Transforming Education in LAC, One Inspiring Teacher at a Time
The USAID Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean’s Leadership for Change in Education Program inspires people from diverse disciplines to become effective teachers and leaders across Latin America.
Meet Amelia, A Teacher in Ecuador
Amelia, a graphic designer by training and an art teacher by profession, believes, “Being a teacher is being a little bit of everything: being a friend, being a psychologist...It's being able to develop skills and confidence in students.”
Amelia teaches high school at the Juan José Plaza College of Fine Arts in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s second largest city. Her mostly lower-to-middle income students come from all over the country’s coastal region to attend school. While the school has limited technological resources for teaching graphic design classes, Amelia believes in the power of creativity and is always looking for new ways to deliver lessons and help students realize their full potential. “I strive to connect with my students through different teaching methodologies and strategies, even if it means stepping out of my comfort zone,” she says.
Seeking to expand her training and impact as an educator, Amelia applied to be a Teaching Fellow in the USAID-funded Leadership for Change in Education Program, implemented by the Teach For All Network, which provides training for professionals from any discipline and helps them to become adept teachers, school directors, and life-long leaders and mentors.
While some participants, like Amelia, already work in education, many come from other fields and bring unique experiences and skill sets. The program invests in participants’ development as collaborative leaders who will pursue lasting change for children, within and beyond the education sector, throughout their careers.
Leadership for Change emphasizes how teachers can shape the lives of young people—especially those who live in vulnerable contexts—by providing support and positive educational experiences. Amelia recalls, “I saw a post that said, ‘Are you a leader? Do you like education? Do you want to transform education?’ and I thought, Wow! It jolted me.”
Primary TextAre you a leader? Do you like education? Do you want to transform education?”
A Holistic Approach with Big Impact
The holistic Leadership for Change program places participants into classrooms for an initial two-year commitment, providing both training and coaching sessions over the duration of the program. To date, the Leadership for Change in Education Program has recruited more than 610 teachers and 80 principals to serve in 365 schools, reaching 52,800 primary and secondary students in Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
The training focuses on teaching methods and strategies, social emotional skills, leadership development, and lesson planning methodologies — all tools that can transform classrooms. The lessons emphasize dynamic and interactive approaches to spark students’ interests and keep them focused in the classroom.
For Amelia, both the quality of teaching methods and the warmth of the teacher are essential, and these two components are “...something that is lived daily” by Leadership for Change participants. In that spirit, she learned to build her lessons around the students: “I spend time in the last minutes of my classes asking them how they are doing and what they want to learn in the next class. ... So, I have to prepare that material to hook them.”
One of the most important topics for Amelia was how to effectively modify her classes from in-person to virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We didn't know how to make the transition from face-to-face to virtual. [Teach For All] came just at the right time in my life. And it was something incredible, an experience that left a mark on me.”
Primary Text...it was something incredible, an experience that left a mark on me.”
Building Networks of Teacher Leaders
After completing the program, participants become a part of the regional alumni network. The Leadership for Change program has connected 445 program alumni across the three countries so alumni can continue receiving support beyond the classroom.
As a program alumna, Amelia has collaborated with colleagues in Guayaquil on student art exhibitions and on workshops for parents and students to discuss challenges in the school community, like the prevention of drug use and teenage pregnancy. She is part of a virtual alumni group that shares problems and seeks solutions within and beyond the classroom.
That support system helps Amelia and other alumni with professional growth, and it turns colleagues into friends. “They change [you]. You transform yourself and you want to infect everyone with this vibe that we can do something for our education. ... From our classrooms, we can help make a big change.”
Primary TextFrom our classrooms, we can help make a big change.”
About this story
This story was created in collaboration with USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Leading Through Learning Global Platform to enhance education program quality by highlighting and elevating successful approaches around the world.
More about the Leadership for Change in Education and Teach For All Network
The USAID-funded Leadership for Change in Education Program is led by the Teach For All Network. Teach For All partners recruit participants with diverse backgrounds, academic disciplines, and professional interests to provide quality education and opportunities for students in under-resourced schools and communities. The program achieves this through the recruitment and training of Teaching Fellows, alumni leadership and engagement activities, and capacity building of local organizations. Implemented by Teach For All—through its partner organizations Enseña por Colombia, Enseña Ecuador, and Enseña por Paraguay—the multi-country program is building networks of education professionals who exercise collective leadership to help all students fulfill their potential across Latin America.