRQ DAILY MONDAY BUSINESS EDITION
MONDAY FEB 3, 2025 |
BY JENNIFER VIGNE
Photo courtesy Education Foundation: Education Foundation Teacher Ambassadors met on Jan. 23 at the Suncoast Technical College campus.
Build capacity - that term is often used when referring to the process of developing, improving and strengthening the abilities, skills, knowledge, resources and infrastructure to effectively achieve goals, solve problems and sustain performance over time. It can happen at many different levels whether individual, organizational or at the community level. Whether capacity building is a choice, or an expectation depends on the context, but it often blends both personal initiative and institutional demands.
The Education Foundation of Sarasota County hosts a Teacher Ambassador Program to empower teachers to take charge of their professional growth by providing accessible, supportive and meaningful opportunities to build their capacity. Through collaboration, practical tools and a shared commitment to excellence, we help educators unlock their full potential to create lasting change in their classrooms, schools and our community.
What makes this special is that we work alongside teachers who are voluntarily choosing to build their “educator muscle” by putting them as the driver of their growth while offering support and collaboration. These dedicated educators meet monthly to share updates, address challenges and design solutions to overcome hurdles. For example, one teacher shared AI resources for teachers, where to find them and how to use them, while another shared her leadership capabilities and engagement in the community outside of teaching, where she serves on several boards.
Schools and districts often require teachers to engage in capacity-building activities like mandatory professional development, curriculum changes, or adopting new standards which are necessary, for sure, but can sometimes feel obligatory and burdensome. When given autonomy, resources and encouragement, it is our intention that they feel empowered to learn and grow through each other, with the resulting outcomes showing up in enhanced professional development, collaboration and mentorship, self-reflection and adaptation, leadership growth and stronger relationships with other like-minded teachers who also care about their effectiveness as a teacher.
It's a growing community of teacher ambassadors, and last week’s Teacher Showcase, was an inspirational evening watching teachers share openly and graciously while building social connections, learning new practices and growing as leaders. The environment was welcoming, safe and supportive thanks to our Director of Educator Programs Nicole Light. Her years of teaching experience has lent her the understanding, compassion and commitment needed to create safe places of learning and growing, and I’m excited to see even more teachers become involved in this meaningful work.
For us, building capacity is a choice and an expectation since everything we do ties back to student success, and it’s incredibly validating when we see the growth of amazing teachers reach even new heights. When teachers have the tools they need, students succeed, communities flourish and futures are brighter. Spread the word about the importance of teacher capacity and help us amplify their voices.
Jennifer Vigne is President and CEO of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County.
Photo courtesy Education Foundation: Education Foundation Teacher Ambassadors met on Jan. 23 at the Suncoast Technical College campus.
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