Membership Director Taina Sanon spoke with Rene Marion of The Academy for Teachers, a member organization of Nonprofit New York. We will continue to highlight the work of our members because we believe when your nonprofit is stronger, all of us are stronger.
Tell me about the organization and what you do.
The Academy for Teachers raises respect for a noble and beleaguered profession by honoring and supporting exceptional teachers, the kind of teachers who change young lives. We bring them together with remarkable experts, intellectuals, and artists for inspiring master classes and other events that expand their knowledge and lift their spirits. Our programs, held in partnership with leading institutions, demonstrate that teachers deserve the support of our culture’s best and brightest. During the Pandemic, we've moved online and are offering free mini master classes, "What's Working" colloquia on remote teaching, and special events.
How many are on your team?
4 passionate and hardworking full-time staff!
Servicing how many of the nonprofit population?
The impact of working with teachers is exponential. Each of our master classes has, on average, 18 teachers who each work with roughly 100 students per year. With approximately 30 master classes per year, we impact 54,000 students, whose teachers return to the classroom invigorated and uplifted. Our virtual Pandemic Programs in April, May and June 2020 reached 675 teachers from the New York City Metro area and beyond. students are part of the public system.
Where do you see your organization in the next five years or ten years?
We'll still be running online programming, available to educators across the U.S. and beyond because we understand that professional development needs to include the intellectual nourishment of teachers. We also hope to be running in-person master classes in at least one other city within 5 years.
How has partnering with Nonprofit New York helped you succeed?
We love the connections and resources that Nonprofit New York has provided, from Learning Labs to the newsletter that keeps us focused on the skills and practices required to thrive as a non-profit. (Does anyone get into non-profit because they "do" non-profits? I suspect that we all enter the space because we have a cause. Then we need to build the structure and practices to do the work successfully, and we need each other's help and support to make that happen!)
What are you currently working on that you want us to mention to our membership?
We're are working to ensure that all of our programming is free for public school teachers in the fall and are organizing a series of Professional Learning Communities to help teachers face the uncertainties and challenges of the fall semester with the help and support of their colleagues from across the city.