This summer, The Trust spoke with leaders of nonprofits on the front lines helping New Yorkers through the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing the renewed calls for racial justice.
These interactive briefings give our donors a chance to meet community changemakers while providing updates on the various fields we support. To learn more about joining our community of compassionate donors contact us at giving@thenytrust.org or visit our Ways to Give page.
To learn about how the city moved 1.1 million public school students online, The Trust spoke with Lynette Guastaferro, chief executive officer of Teaching Matters. Her nonprofit provides professional development to schools nationwide to help close the achievement gap for underserved students.
When schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Teaching Matters jumped into action and helped teachers get ready for remote learning. It created free online resources for teachers to use in their new “classrooms” (a.k.a. kitchen tables) and conducted webinars for educators.
In the short video clips below, Guastaferro explains the inherent challenges of moving learning online, the lingering effects of disrupting the school system, and how they helped teachers talk about racial justice with their students.
“Every teacher was a first-year teacher”
Guastaferro discusses the fundamentals of changing to remote learning.
“The real challenge…is engagement”
Guastaferro stresses the importance of the teacher-student bond.
“How to have race conversations”
Guastaferro talks about teachers’ desire to learn how to talk about race.
“Learning gaps”
Guastaferro predicts the current situation will have lasting effects.
Read more about how we are tackling the challenges of remote learning.