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“We’ve made a good friend and are even more motivated toward our work in education and international development.” Here is the rest of the report by Jessica Shyu, RCEF volunteer and Teach For America Program Director, about her meeting with Shum Sai Tak. Comments are very welcome. (Picture: Shum Sai Tak (r) and his son Tom, on the U.S.-Mexico border.)

Friday, January 11, 2008
School visits, dinner: On this day, I had to go to work early and wasn’t able to take ST and Tom with me. Bill took them to observe IDEA Public Schools in the morning. While there, ST was able to observe the major charter school system in the Rio Grande Valley. IDEA was established by a former TFA corps member who believed that low-income students in the Valley needed an alternative school system that would guarantee them a college preparatory experience. The K-12 school system emphasizes rigorous courses, character development, extended school days and parental involvement. The belief is that if this school system is able to educate more than half of the children in the Valley and get them to graduate from a 4-year college, then the public school systems would be forced to truly reform their ways, because it would be proven that it’s possible and necessary to educate our children in low-income communities to go to college.

ST’s tour was led by two high school students at IDEA. They visited classrooms and spoke to the students. ST was inspired to the point of wanting to send his youngest son to the school.

In the afternoon, I take ST to visit a classroom of one of my 6-grade teachers. She teaches at a public school. ST took note of the finished, properly resource building that her school was in.

At night, we all go to meet up with some Teach For America corps members and staff members to discuss ST’s work in China. He is incredibly inspiring and has invited all of us to visit him in Shanghai.

Takeaway concepts:

- ST valued Bill’s insights on how Teach For America is so successful as an organization: Non-profits need to be run like a for-profit business.

- Teachers need to valued for what they do, otherwise no amount of motivation will be sustainable enough for a long-lasting organization. This means making sure all teachers are paid an equal or greater salary compared to their counterparts in cities. It also means encouraging teachers to work normal-ish hours. We all work extremely long days (12-15 hours), but part of what makes TFA successful now is that it encourages its staff greater balance between their personal and professional lives. This means encouraging ST school to change the 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. schedule that it currently has— emphasize hiring local staff to work with kids in the evenings, so the teachers have the opportunity to have families and personal lives. This work-life balance will help ensure a retention rate beyond one year.

Saturday, January 12, 2008
Seeing the Rio Grande Valley and Mexico:

In the morning, ST meets with one of IDEA’s principals, Natalie Basham. They talk about the similarities and differences between IDEA and the school ST works with in China. They both leave very inspired, and have discussed the possibility of partnering up with each other’s schools in the future. ST also asks Natalie about the possibility of sending his son to the school.

After speaking to Natalie, Bill, ST, Tom and I went to visit the more rural parts of the Rio Grande Valley in Roma, TX, had Mexican food, and went across the border to the Mexican town of Progreso.

Takeaway concepts:

- Student achievement needs to be the primary goal of the schools. It is not enough to simply want students to have a good experience in the schools; it is critical that they be knowledgeable and skilled enough to complete a 4-year college degree and have the same opportunities as student in high-income communities. That is the only sign of when the achievement gap has closed.

- All students, regardless of family background, race, socioeconomic status, deserve a great education and are capable of learning.

Sunday, January 13, 2008
Bill and I take ST and Tom to the bus station. At this point, ST goes to Monterrey, Mexico for a short trip, and Tom returns to Austin, TX. Bill and I learned an incredible amount from ST and are truly honored to have him stay with us. We’ve made a good friend and are even more motivated toward our work in education and international development.

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