Observer Fellows Program
An initiative aimed at improving the diversity and representation of Teachstone’s Certified CLASS Observer community.
Congratulations to the 2022-2023 Observer Fellows!
Teachstone is excited to announce our distinguished CLASS Observer Fellows:
- Gina Bell
- Ka’Wanda Bell-Leggett
- Isabel Blair
- Katrina Brooks
- Alethea Brown
- Jacqueline Cruz Eligio
- Margarita Feliz
- Robert Fillmore
- Ana Sofia de Sousa Portugal Guichard
- Helen Huiling Cao
- Angelique Kirton
- Princess E. Leggett
- Sonia di-Majo
- Grace P. McFetridge
- Melody McGuire
- Rocio Muñoz
- Michelle Pérez
- Tara Rayers
- Tamara Shaheed
- Catherine Walker Slade
- Velvet Smith
- Carolyn Jean Thomas
- Tomoko Wakabayashi
- ShaiAsia Wannamaker
- Zulema Veronica Noziglia Wilde
- Natalie Williams
- Lettie M Williams
- Natalie Wistner
- Delilah Blanca Worrell
What is the Observer Fellows Program?
It is important that observers represent the diversity of programs where they will observe. This helps to ensure that they can capture more nuances in interactions than someone with limited experience in that setting. Observers must also be fluent in the languages of instruction in the setting they are observing. Currently, CLASS® Observers are significantly more likely to be white monolingual English speakers than the overall early childhood workforce.
To help correct this imbalance, we’ve launched the CLASS Observer Fellows program for BIPOC and multi-lingual educators who are underrepresented in the current observer pool relative to their use in early childhood settings.
During the 2022-2023 school year, 30 selected Observer Fellows are training and certifying as CLASS observers on either the Infant/Toddler or the Pre-K—K-3 age levels. In return, Fellows will provide feedback on Teachstone products, share their expertise on webinars, podcasts, and blogs, and conduct field observations.