PHILADELPHIA – The Greater Breakthrough Program, a unique nationwide initiative, is making strides in improving the student-to-teacher pipeline in Philadelphia.
This program has successfully produced new educators who are making significant impacts in the Philadelphia School District, including Kayla Banks, a fifth-grade teacher at James G. Blaine Public School in Strawberry Mansion.
What we know:
Kayla Banks, a Cheltenham Township native and Howard University graduate, is in her first year of teaching. She credits the Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia Program for her success.
The summer program is dedicated to training future teachers to meet the nationwide demand for educators. Banks taught middle school students for three summers before graduating, preparing her to take on her own classroom.
What they’re saying:
Banks’s students, Prince Thompson and Autumn Medlock, praise her teaching style.
Thompson calls her the “best teacher out of the whole school,” while Medlock appreciates having a young teacher, noting, “My teachers were always old.”
Kayla Banks shared her approach.
“I feel like I’m really good at setting classroom expectations with what the norms are in the classroom,” said Banks.
She emphasizes the importance of making grade-level material accessible to students with academic gaps.
Principal Gianeen Anyika of James G. Blaine Public School commends Banks’s preparedness and ability to plan lessons and structure her classroom.
“It’s amazing to see Ms. Banks coming in prepared, knowing what to do,” Anyika said, adding that she is now a believer in the Breakthrough Teaching Program.
Why you should care:
Representation in the classroom is crucial, especially for students in Strawberry Mansion
, “For me growing up, I didn’t have representation for myself until about middle school, upper middle 7-8th. And as soon as I walked in, that was like the first thing I connected with the students,” Banks noted.
Banks hopes to serve as an example and encouragement for others to consider a career in education. “Teaching is super rewarding,” she said, acknowledging the potential for burnout but emphasizing the importance of remembering one’s motivation.
The future is bright for Ms. Banks, and her journey highlights the impact of programs like Breakthrough in shaping the next generation of educators.
NewsEducation
