Teachers for the People Program
Teachers for the People Program (TPP) is a community-rooted educator preparation program focused on increasing the number of diverse, justice-oriented teachers in early learning and K–3 classrooms. Grounded in deep partnerships with Tribal Nations, school districts, and community organizations, TPP centers Indigenous pedagogy, knowledge systems, and leadership throughout the program. High school students engage in hands-on learning, mentorship, and culturally responsive instructional units that honor Indigenous ways of knowing, community models, relationship to land, water and living things, historical and contemporary issues, and identity. TPP is guided by the belief that Indigenous voices must be at the center of shaping educational spaces—not just included, but leading. By uplifting those historically excluded from the profession and actively engaging Native leaders and educators, the program helps future teachers build relationships, cultural humility, and a deep commitment to equity. Students have the opportunity to take the Paraprofessional Assessment allowing them to be qualified for hire once graduated.
This work disrupts the cycle of exclusion and marginalization in educational spaces and fosters a climate where students and educators of color thrive.
Teachers for the People Programming is embedded in the Teacher Academy CTE course at Northwest Career & Technical Academy in Mount Vernon and at Marysville Pilchuck and Marysville Getchell High Schools’ Introduction to Education, Careers with Children, and Child Development CTE courses. Vanessa Woo, the Workforce Diversification and Equity Administrator at the Northwest Educational Service District 189, administers the Teachers for the People Program.
Teachers for the People Partners: Bellingham Public Schools, College Spark Washington, The Foundation for Academic Endeavors, Marysville School District, Mount Vernon Schools, Northwest Career & Technical Academy, Samish Indian Nation, Skagit Valley College Maestros Para El Pueblo, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Tulalip Tribes, and Western Washington University.
Directly Addressing Barriers to Equity in Education
Teachers for the People Program has several goals for students and for teachers. First, by embedding tribal knowledge in classrooms, students of color—especially Indigenous youth—will see their identities and histories honored in the curriculum. This will build toward strengthening belonging and engagement.
Second, by building pathways for BIPOC youth to enter the education profession, we create long-term systemic change that challenges the current reality where 90% of educators in the NWESD region are white, while 47% of students are students of color. This program aims to increase workforce diversification, which can be measured over time using staff/student demographics via the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Report Card. The graphs below offer a visual comparison showing staff demographics compared to student demographics for the 2023-2024 school year.
Please reach out to Vanessa Woo, the Workforce Diversification and Equity Administrator for the program, at vwoo@nwesd.org if you have questions about the Teachers for the People Program!
Learn more about Workforce Diversification & Equity Resources & Services.