“(Multilingual students) finish high school with such an advantage. Here we have children already with that advantage that we’re telling them that they don’t have.” Jacqueline Rodriguez, Director of ESOL and Migrant Programs at Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools and 2020 Surge Alum, was recently featured in the ESU Bulletin article titled, Kansas world language…
“Radically reimagining what’s possible in education through relationships will not only prepare middle schoolers to navigate school in the age of coronavirus but all of the challenges this moment in history requires of them as our future leaders.” Check out this op-ed by Jen Ciok and 2017 Surge Chicago Alum, Ashley Leonard on the importance…
2021 Surge Academy Fellow, Keeanna Warren, was recently awarded the Outstanding Educator in STEM award during the 2020 Women & Hi Tech Leading Light Awards and Scholarship Gala. The Leading Light awards focused on Indiana women in STEM with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The Latinx Education Collaborative hosted its third annual professional and leadership development conference, Evolución, for Latinx education professionals (and friends) virtually on Saturday, October 24, 2020 streaming live from 9 am to 12 pm. The LEC hosted 465 total registrants from across the nation!
EmbraceRace recently spoke with Savitha Moorthy and Surge Oakland Alums Aija Simmons and Sara Rizik-Baer to describe Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors, a community-focused effort from Tandem, Partners in Early Learning that uses children’s books as a departure point for expanding the capacity of families with children under 5 to engage in critical conversations…
2020 Surge Oakland Alum, Tyfahra Singleton, has been appointed to the Oakland Police Commission. The purpose of the Police Commission is to oversee the Oakland Police Department’s policies, practices, and customs to meet national standards of constitutional policing and to oversee the Community Police Review Agency which investigates police misconduct and recommends discipline.
2017 Surge Chicago Alum and VP of Development & External Affairs, Will Collins, served as moderator for The Chicago Urban League’s October 13 Fireside Chat with Michael Strautmanis, Chief Engagement Officer of the Obama Foundation.
“For me, it’s an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is and say, ‘Hey, I truly care about my friends on the east side and this is how I’m going to pay it forward.” 2020 Surge Alum and Co-Founder & CEO of The Greenline Initiative, Ajia Morris, recently spoke on the work of…
“I grew up thinking that I was inferior, that we were less and here are these intrepid, brilliant revolutionaries who thought differently and did incredible things. There’s a fire that needs to be there to do revolutionary work. Like you need to care enough and get fired up enough.” As part of El Griot &…
For the first time, the ASU+GSV Summit featured an all Surge Institute Alumni panel: Katie Boody (KC19); Melissa Connelly (CHI15); Candace Moore (CHI15); Randal Seriguchi, Jr. (OAK18). The panel was also moderated by Founder & President, Carmita Semaan! Learn more about this Surge milestone HERE.
2019 Surge Chicago Alum, Chanelle Bell, has been promoted to Managing Director, Public and Community Affairs at Teach For America Chicago-NWI. In her new role, she will manage a portfolio of public and community relationships; design and implement a government affairs strategy that results in sustainable public funding from Chicago, Northwest Indiana and/or the State…
Educate78 and Energy Convertors have launched The People’s Literacy Fund, a new pilot program that will award grants between $500 and $5,000 to members of the community who are helping Oakland students learn during distance learning. The program will provide financial support to individuals from affected communities who have come up with creative solutions to…
2015 Surge Chicago Alum, DuJuan Smith, has been named a 2020 Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois Fellow at Illinois State University. Read more about the list of recipients HERE.
September 2020 “Even before the upheaval of the last several months, our education system was in dire need of a shift in how to define success for our young people.” 2016 Surge Alum, Nicole Beechum, was featured in Education Week for her work around creating a space for students to define their own success. Check…
During this time that we are in, Surge has continued to be resolute regarding our mission to empower and elevate leaders of color given the widespread impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our communities. Though several aspects of our work have shifted this year, this movement has traversed and persevered. And today, we are…
Earlier this year, we made the exciting announcement of the Surge Academy’s expansion to Indianapolis, IN, thanks to the partnership of The Mind Trust, an education focused nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide every student in Indianapolis, no exceptions, with access to a high-quality education. Today we are proud to announce that after weeks…
LEANLAB Education (Katie Boody, Co-Founder & CEO) announced the first recipients of their $50,000 Micro-Grant Support Fund, which included the impact and work of six Surge Alumni. Learn more about the initiative and each awardee via this article from Startland News.
2015 Surge Chicago Alum, DuJuan Smith, has accepted the role of Associate Director of Graduate Advising for The University of Chicago Professional Education. This opportunity will allow him to serve as a GUIDE to those seeking graduate and continuing education to facilitate transformation in their lives!
2020 Surge Alumni Charles King and Edgar Palacios have been announced as part of the fifth cohort of the Deeper Learning Equity Fellowship, which is made up of sixteen emerging leaders who will dedicate a significant portion of the next two years to addressing issues of educational inequity in their local communities. This cohort joins a…
August 2020 2019 Surge Chicago Alum Melissa Flores has been elected to the Harvard University Graduate School of Education’s Alumni Council, for which she will be serving for four years. In addition, she has also been elected as Vice-Chair on the Membership Committee for the Harvard Latino Alumni Alliance. Through her roles, she will support recruitment efforts,…