Dear First Teacher Community,

Are you feeling so tired? We are. Like you all, last year we kicked into high gear in full crisis mode, pulled through together, and were able to see the beauty in the mess. This year, we don’t have to turn to Dr. Google to know what’s up! Here’s our treatment plan:

Symptoms:

After effects of last year’s prolonged adrenaline rush paired with...

The “I’m sort of a total mess of a human being”* feeling paired with…

The "I can't remember any of the details of what was hard, but I know it's been really hard”** feeling paired with...

Missing (and being anxious about!) in-person connections, especially long hugs, paired with…

An aversion toward Zoom meetings or gatherings paired with…

Worry about our children’s social-emotional state paired with...

Uncertainty about basically everything.

Diagnosis: Long-Term Exhaustion

Antidotes:

Bring in new energy: We are so lucky to have welcomed two First Teacher parent participants into our staff this fall. Erika has been interested to learn about “the real work behind the scenes, and the amount of patience and time it takes to come up with good programming for families.”  Latisha, “for the first time in a long time, [feels] a part of a strong commitment to better our community; it has opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of who and what I want to be.”

Continue to be flexible and responsive: Parents/caregivers need space to connect, grieve, and support each other. Our weekly PVCPs (Parent Virtual Commiseration Parties) have been on since April 2020 in English and Spanish. Parents/caregivers want and need support around reinstituting routines for our children after over a year without them, and if they include literacy, even better! Our bi-lingual good night book clubs are a hit. 

Do things differently: We have shifted our partnership model to allow even more choice for families. We are actively seeking out and being sought out by values-aligned organizations like Horizons for Homeless Children, ABCD Head Start, and Boston Scores.

Work collectively: This year, in addition to supporting our work, we are excited to ask you to support Little Uprisings, an organization focused on centering racial justice and liberation with kids and their caregiving allies. Little Uprisings was founded by Tanya Nixon-Silberg, a Black mother, artist and Bostonian as a way to make sure our kids are seen and affirmed.  Little Uprisings’ mission --be it in schools with teachers developing culturally relevant curricula, in a community center with children talking about gentrification or helping parents develop their own values about racial justice, --is actively anti-racist, joyful, and Black affirming steadfastly focused on our collective liberation.  You can find out more and get in contact at littleuprisings.org.

Ask our community for support:  Last year, our annual appeal goal was $35,000, and you SHOWED UP, helping us far surpass that goal. This year, our goal is $50,000, which we will use to continue operationalizing our model.

We wish you rest this holiday season - even though that sounds like a paradox! Please take good care of yourself.

As always, thank you for believing and investing in the idea that all children have the right to be ready for kindergarten and beyond and that all parents and caregivers have the power to prepare them to do so. 

With love, respect, and gratitude,

The First Teacher Team