Author Archives: Woody

Expanding the Pool of Teacher Candidates

An Alma Exley Scholar is one of the leaders of a state-wide program that is addressing the teacher shortage while increasing the diversity of Connecticut’s educators.

Dr. Violet Jiménez Sims, whom we honored in 2008, is making a difference with the Connecticut Teacher Residency Program (CT-TRP), which is enabling university graduates to obtain teacher certification.

Prior to joining CT-TRP, she was a teacher and school leader and served on the faculty of the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. She was honored as a PDK Distinguished Educator Fellow in 2024.

Dr. Violet Jiménez Sims

Rapid Growth

The state approved CT-TRP in 2019 with the twin goals of nurturing more teachers and increasing teacher diversity. Since then, the program has grown to partner with 27 school districts across the state.

A total of 135 TRP graduates are teaching in Connecticut public schools. Over 90 percent of them identify as people of color.

Currently, 40 future teachers are enrolled in two elementary cohorts and two special education cohorts. They will complete the program this summer and are expected to be teachers of record in the fall of 2025.

Dr. Sims is managing director of academic programming and legislative affairs with CT-TRP. Her colleagues on the leadership team are Ushawnda Mitchell, managing director of residencies and financial management, and Dr. Niralee Patel-Lye, managing director of recruitment, retention, and partnerships.

TRP Featured in International Magazine

Dr. Sims is co-author of an article about the program in the Kappan magazine, a publication of PDK International, an honor society for educators. Read the full article.

As the article points out, the teacher pipeline has become much narrower over the past five decades. The number of students graduating from college with bachelor’s degrees in education shrank from 176,307 in 1970-71 to 85,058 in 2019-20.

Over the same period, the teacher workforce became significantly less diverse than the students attending public schools. In the 2020-21 school year, only about 20 percent of U.S. K-12 public-school teachers were persons of color, while students of color comprised over half of public-school enrollment.

In Connecticut, that disparity is even starker. Only 11 percent of public-school educators are persons of color compared to over half of students.

Historical Perspective

Teachers of color have not always been so scarce. Black educators were present in great numbers in segregated, Black schools before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ordered schools to be desegregated in 1954. Black schools were closed, and Black students were slowly integrated into white schools. Because so many white schools would not hire Black educators, more than 100,000 Black educators were dismissed or demoted.

Promoting Diversity

Connecticut is attempting to overcome the diversity gap through a variety of initiatives. So-called grow-your-own teacher-preparation programs begin recruiting future teachers as early as high school. Other programs offer alternate routes to teacher certification that target college graduates from diverse professional backgrounds.

The Connecticut Teacher Residency Program is an alternate-route program that uses a comprehensive approach to recruit, train, and retain teachers of color. CT-TRP recruits candidates with bachelor’s degrees from any racial or ethnic background. Candidates should have a passion for working with children, experience working with marginalized communities, and a commitment to diversity in education. Most candidates are recruited from noncertified staff working in partner school districts and those working and living in the community.

Full-Year Paid Residency

CT-TRP residents take courses as part of a full-year residency model in which they also work alongside a mentor teacher in the district while receiving pay and benefits. After the one-year residency, they are assigned their own classroom where they receive mentoring support for three additional years.

Partner districts pay CT-TRP residents during the residency year. In return, the residents commit to teach in the district for a minimum of three years.

The salary, aligned with a living wage, demonstrates partner districts’ commitment to a grow-your-own approach and provides a one-year safety net (with the promise of a teacher’s salary in year two) and an incentive for residents to persevere in the program.

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Literacy Night Shows Students Reading Is Fun

Ivy Horan is going all out to share her love of reading with students at Mayberry School in East Hartford, where she is a first-grade teacher.

This enthusiastic self-starter has organized a highly successful, school-wide Literacy Night for the students and their parents.

Ms. Horan, whom we honored in 2019, is in her fifth year of teaching at the elementary school where students of color comprise 91 percent of the student body.

Ivy Horan in her classroom library, stocked with multicultural books.

Previously, she organized a Multicultural Night to celebrate the rich diversity of the Mayberry students, whose families hail from many countries and who speak well over two dozen languages other than English.

Equity Team Project

Ms. Horan suggested the event to her principal, Angela Hewins, at the start of the academic year when the Equity Team, which she co-leads, was planning its calendar of events.

“Angie enthusiastically endorsed the plan,” she said. “She is very supportive of any events that can bring our families closer together within the school community.”

Hundreds of books donated

Enthusiastic Community Response

Ms. Horan and Kennedy Martin, co-leader the Equity Team, solicited donations of books via Facebook and local online forums. They collected more than 1,000 used and new books. Many of the books reflected the multicultural character of the student body and many supported social and emotional learning.

