Left: Kyle Cretekos (Nashville-Chattanooga 2013') Site coordinator at Communities in School.
Right: Kat Powers (Nashville-Chattanooga 2011') Regional Achievement Manager at Rocketship Public Schools.
TFAmily,
The last couple of months have been particularly challenging for our communities with the impact of the tornadoes in Nashville and Chattanooga, the spread of the pandemic and the school closures. As you navigate this situation and show up for your community, we see you, we hear you, and we are grateful for your work.
After last week's tornado in Chattanooga, we are fortunate that our TFAmily members are accounted for and safe. We’ve been in contact with many in our alumni network that could have been impacted by the tornado, and although some have experienced damage to their homes, all thus far report being safe and healthy.
In this moment of unprecedented uncertainty, we’re so grateful for the ways in which our network is relentlessly showing up for students. This situation exacerbates systemic inequities in our country. Within days of schools closing, alumni and corps members joined with their communities to reimagine what it looks like to connect and learn—all to ensure kids still have access to the education they deserve. Alumni—educators, parents, healthcare workers, tech innovators, policymakers, and so many others—are stepping up in this new and challenging moment.
In times like these, we’re hoping to show up for you the way you show up for your community. Thank you to all of you who answered our survey last month. You named that you wanted more resources for remote learning and opportunities to connect with fellow alumni. With schools being closed for the rest of the school year, we will continue sharing resources and opportunities to support you with distant learning through our new alumni website and through social media, but we also want to continue to directly hear from you: What steps have you taken to maintain relationships and learning with students and educators in your community? Do you know alumni or community partners who are doing something amazing in response to COVID-19? Please let us know in this Padlet so we can share it with the network.
Today more than ever, we need to be close to each other, and we see a great opportunity to bring different perspectives to an Equity Summit. More information will be shared soon.
We are beyond proud of our network and we have no doubt we will get through this together.
In Community,
The Alumni Team (Rachel, Colby & Juan Pablo)
In this section, we feature alumni-specific events and engagement activities.
REGIONAL NEW ALUMNI WEBSITE
We are all experiencing the impact of COVID-19, and we understand that this even more deeply affects the communities where we lead and serve. One of our greatest resources during this time is our incredible network of equity-minded individuals and groups who are working tirelessly to support communities. We have created this site to help organize and share the many resources provided by our network.
TFA NATIONAL COVID-19 RESOURCE HUB
Explore the National COVID-19 resource hub, which includes resources curated from the entire network for:
• Transitioning to remote learning.
• Advocating for students’ needs.
• Connecting with others
• Finding inspiration across TFA'S Network.
TFA NASHVILLE-CHATTANOOGA FACEBOOK GROUP
Join and post in the TFA Nashville-Chattanooga Facebook group to interact directly with over 600 regional alumni, and share or request resources. This group is dedicated to furthering the work for equity in Nashville-Chattanooga - amongst ourselves and also in our communities. You can join the group here.
In this section, we highlight resources related to our mission and community. Click here to submit your community event for the next alumni newsletter.
UNITED WAY OF GREATER CHATTANOOGA
Just after midnight on April 13, a powerful tornado carved a destructive path through Chattanooga communities as well as a large part of North Georgia.
The exact scope of the damage is still coming into focus, but dozens of families have lost their homes. Here are some ways that you can get help and give help with tornado relief.
TFALL'S NEW WHAT'S WORKING CALLS
These are open spaces for network teachers and alumni to learn from each other about how they’re responding to COVID-19 in their local contexts, what’s going well, the challenges they are facing, and what they’re learning.
Leadership and Choice in Times of Crisis - Tuesday, April 28th at 8 am CT
Building your family engagement practice- Thursday, April 30th, 8:30 am. CT
PoliTalk: Visual health as a blind spot in education policy - May 4th, 11 am.
Keep yourself updated on all the virtual spaces for network teachers and alumni with this calendar
THE SALVATION ARMY | CHATTANOOGA AREA COMMAND
The Salvation Army of Greater Chattanooga is working diligently to meet the unique needs of our Chattanooga Community. Whether you need essentials like food, household items, and water, or know someone who does, they have put together an information hub that can be a resource for you and for those you love. You can access it here.
Take a peek at what we've been reading, watching, listening to, and talking about around the water cooler.
NATIONAL NEWS
STATE NEWS
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