MILWAUKEE — Inside Maple Tree Elementary School, you’ll find two young men helping teach the students how to read and write.
Alfonso Lowe isn’t an official teacher there, but everyday when he comes into work, he feels like the 15 students in his class are his own.
“We’re the second line of defense. When you drop your kids off here, they get everything they need,” Lowe smiled.
Alfonso Lowe and Raynell Scales are fellows for the Literacy Lab’s Leading Men Fellowship. It’s a one-year program creating opportunities for young men of color to get involved in the field of education.
Every day, Lowe and Raynell go to Maple Tree School to teach their pre-kindergarten students how to write their names, sing catchy songs, and play educational games.
“Maybe when they’re older, they’ll remember who Mr. Scales was. They’ll say he taught me to write my name left to right,” Scales smiled as he practiced writing letters next to his students.
While teaching, the fellows receive coaching and professional development during the year.
The Fellowship has been in Milwaukee for five years. There are 14 fellows based at different schools throughout the city. They hope to bring that number next year to 20.
“We see how many students go through K-12 and don’t have educators of color. I think I myself had zero,” Bernard Rahming II, the Program director at Literacy Lab, said.
“Having young men in the classrooms changes the narrative in this city.”
When Richard Watkins, the educational leader at Maple Tree, was approached with the opportunity, he was ecstatic.
“I thought it was an awesome opportunity for students to have representation. Hopefully, when I’m done, they’ll continue to be those leaders in the classroom and school communities,” Watkins shared.
According to the National Teacher and Principal Survey, just 1.3% of public school teachers were Black men in the 2020-21 school year.
“They’re putting Black males back into the classroom so all the other boys and girls that look like me can look up to me and believe they can do whatever they want. They could be a teacher,” Lowe smiled.
The Literacy Lab, according to their website, is “an organization that provides students–in communities experiencing racial and/or economic inequities–with evidence-based, culturally responsive literacy instruction as preparation for academic, professional, and personal success.”
The Milwaukee Leading Men Fellowship is currently hiring for the next school year. No prior experience is needed and applications are available on their website.
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