Sarah Megow grew up in San Diego, in what she describes as a "suburban environment" that was a long way (at least culturally) from the inner-city schools where she has taught.
After two years of teaching at an urban school in Lawndale, she began a new teaching job this fall at Providencia Elementary School in Burbank, which has an even higher percentage of English language learners than her first school. The Burbank Teachers Association member says she is "up" for the challenge that lies ahead thanks to Center X, which trains teachers to thrive where they are needed the most - urban schools. Center X, which is part of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Los Angeles, has helped to bridge the cultural gap for hundreds of students.
Like their colleagues across the state, more than 50 percent of inner-city teachers leave within five years. In some urban districts, a 50 percent turnover occurs within the first three years. Urban schools also have a much higher percentage of teachers on emergency credentials than schools in more affluent communities.
In contrast, 86 percent of Center X graduates stay in teaching - and 80 percent of them are teaching in urban schools. Of the 14 percent who have left, half are working in education-related fields, ranging from school administration to nonprofit educational organizations to the Peace Corps.
"I think of myself as trying to provide an equitable education for all kids. It's a way of leveling the playing field," says Megow. "I like the program because it attracts people who want to teach in urban schools."
"It was definitely a personal learning experience to go from my hometown in the suburbs to teaching in an urban area," says Lisa Ko, a member of the Lawndale Teachers Association and a second-year teacher. Like Megow, she grew up in a comfortable suburban community - Cerritos - and teaches at Anderson Elementary School in Lawndale, a Title I school where nearly all of the students are minorities and most qualify for a free breakfast and lunch.
"There is definitely a big gap between the community I grew up in and the community where I now teach."
"Center X prepared me academically, mentally and emotionally to deal with the student population where I teach," says Ko, who graduated from the program in 1999. "Otherwise, I think I would have experienced culture shock. I would not have the same understanding of the students and community without the awareness that I received from Center X."
"Center X tries to make you aware of all the possibilities of teaching in an urban school, so instead of being shocked, you can be successful," says Megow. "I felt very prepared."
While the concept of training teachers to thrive in urban settings seems an obvious solution to improving schools in the inner city, there are only a handful of such programs throughout the nation. Center X was founded just four years ago. All 200 graduates each year receive CLAD or BCLAD credentials.
Traditionally, urban schools have been viewed as a "training ground" where teachers "pay their dues" and then move on to the so-called "good schools" in the suburbs. Fewer than 6 percent of all education graduates express a desire for inner-city placements, according to The National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching, 2000.
In contrast, Center X students want to teach in urban schools, and describe it as extremely fulfilling.
"I feel in a sense that I'm doing more good than I might in the suburbs," says Ko. "It brings me a great deal of satisfaction. It's very important to send good teachers to places where it is difficult for students to get the quality education they deserve."
"Unfortunately, most teachers are ill-prepared to teach in urban schools," says Jeannie Oakes, a professor and director of Center X. "Most of those enrolled in teacher preparation programs are afraid to do their practice teaching in difficult schools. There's a lot of pressure to find the very best suburban schools, or schools with good resources, and do one's student teaching in those areas. But that may not be where new teachers end up getting jobs."
"People have a lot of fear about urban schools, because the media focuses just on the problems and offers no positive images of what goes on in urban schools. Our students find out differently. Urban schools may be in disrepair and not have a lot of resources, but our students find that many of them are nice, calm places." The majority of teacher education programs may embrace diversity, but often they are outdated, says Oakes. "Many teacher preparation programs continue to look like programs in the 1960s. Our program has tried to do things differently."
The program has a strong emphasis on academic content. "When teachers are dealing with children who have obstacles in the path to learning, teachers need to have a much deeper content knowledge," explains Oakes. "Teachers need to be more adept at pedagogy, and have a larger repertoire of knowledge to draw upon."
The second emphasis is on "social justice" so students understand the larger social and cultural dynamics of neighborhoods surrounding their schools. "We teach teachers a lot about institutionalized racism, connections between school performance and employment opportunities, social safety nets for children, health care policies and other things," says Oakes. "We want them to see the larger issues of deep structural problems in the country that move them away from blaming individuals for their own circumstances. Urban schools are part of a larger social fabric of institutions that can work against children born in poverty.
"But we don't want to adopt a deficit model either," continues Oakes. "We don't want to think of students in urban schools as 'poor things.' We don't want to have lower expectations of them or give them a narrow curriculum. This kind of specialized teaching should not lead to restricting children's growth opportunities."
During the first year of the program, students concentrate on theory. During the second year, students blend theory and practice, and are assigned to teach in an urban school. Many are offered jobs at their assigned school upon graduation.
Center X graduates tend to be involved in the neighborhoods where they teach. "Amazingly, many of them are involved in community projects," says Oakes. "By being involved, they tend to see parents differently and don't only see deficits. Our goal is to open up their eyes and make them critical thinkers about education in society. We want them to see their role as teacher as going beyond the classroom walls. We want them to think of themselves as agents of change because they have chosen to work in urban areas."
"My students definitely see me as more than just a teacher," says Ko. "I try to conduct home visits, because it gives me a chance to see my students outside of school. I get to know them personally and understand their family dynamics. It allows me to relate to them outside of the typical student-teacher relationship."
"If you are involved in your school and your community, so that kids and their parents know you, then the community feels very comfortable with you there and vice versa," says Megow. "In Lawndale, I was very involved with the PTA, the school site council and planning 'family nights' at the school. I had very good rapport with the parents, which I found vital to teaching. They felt that I wasn't there to just do a job, but that I really cared and wanted their children to succeed."
As for her own success, Megow recalls a moment where she felt she was truly making a difference. "There was a girl who had been struggling, and finally she saw her hard work pay off. I worked with her and something clicked. She went from getting 10 out of 20 on her spelling tests to 100 percent. This girl found that when she tried, she could succeed. I really feel she will be successful the rest of her life, because she knows how it feels to work hard, and she now values hard work."
Both Megow and Ko would like to see more teaching programs that prepare students to teach in low-economic, urban areas. Both of them continue to network with Center X graduates, who share their concerns and philosophy and offer support to one another.
