The Fullerton Secondary Teachers Organization was recently
awarded a two-year $500,000 grant from NEA’s Great Public Schools (GPS) fund.
FSTO will use the funds to continue the Cultivating Teacher Leaders project,
which helps grow and diversify the profession in California.

The project began in 2016 with participants from CTA’s
Instructional Leadership Corps, including FSTO member and grant writer Al
Rabanera, Myra Deister, and Armandina Turner. The team also includes FSTO
member Joan Ke and Aimee Nelson, Institute for Higher Education
partner from CSU Fullerton. That year FSTO received a $250,000 GPS
grant to launch and support the project. 

Specifically, the program recruits aspiring educators from
historically diverse populations; strengthens partnerships among K-12 districts,
higher education institutions, and CTA members and affiliates; mentors
educators from high school through university to accreditation and beyond; and
provides early-career educators with professional development.

In addition to diversifying the existing workforce, it takes “significant steps toward retaining teachers of color in our education system, a proven means of effectively narrowing student achievement gaps,” says FSTO President John Marvin.