Teach for America Graduate Still Making a Difference

Chanté Chambers remembers learning one fact in particular. Fourteen million students are educationally limited in life because of their
socio-economic status and their ZIP code. This fact horrified her, but it also convinced her to look into Teach for America. She was confident that the organization would enable her to do her part in solving educational inequality. 


Teach for America didn't fit into her original career plan--she was supposed to graduate with a degree in English from Spelman College and go into the entertainment area of public relations. However, after hearing campus leaders speak about the opportunity and researching it herself, Chambers could tell it was a program that offered what she needed as a near college graduate with a motivation to make a difference. After graduation, she began teaching Language Arts to eighth-grade students. 


After instructing for two years, Chambers joined the corporate staff of Teach for America, where she is currently a senior recruitment director. Chambers was willing to discuss the experiences that led her to dedicate herself to this service organization. What follows is an edited selection of questions and answers from her interview. 



Q: You were assigned to work as a corps member in Camden, N.J. Did you ever feel unsafe teaching there? 


CHAMBERS: While crime and poverty existed in Camden, they exist everywhere. I never felt threatened and was never harmed, despite Camden being rated the most dangerous city at the time. Honestly, my students and their families welcomed me into the community, especially because I had made a conscious effort to get to know them and embrace their community. I was usually one of the first people to arrive at school and one of the last people to leave. I remember times where I was walking to my car and kids would run up to me and greet me or offer to help me carry my things. As I drove away, there were parents and students who would wave to me. I had truly become apart of the community. Also, prior to arriving in Camden, safety was proactively addressed by Teach for America staff members. During Teach for America's training, regional orientation, and my school's own orientation, they addressed and discussed issues of personal safety as well as protocol for addressing personal safety incidents.

Q: Camden is pretty far from Spelman College. Did you feel lonely apart from your college friends or family? What was your social life like?

CHAMBERS: Well, thankfully, in every region, there are dozens or hundreds of corps members being placed together. There were four other corps members who taught in my school, my roommate was a corps member, and several corps members lived in my community. While we all worked extremely hard to be the best teachers we could for our kids, we also leveraged each other for support. In fact, Jennifer and Karin (two corps members at my school) and I would go out to eat, we went to social events together, and even found time to go dancing. Corps members would have planning sessions together, gatherings over one another’s houses, etc. I also spoke with my family frequently and would travel home during the holidays to see them. So, I was never lonely and I found it possible to balance my work life and my social life. During the first two months, it was more difficult to find the balance because I was really determined to be a great teacher for my kids. I wanted to perfect my classroom systems, teaching practices and time management, but after a while it became easier for me to strike a balance.

Q: What was the most rewarding aspect of your experience as a teacher?

CHAMBERS: The most rewarding aspect of the experience for me was seeing the impact I made in my students' lives. When I joined the corps, my sole motivation was to do something meaningful, something that would allow me to make a contribution to the greater good. I knew that in the classroom I would enter there was a future lawyer, doctor, firefighter, author and Teach for America corps member. When I reflect to where many of my students started in September, two, three and even four grade levels behind where they were supposed to be, I am still amazed at the intrinsic light for learning that was lit and the desire for success that was fueled. My kids walked away at the end of the year, not only stronger students and milestones closer to leveling the academic playing field, but also confident and inspired to show the world the greatness that lay within them. There is nothing more rewarding than witnessing children transform into learners and seeing hope and ambition lead students to take action and excel on an absolute scale. It's still an unbelievable feeling to know that an ordinary person like me, who was equipped with a desire to make a difference, a responsibility to benefit the lives of my students, and an undying perseverance, ultimately altered the life prospects of my students. My students walked away believing in themselves and their abilities. If I had anything to do with this, then my life has meaning and purpose.

Q: What was the most upsetting experience that you had in your years as a teacher? How did you overcome this?

CHAMBERS: I think the most upsetting experience for me was during the first month of my first year. Although my school was considered one of the lowest performing middle schools in the district and the state, I had bright and capable students. I knew that there was a possibility that many of my students would be behind academically and that's why I was there, to change this. However, when I met my kids and could put names to faces, I realized that the statistic of 14 million children not receiving a quality education was more than just numbers. It was the lives of my kids whom I had bonded with, and this angered me. I was investing in my kids as students, people, and future leaders and I knew that we would work hard that year to level the playing field for them. But, for the life of me, I could not understand how students could make it to the eighth grade, and some of them could barely read or form well structured paragraphs. I knew that disparities in education existed, but the fact that my kids had been victimized by a ZIP code was outrageous. I knew it wasn't my students' fault and my kids showed me that they would work hard to obtain the educational opportunities they needed in order to have life opportunities. This was an emotional blow for me, specifically because I was so invested in my students and their futures. This really confirmed that I had made the right decision by joining the corps and coming to Camden.

