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Dear Cotsen Colleagues,

Welcome to a series ofĚý videos recorded by fellows and mentors representing the graduating class of 2021. Although we cannot gather in person this year for the culmination of the fellowships, we are nonetheless excited to celebrate and salute our fellows and mentors on the journey that they have just completed.

The 2020-2021 school year was a momentous one. We grew in ways we didn’t know we could, we firmly held onto hope, and we tried every single day. As this year came to a close, a few of your colleagues took time to reflect and capture their thoughts about being a part of the fellowship. We hope you enjoy listening to and connecting with their experiences. Speaking on behalf of the 2021 graduating class are the following representatives: (Click the link to watch on YouTube).

First, our Founding Director, Mrs. Margit Sperling Cotsen, and I would like to share a few to thank the graduates for their dedication and commitment to teaching excellence.

, fellow, Villacorta Elementary, Rowland
, fellow, Hancock Park Elementary, Los Angeles
, fellow, Phelan Language Academy, Whittier City
, fellow, Whitaker School, Buena Park
, mentor, Beatty School, Buena Park
, mentor, Cabrillo Elementary, Wiseburn

To the graduating class, you inspire us, and we can hardly wait to witness all the magic that you will bring to your students.

Sincerely,

Jerry Harris
Executive Director

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried.
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý ĚýFrom “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman

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Nine African-American women posed, standing, full length, with Nannie Burroughs holding banner reading, “Banner State Woman’s National Baptist Convention” (1905-1915). Library of Congress, Lot 12572,

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A large crowd of spectators watch Eunice Padfield and her horse dive from a high tower in Pueblo, Colorado on July 4, 1905.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horse and rider plunge towards the pool below in Atlantic City. 1969.

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(1958)* – Photo caption reads:Ěý “Man at right defies convention and eye-searing pollutant as he strolls down Broadway wearing a gas mask, as Los Angeles battles another smog attack. Women on left suffer and use their handkerchiefs to wipe away their tears.” Photo dated: September 19, 1958

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The beginning of a new school year has historically conjured up visions of gleaming polished floors, freshly stocked classrooms, and the uncontainable excitement of students eager to see friends and find out who is going to be their teacher for the next 180 days. While these images are still part of our collective musings, we also find thoughts of social distancing, loss, and a myriad of additional challenges, both known and unknown, crowding into this idyllic mental landscape. We find ourselves in unfamiliar territory, making this school year profoundly different. Yet, in the most fundamental way, this year is the same as its predecessors in that there are still thousands of young people and their families looking to schools, specifically their teachers, to create a safe space for learning.

Our founder, the late Lloyd Cotsen, understood the power of the student and teacher dynamic. As a result, he established the Cotsen Foundation for ART of TEACHING to nurture the development of great teachers, who would bring life-changing magic to their charges. Mr. Cotsen wanted to ensure that boys and girls would experience at some point in their educational journeys, teachers who would help them change how they viewed themselves and the world, by challenging them and encouraging them to dream and achieve. I cannot think of a moment in recent history, when the transformative magic of great teachers has been needed more than it is now.

The Foundation’s Board and staff thank you for all you have done in preparation for this year, and we reaffirm our commitment to providing you with outstanding support in your quest towards instructional greatness in this new context. We have been busy over the past several months creating professional development opportunities that we trust you will find valuable.

Our goal has been to reimagine the provision of a full range of supports and resources so that you continue to grow your craft and refine the skills that are needed for effectively meeting the needs of students given our current reality.Ěý To that end, we will offer all of our traditional trainings in Literacy, Math, and Science instruction as well as the Annual Conference online. In addition to the subject matter trainings, we have added sessions on Social Emotional Learning/Trauma and strategies for engaging students and partnering with parents virtually to this year’s professional development opportunities.Ěý However, in order to best respond to your needs, the mode of workshop delivery will be reassessed throughout the course of the year. We are also extremely pleased to announce the creation of a special Alumni Portal that will be placed on our website to enhance the connection and sharing of resources for ART of TEACHING alumni teachers.

Mr. Cotsen once said, “Education can be a head game… an affair of the mind. But teaching is an affair of the heart.” We at the Foundation are very clear that the true hearts of teachers have been on display everyday since the pandemic swept across our communities. Your caring, resilience and flexibility over the last several months have been nothing less than inspiring. We are equally convinced that this same strength and commitment of heart will allow all of us who care about great teaching and learning to lean into the moment and create magic for students and each other. Welcome back and best wishes for many moments of joyful learning ahead!

Sincerely,

Jerry Harris

Executive Director
żě»îÁÖapp

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It is the żě»îÁÖapp’s sincere hope that you and your family are healthy and doing well during these unprecedented times.ĚýThe challenges we face during this pandemic are formidable, but are not ones that cannot be overcome. We, the non-medical, non-scientific members of the community, may not have the capacity to determine the therapeutic interventions needed to end this crisis, but our collective compassion, creativity, and willingness to make a difference help define the quality of life as we endeavor through it.

