Meet Scott Higgins, one of 2,200 new TFA teachers entering the classroom this year

Across the country, no city has been spared from the devastating impact of the teacher shortage. In 2019, almost one-third of Chicago’s public schools had at least one vacancy for a regular education or special education teacher position. The issue worsened during the pandemic and students returned to the classroom to more than 5,000 unfilled teaching positions statewide. 

The teacher shortage is not an isolated issue in Chicago or CPS schools, and Teach For America is working to address the crisis nationwide by providing the necessary resources to place educators in classrooms and have long careers in the field.

Nationally, this school year, over 2,200 new TFA teachers will enter classrooms, which is nearly 40% more new teachers than we brought in last year. In Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, recruitment is up by 37% from last school year. We spoke with one of our newest corps members, Scott Higgins, as he began the new school year as a kindergarten teacher at William H. Ryder Math and Science Elementary School in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of Chicago.

Scott Higgins, First Year Corps Member and Kindergarten Teacher at William H. Ryder Math and Science Elementary School

What surprised you the most in the first few weeks of the school year?

I was surprised by how quickly our classroom felt like a community. Though I was confident in my ability to build strong connections with my students, I anticipated it taking far longer than it did. After the first few days their shy smiles turned into giant grins and big bear hugs. I am so fortunate to have a class of compassionate and curious students who truly care about one another. They make every day well worth the effort.

How are you hoping to make an impact on your students this year?

I want to create a classroom where every student feels seen, heard, accepted, and challenged. To show up as their best selves, ready to learn, students need to feel safe and understood. By creating genuine connections with my students, getting to know their strengths, opportunities, passions, and personalities, I hope to start my students on the path to become lifelong learners and empowered changemakers.

What is something new you’ve discovered about the neighborhood you teach and/or live in?

During orientation, staff were presented with a graph that compared the violence experienced by residents of Auburn Gresham to Chicago as a whole. According to the data, residents of Auburn Gresham were twice as likely to experience violence when compared to the city average. Though this data is not new, nor is it necessarily interesting in the colloquial sense, it is something that stuck with me and informs how I approach my students and other members of the community. My students, and their families, deserve my utmost respect, patience, and grace. Though I know my students are capable of greatness, they are also in need of additional sources of support. It is my responsibility to understand their unique needs, assist them in any way I can, and utilize my resources to provide them with what I can’t. I am honored to be accepted into this resilient community and spending my years of service learning from, and working alongside, its amazing members.

What does being an equity-oriented leader mean to you?

To me, being an equity-oriented leader means meeting children where they are and discovering what they need from me to effectively learn. Equity does not mean equality; there is no such thing as an average or optimal student. Every student comes to school with a unique set of abilities, emotions, experiences, and interests. It is the responsibility of the equity-oriented leader to understand those complexities and leverage the resources needed to help them achieve. In practice, this means creating a classroom culture of inclusivity and providing my students with rigorous and culturally relevant instruction, in the method and manner that best suits their academic and emotional needs.