Transformative Teach

We believe that every young person and equity-minded leader has a place in the classroom, not in a prison.

Transformative Teach is an in-person & online learning platform that equips educators to dismantle the School-to-Prison-Pipeline. We illuminate foundational skills that are essential in developing cultural competency and closing inequitable disciplinary gaps.

We support & work with youth, educators, underrepresented communities, organization, and school districts to build collective liberation. Transformative Teach bridges the gap between dominant teacher training content and communities' demands for their leaders. We are a toolkit, training program, and accountability partner for education stakeholders who believe in teacher and youth power.

When Transformative Teach came to fruition in October 2018, we were a team of college students committed to racial justice, education equity, and criminal reform. Since then, we have adjusted our goals to effectively implement our vision. We have expanded to a team of five taking lead on Curriculum, Branding, Site Management, Fundraising, and Partnerships. In 2020, we will engage with our first conference workshops and community popups. 

We are transforming student and teacher power.

Today, the School-to-Prison-Pipeline (STPP) is a complex process of funneling youth out of classrooms and into the criminal justice system - thus restricting intergenerational opportunity. The STPP disproportionately represents black, brown, LGBTQ+, disables, and low-income youth. Current discipline policies and educator implicit bias criminalizes youth, encourages police presence at schools, boosts suspensions and out-of-class time, and perpetuates education inequity.

We believe that educators have the power to transform this narrative. Teachers are one of the most influential figures in a young person's life, yet most aren't equipped to engage in equity-centered discipline policies or curriculum. Most traditional teaching training programs do not adequately address foundational skills (e.g. identity development, critical and culturally-relevant pedagogy, or the historical & contemporary context of education inequity. A school staff's decision to refer students for punishment can result in youth being put into contact with law enforcement and introduced into the criminal justice system.

Our local Colorado community demands just, culturally-competent, compassionate teachers and leaders that invest in the potential of all young people. Families and community members press for accountability structures that prevent and eliminate oppressive school practices & nurture the growth of their students. 

Your support today will help develop our organization infrastructure, fund upcoming 2020 workshops, and sustain our online training platform. Although this work is foundational in moving towards education equity, our team works unpaid. As we build momentum, you can:

1. Contribute. When you support this campaign, you're fueling our impact through sustaining our website & in-person workshops.
2. Spread the Word. We depend on our network of supporters & partners to enact our vision for change. Visit our website, Instagram, and Facebook.
3. Join our Movement. Sign up to receive updates on our progress and potential. 

We are the bridge between two worlds. We are storytellers and code-switchers. We intentionally open the wounds from historical trauma, knowing that we can't heal others if we don't understand how we healed ourselves.

Our team has lived through how the multi-faceted reality of systemic oppression influences opportunity & access. We are from the melanin that shields our skin & misunderstood whiteness, working to pay the bills & unpaid internships, immigrants & home-grown Coloradoans. We understand the complex privilege our position - educated, young, English-speaking, able-bodied - affords us. Our age makes us more closely proximate to young people and adult decision-makers.

We are fueled to continue to pave the path of equity our predecessors have set the foundation for. We are our ancestors' wildest dreams. We are Transformative Teach.

With Gratitude,

Cam Perdido, Olivia Gardner, Nathan Roura, Emma Piller, Therese Gardner