On the big night, students from kindergarten through fifth grade packed the cafeteria along with parents, teachers, and professors and students from the University of Saint Joseph, who are partnering with Mayberry on various educational projects.

The East Hartford Public Library also supplied books, and staff provided information on library resources. FoodCorps, a supplier of farm-to-school provisions, donated cookies and locally sourced milk for the event. The school’s Family Resource Center staffed a table to inform parents of community resources.

Teachers, Parents, and Students Reading

“The evening began with teachers at each cafeteria table reading books to students and their families,” Ms. Horan said. “Angelica Silva, our bilingual family specialist, read books in Spanish as well. Then students began ‘shopping’ for books, and parents began reading to their own children. And some of our fifth graders began reading to the younger children. It was beautiful!

“Each student took home at least 10 books. USJ students guided families to books that were age-appropriate for their children,” she said. “Students were excited to get new books, and parents expressed their appreciation.

“The entire Literacy Night process—from planning to execution– was a testament to how kind people can be,” Ms. Horan said. “When I reached out to the community for book donations, dozens of people responded. People dropped off books at my house, and I picked up books from their homes as well. My Equity Team co-leader, Kennedy Martin, did the same. Both of us received an immense amount of support. 

“Then, when it came to the event, our amazing school staff and community partners were enthusiastically involved. I had a smile on my face the entire time! Families were excited not only to receive free books for their children, but also to connect with one another. Parents said they enjoyed listening to others read stories as well as reading stories themselves.

“When we give students the tools to read, they are able to have the power to learn, engage in the world around them, and prepare for their future,” she said. “Our school prioritizes literacy instruction daily, and these books help students to have the ability to practice those skills at home.”

Attendees learned about library resources.

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Educator Turns Entrepreneur While at Harvard

Pursuing a doctorate at Harvard would be challenging enough for most people.

But Vernon-James Riley, whom we honored in 2008, has launched an ambitious education consulting venture, VJR Consulting Firm, while studying at the prestigious university in Cambridge, Mass.

In 2024, Mr. Riley and his team of eight education professionals worked with clients in more than a dozen cities from Massachusetts to Texas. The firm helps schools to accelerate teacher development, refine leadership practices, and strengthen instructional systems.

Vernon-James Riley

Alma Exley Scholar at Yale

We introduced Mr. Riley as an Alma Exley Scholar while he was an undergraduate at Yale. His proud grandmother, Ruby Riley, who had raised him, had taken the train from Harlem to join in the celebration in Hartford.

Ruby Riley with Vernon-James at scholarship celebration.

Advanced Degrees

He went on to earn master’s degrees from Michigan State, Teachers’ College at Columbia University, and Relay Graduate School of Education.

He began his career as a teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y, and served in school leadership positions in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and Newark, N.J. Before returning to his studies, he served and supported leaders across the country in several roles at the Relay Graduate School of Education.

Expertise in Professional Development

VJR Consulting supports school and system leaders with developing the mindsets, skills, habits, and systems for transformative instructional leadership. Strengthening the capabilities of these educators has produced measurable improvements in student achievement.

Last year, the firm provided training and coaching to educators in nine cities, having an impact on more than 200,000 students. The firm also partnered with educational organizations to deliver professional development in 10 additional cities.

Vernon-James Riley conducting professional-development session for educators.

Supporting Development of Leaders

How did Mr. Riley get started as an education consultant?

“I had done some consulting work prior to Harvard,” he told me. “But it accelerated once I began my doctoral program, in part because I wanted to continue the work.

“I loved supporting schools through leader development,” he said. “But also, I was motivated by the very real reason that I needed to supplement my small doctoral stipend.”

Growing the Business

“Initially, the work began to build organically, mostly through word-of-mouth referrals. People assumed that since I had gone back to school, I might have time to work on projects. Others, who had worked with me through my previous employer, wanted to keep working with me directly.

“Once I realized there was a need for my expertise in the field, I founded the firm as an LLC in 2023. I then began to reach out to individuals in my network who knew the caliber of my work. Only recently have I begun to build a social media presence and try to market my firm to organizations I may not yet know.”

Positive Results

Whether it’s providing professional learning, offering executive coaching, or facilitating strategic planning, VJR Consulting has gained a reputation as a valuable resource for educators.

The firm has trained more than 10,000 educators in well over a dozen cities across the country and in the United Kingdom. Coaching school leadership teams in nine urban districts has resulted in double-digit gains in student performance in mathematics and/or English language arts in a single year.

Please join me in congratulating Vernon-James Riley on launching a successful business while pursuing his doctorate.

Contact him at

Or he may be reached on social media at https://linktr.ee/vjrconsulting

After May we’ll be calling him Dr. Riley.

  • Woody Exley

Vernon-James with Ruby Riley at Alma Exley scholarship event.