Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1512793
The Educator first wrote about Scott in late 2020, recognizing Raising Leaders' accomplishments in serving 240 students in Alameda County and collab- orating with community to offer 164 paid internships and raising $800,000 from local government and pri- vate donors to expand services. Fast forward three years, and Scott and Raising Leaders have: • raised a total of $5.6 million — and counting; • four certificated teachers and a full-time intern under Scott, all former students, who help manage her students (including a virtual class on Wednes- day nights with 180 students); • established a $1 million annual youth payroll so students, after taking her eight-week workshop that counts as credit recovery, can interview for and work at internships in city and county departments as well as CSU East Bay paying up to $24 per hour; • started serving 8th graders in both continuation and tra- ditional high schools, meaning the program now serves youth as young as 14 and up to 25; • started serving youth in juvenile custody, who after they take the workshop can earn $20 per hour in paid internships, gaining work experience — the first such model in the nation. In addition, Raising Leaders has adopted 66 blocks in Hayward that students regularly keep clean as community service, opened a store on campus where Pre-K–12 students can get free, brand-new clothes and supplies; and expanded a program where students help with homework tutoring and enrichment activities in several school districts in Alameda County. Scott has forged partnerships with multiple city and county agencies and leaders, CSU East Bay, and commu- nity businesses and organizations; she taps all of them for internships, workshop guest speakers, funding and more. She is thankful for their support, and for providing top-tier opportunities. " Two of my former students are getting elite experience going out with firefighters on 911 calls!" she says proudly, referring to a Raising Leaders paid internship. While touting what Raising Leaders has achieved, Scott is quick to note that it did not come easy. "I worked so hard," she says, becoming emotional. "I forget how much I've been through and how hard it was. I never gave up, I just kept on going." Scott herself was expelled from Hayward High School at age 15. She moved in with her sister, who was a case man- ager at a nonprofit that helped youth find summer jobs, and became an intern in that program. She liked helping others so much that she went back to high school and later earned her credential to teach adult education through the Univer- sity of San Diego. "I know firsthand what it's like to be a troubled student," she says. "I won't let people tell me 'no' when it comes to creating opportunities for our children. When I see students hopeful about their future and becoming confident, it's priceless. Nobody can take that away from them." In Scott's application to the NEA Foun- dation selection panel, she makes clear the difficulties she's faced: "By serving the popu- lations I serve, I have been held at gun point twice [on campus] due to gang violence, I have been stalked, harassed and had my safety ripped away from me. Through all these trials and tribulations, I remained true to my calling which is being a teacher." Hayward Education Association President Mercedes Faraj alluded to these challenges in describing Scott's impact in her nomination letter to the NEA panel. "She con- tinued her calling to serve students that are the most at-risk within our community. "Ms. Scott has been able to change the trajectory of hun- dreds of young lives and has dedicated her career to raising up an inclusive workforce for our community and our nation." Recipients of the 2024 NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence will be honored at the NEA Foundation Salute to Excellence in Education on May 3, 2024, in Washington, DC. To hear more about Davida Scott and Raising Leaders, listen to the November 2023 ProBaytion in Alameda County podcast at bit.ly/davidascott. "My union paved the way for me to build Raising Leaders. I would not be where I am now without [the union]." Scott, center, with students interning with Alameda County firefighters, along with Raising Leaders staff, the Hayward Adult School director and the District 2 county supervisor. 15 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 24