Who We Are
Our Vision: The Teachers’ Lounge is an education-based nonprofit organization seeking to drive unprecedented student outcomes by greatly diversifying the people, thoughts, and actions of the educational workforce in the Greater Boston Area and beyond.
Our Mission: In efforts to recruit, revitalize, and retain Educators of Color, The Teachers’ Lounge develops and implements innovative solutions for building more diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning and professional environments for all stakeholders.
Recruit
Bringing candidates of color into the profession and into new roles across the state.
Revitalize
Helping current educators of color recharge their passion, energy, and purpose in community.
Retain
Provide current educators of color with support and access to resources/opportunities.
Our Why
Our Theory of Change: Retention & Revitalization are the strongest recruitment tools. We are focused on ensuring that current Educators of Color (EOC) feel valued, supported, and poured into. We aim to reignite and revitalize EOC, and support school and district leaders in their ability to do the same. Until we address our retention woes, we simply cannot ever expect to make significant strides in our recruitment attempts. We will inexplicably be attempting to fill a holey bucket. When we retain AND revitalize EOC they become recruitment assets & champions of our schools, and unequivocally, our students win.
How We Do It
Our Programming
Community Cultivation
Educators of Color from across the Commonwealth join a community that affirms the rich diversity of experiences and backgrounds rarely reflected in our schools, at present.
Learning and Development
Educators of Color take part in our monthly panels, workshops, and professional development programming to improve individual and collective practice. Schools, organizations, and community partners are supported in developing and implementing equity-centered hiring and retention strategies.
Sustainability & Growth
Through our Classroom Leaders of Color (CLOC) Fellowship, we seek to provide continued support, coaching, mentorship, and resources to address the specific needs of early career Educators of Color, therefore improving the skills, well-being, and sustainability of cohort members.
Representative Research
We engage in research, analysis, consultation, and synthesis of information, rooted in the lived experiences of Educators of Color, to produce thoughts, ideas, and practical approaches to promoting equity in our education system in an attempt to build stronger recruitment pipelines and retention strategies for Educators of Color.
Career Advancement & Mobility
Educators of Color are connected with other Educators of Color and Hiring Managers from our 191 school/district partners to gain access to new resources and opportunities. Hiring Managers are connected to a diverse collective of Educators of Color across 10 months of TTL programming, allowing opportunities to develop sustainable relationships. Candidates and hiring managers gain access to a job portal and virtual hiring fair, where Educators of Color are in the driver’s seat of the career exploration experience.