Social distancing, one of the guiding precepts of the day, need not mean emotional distancing. As such, from our perspective at The żě»îÁÖapp of TEACHING, the adage, “Once a Cotsen, always a Cotsen,” has never been more meaningful.ĚýAlthough our offices are currently closed in compliance of state and local guidelines, our commitment to you remains unwavering. We have adjusted how we work, and staff is busily working remotely to provide you with support and a variety of phenomenalĚýe-learning professional development opportunities. Our goal is to continue to be one of your resources for outstanding professional development while you are at home. You will receive more information about these opportunities and other supports soon.

The Cotsen Board and staff know that these are busy and uncertain days. We also understand that you are deep in the throes of trying to make the best of this extraordinary time for your students and families. But things will get better, and at some point these days will be behind us. In the meantime, we at the Foundation, are all just an email away, and look forward to staying connected with you in the weeks and months that lie ahead.

Stay safe and take good care.

Jerry

Jerry Harris
Executive Director

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Each month we will feature a primary source or collection that may support curriculum in history, science, math, language arts or visual and performing arts. If you have used a primary source in your classroom that you have found particularly engaging for your students, please send it along to us so we can share it. You can send them to Judith Kantor (jkantor@labschool.ucla.edu) and Sylvia Gentile (sgentile@labschool.ucla.edu).

As the country gets ready for the 2020 elections, we are highlighting a Library of Congress exhibition that focuses women’s fight for the right to vote. In addition to many familiar images, the collection begins to explore the role of women of color in the seven decades of suffragists’ campaigns.

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How might Cotsen Fellows and Mentors implement inquiry teaching and learning into their classrooms?Ěý In October, November, and December approximately 80 teachers from Long Beach to La Puente explored this question when they visited UCLA Lab School. These visits have launched an ongoing collaboration between the Cotsen and UCLA Lab School teachers.

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In the spring of 2014, Alyssa Davis, a teacher at Rio Del Mar Elementary School in Pajaro Valley Unified School District was in the middle of a divorce. Alyssa had a one-year-old at home, and she was in the 8th year of her teaching career. Although she loved being in education,Ěýshe was feeling discouraged and disheartened.

That year, the Cotsen Foundation came to Rio Del Mar to present the żě»îÁÖapp of TEACHING fellowship. After some consideration, Alyssa applied and received the opportunity to expand her professional horizons by becoming a Cotsen Mentor.

“Shortly after beginning my time with ART of TEACHING, I was feeling rejuvenated and inspired as an educator for the first time in a long while,” Alyssa admitted.

Devin Avey was eleven years into his teaching career at Rio Del Mar Elementary School when he applied and was accepted as a Cotsen fellow. He was looking forward to a brand-new opportunity to grow his teaching practices, more excited than ever.

“I felt proud that I had been selected to be a fellow,” said Devin.Ěý “I learned so much that first year; it was truly a “mind blowning” type of experience because it pushed me in a radically different approach to teaching. With Common Core just emerging, the żě»îÁÖapp of TEACHING fellowship was exactly what I needed.”

However, during the summer of 2015, Devin tragically lost his wife. His colleagues banded together to support Devin in his time of grieving, yet it was unclear what the future would hold for Devin.

“I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t want to continue with the fellowship starting back up in fall,” added Alyssa. “I knew it would be an added responsibility and commitment that Devin might not be up for during that terrible time.”

To the surprise and admiration of his family, friends, and colleagues, he came back to work and continued the fellowship.

Throughout the second year of the żě»îÁÖapp of TEACHING fellowship, Devin and Alyssa developed themselves as educators and deepened their friendship, based on professional respect, relatable personal life situations, and good-hearted humor.Ěý

“The Cotsen Foundation’s ART of TEACHING fellowship literally saved my career,” said Devin. “I had an inspiring first year of teaching as a fellow, but my second year was colored with gloom. I had completely lost the wind in my sails with barely enough motivation to show up on time each day at work. My loss had drained me of my passion for teaching.”

As time went, things slow began to look up for Devin and the end of 2016, the Rio Del Mar cohort graduated from the fellowship. “Along with friends and family, my Cotsen family kept me going,” admitted Devin. “The collaboration and passion for deepening our craft of teaching helped pull me out of my despair. Cotsen saved my career and my team inspired me to be a better teacher.”

While the fellowship had ended at Rio Del Mar, the work started there did not. As teachers continued developing their pedagogy and grow together as a school team, one February night something else grew.

ĚýDuring a staff celebration, Alyssa and Devin noticed something deep between them. Something they hadn’t quite realized had been brewing between them. “We realized that night that we were both in a place in our lives where we were ready for a change,” said Alyssa.Ěý “We were ready for a partner, ready for something deeper and more personal than what we already had.”

Sixteen months later, they were engaged, and a year after that, they were married on June 21, 2019.

With a shared passion for education, their bond grew, and their relationship flourished. They had struck a healthy balance between “teacher talk” and life outside of education.

“Here we are on our 6^thĚýtrip to the Cotsen Annual ART of TEACHING Conference, attending as husband and wife,” said Alyssa. “We are eager to encourage each other in our educational endeavors…truly all thanks to Mr. Cotsen and his vision to turn good teachers into great ones!”

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