Q: But did you ever have a time when you were disappointed in a student or a class even after your encouragement? For example, was there any child that had such a difficult economic or family background that you felt his or her future was out of your hands?

CHAMBERS: To be honest, I truly believed that each and every student who entered my classroom could and would achieve. For some students, it took more time and investment to build that relationship so that they could trust me as their educator. For example, when I think about my student who started her eighth grade year reading on a first grade level, I think about the times in the beginning when she felt like she couldn't achieve because she was so far behind. I also remember moments in the beginning of the school year where she would be so frustrated because every part of her wanted to be able to complete the assignments, but the reality of her limited skills set in and made it more difficult. There were points where she wanted to give up because she believed that academic success was unattainable for her. As much as it pained me to see her struggle, I also knew that the worst thing I could do was not challenge her or to remove the level rigor from her learning experience. In this instance, it required me to get more scrappy and think through how I could bridge the gap for this student. As a result, I worked with her mom to ensure that she attended after-school tutoring three days a week. In addition, when planning my lesson, I differentiated it for her. By this I mean that she was still required to complete the same tasks and skills; however, the text may have been different. Additionally, I used a lot of cooperative learning. I partnered her with particular students who could explain the content and do peer tutoring. Last but not least, I would hold book talks and phone tutoring in the evenings when she was at home to ensure that she could complete the task. On my end, it required more time to plan and engage with this student, but at the end of the day it was time well spent. Two months into the school year, this student began to see improvement and, in turn, became more invested. This proved to me that all is possible. Yes, there are outside factors such as poverty, but this doesn't mean that a committed and dedicated teacher can't have an impact. For my students, nothing in their external lives changed; however, what changed was the level of expectations I held my students to, and their desires to meet those expectations. Every student wants to be successful, and in most instances, when they are given the chance, they do just that. 


Q: What was the most valuable lesson that you learned from your experiences?

CHAMBERS: That one person can truly make a difference. Although I was 21 when I joined the corps and entered my classroom, I really had an impact. My first class of students are now high school seniors. It is with great pride that I write letters of recommendation for students who just four years ago didn’t think college was a reality. When I think of particular students, I think about Tikeena who went on to become the valedictorian of her school, and Tracey who started the school year on a first grade level, but left my class advancing four and a half grade levels. I think of every single student and their individual victories. As one person, I made a difference, and through Teach for America, I joined a mission of individuals who are making a collective impact on children and communities across the country.

Q: You have continued working with Teach for America ever since you were a corps member. Do you want to move on later in life? If so, to what?

CHAMBERS: At this stage, I find so much meaning and fulfillment in my work. I feel like I am doing my part by continuing to serve students in low-income communities who deserve a quality education and a fair chance at life. Whatever I do after this experience has to bring meaning and value and every moment I wake up, I want to know that I am continuing to make a difference. In response to careers, I could see several different venues: school leadership, owning a publishing company with a sector that publishes literature from students in a low income community and provides opportunities for them to intern and gain skills applicable to the writing and publishing industry, district level curriculum writing and teacher development, or serving as a director of a non-profit organization that works directly with youth in an under-resourced community.

Q: What would you tell students that are considering Teach for America after college?

CHAMBERS: I would tell them that committing to Teach for America for two years of my life was one of the best decisions I could have made. Touching the lives of my eighth-graders is something that I can talk all day about, not to mention the life-long friends that I made with corps members. Memories of Diane delivering his first Power Point presentation about one day practicing law, or witnessing Samoan discuss her hopes to attend college, despite the fact 
that no one in her family has ever had that chance, is a feeling that can never be replaced. Picture a room decorated with stars, and students who I called ’academic all-stars and world class scholars!’ Imagine students beginning each class with chants of ‘I'm alive...awake... alert...enthusiastic,’ and working diligently to beat the odds that educational disparity has placed before them. Imagine a room full of students engaged, invested and equally inspired with a new-found desire to achieve and, best of all, they believe that they can. Although there is no comfort in knowing that many of the nation's youth experience these injustices that I describe, there is hope in knowing that this problem is solvable. It's one thing to hear about the horrifying statistics in education, but to take action requires courage. We truly need more students to empower our students and provide them with the academic resources that they need to achieve in the classroom and in life. Teach for America is a 
great way to have this impact.