To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Georgina Stephens and I am currently enrolled in a teacher certification program at the University of Maryland. As of right now, I have earned a 3.78 Cumulative GPA in my coursework. I am also completing my student teaching internship in an elementary school in Gaithersburg, MD. For the fall semester, I am attending methods classes for the first two days of the week and I will be teaching in the classroom for the last three. In the spring semester, I will obtain a full takeover of the classroom. I will graduate in the Spring of 2013 with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and Teaching Certification for the State of Maryland. My passion is urban education. I am wholeheartedly invested in challenging and deconstructing the social inequalities that inhibit access to resources and opportunities for certain demographics of students. After obtaining a master's degree and teaching for several years to gain a strong background as well as to better understand what exactly students need from a curriculum, I want to pursue a career that involves revising and/or re-writing the District of Columbia Public School System's curriculum. I believe that students who benefit from a well-rounded academic curriculum that emphasizes arts integration, scientific exploration, development of writing skills, critical thought, and social analysis will grow into forces that can potentially devastate social inequality. I have dedicated the last four years of my college career to various positions within non-profit organizations that serve Washington D.C's schools of low socioeconomic status. This past summer, I taught summer school to 7th and 8th graders from undeserved communities. I prepared three daily lesson plans for literature. My 7th grade students investigated various cultures, discussed controversies associated with cultural anthropology, and related their personal experiences to the experiences of the characters from the text. My 8th graders discussed and debated various social justice issues associated with urban communities and schools. I used institutionalized racism as a guiding topic for the course, and my students examined how the topics we discussed in class (that arose from situations in the text) may or may not serve as examples of institutionalized racism. As a summative assessment, my students synthesized information from the text and from our discussions to compose proposals aimed at community officials. Students selected one specific topic (inequitable school and per pupil funding, the inability of some urban schools to offer advanced academic opportunities, the inability of some urban schools to ensure that ALL students are supported, not just the ones without behavioral challenges, racial profiling, lack of positive police presence in the community, and etc.) and detailed how it affects their school and community. Students then proposed how they can individually deconstruct the presence of their topic, and offered suggestions and roles for their fellow community members and the elected officials who are supposed to represent them. Throughout the course of the summer, my students not only met their grade level academic objectives for literature stipulated by the less than adequate DCPS curriculum. They also expanded their vocabulary to include some college-level words, challenged themselves and their classmates to utilize advanced critical thinking skills and analyze the inequalities that govern the world around them, engaged in critical pedagogy, and developed their academic writing skills. Furthermore, I integrated meaningful art projects to enhance my lessons. For example, my 7th

graders created traditional art of the culture we studied, and learned of the importance of these crafts to the culture. They also worked collaboratively to paint and describe banner sized story maps of the plot. My 8th graders sculpted visual representations of values that they want to see represented in their schools (respect, equality, collaboration, safety, loyalty, etc.) I used the discussions, debates, readings, checks for comprehensions, daily writing prompts, art projects, and summative writing projects to complete a detailed evaluation of each student at the conclusion of the summer program. Additionally, I spent the last two years employed as an Achievement Coach for Higher Achievement Washington D.C.s Ward 8 Achievement Center. This position is usually only offered to college graduates. I managed a study hall of 10-20 students from underserved communities. In order to facilitate academic success, I maintained personal relationships with each scholar, as well as with his or her teachers and family members. This communication, combined with my own observations during study hall, allowed me to act as an academic counselor. I monitored each scholars academic and behavioral progress. Together, every scholar and I comprised a plan. We discussed the scholars goals as well as suggestions for how he or she may meet them. I created the Scholar Achievement Plans to record the successes, weaknesses, strengths, and challenges associated with these ambitions. I also used these plans to document details from weekly conversations with teachers and parents. To fully enhance each scholars academic growth, I planned and implemented original supplemental work. I tailored each activity to meet the specific needs of the individual scholar. While fostering academic growth is the priority of my position, I could not ignore the social support my work required me to provide. I also acted as a mentor to my scholars. I situated myself as a resource for scholars as they navigate through their middle school years and discover their unique and powerful abilities. I also volunteer for Diamonds Sisterhood, a non-profit organization committed to supporting young women from marginalized communities in Washington D.C. I provide support to pre-teen and teenaged women through tutoring, mentoring, and college and high school preparation. I assist in the organization of community service opportunities as well plan field trips to cultural events. Finally, I lead seminars in sex education and health, life skills lessons, nutrition and fitness, and conflict resolution. During the fall semester of 2010, I volunteered with Bright Beginnings Inc., a non-profit organization that provides early education to homeless children from Washington, D.C. I designed attractive classroom decorations to promote a vibrant, healthy learning environment conducive for optimal growth. I also led literacy activities with preschool aged students. I closely observed students skills, interests, and needs to encourage learning and the development of a positive self-esteem. Additionally, I expanded my communication and interpersonal skills as I maintained a relationship with student parents to report their childs progress. From June 2009 to August 2010, I held the position of Lead Program Coordinator with a nonprofit organization, Kid Power Inc. This civics-based organization provides academic enrichment and service learning opportunities to District of Columbia public elementary school students from underserved communities. My duties as lead program coordinator included designing and implementing daily lesson plans of original curriculum in Art, English, and Social Studies; managing and instructing a classroom of at least 20 students; and planning and executing day

long extracurricular field trips to enhance my lessons. Extensive training associated with position allowed me to expand my curriculum development and classroom management skills.

Before working with Kid Power Inc., I tutored twice a week and taught Saturday School with Breakthrough D.C. from September 2008 to May 2009. This non- profit organization selects highly motivated middle school students from lower socioeconomic areas and trains teachers to plan and apply rigorous college preparatory curriculum. My duties for this position included assisting students with the successful completion of homework assignments during the week. On Saturdays, I used my own original lesson plans to instruct and manage a class of 15-20 students in creative writing and debate. I held my first position working with students at Magruder High School in Rockville, MD. As a classroom assistant, I provided teacher support by working one on one with Special Needs students to ensure that the staff met each students I.E.P accommodations. As I am currently doing again in my student teaching internship, I applied my trilingual skills to support students in the English as a Second Language program as well. After school, I assisted an extracurricular organization to motivate underprivileged students to pursue careers in science. My work with these various non-profits allowed me to meet the most beautiful students from underserved communities across Northeast and Southeast Washington, D.C. including neighborhoods Sirsum Corda, Trinidad, Mayfair, Columbia Heights, Southwest, Barry Farm, Congress Heights, and Anacostia. I truly enjoy collaborating with students, and learning about each one individually as well as their respective communities. I pride myself on forming and maintaining strong, positive relationships with my students and their families. I am supportive, flexible and understanding, but I hold all my students to equally high behavioral and academic standards. I am truly passionate about education and I want to dedicate my life to teaching and educational advocacy in urban communities. I believe that the most powerful mechanism of social reform comes from education. If curriculum supported this, then students would become an unstoppable source of strength and energy that could potentially demolish social inequality one day. I am eager to begin a career in a curriculum development as soon as I can. Always,

Georgina Stephens