The two esteemed organizations strive to close the region’s opportunity gap via strategic collaboration
Charlotte, NC – February 22, 2023 – Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (CML) announces a partnership with Teach for America North Carolina (TFA NC), a national nonprofit dedicated to expanding educational opportunity for children.
While informal partners for years, CML and TFA NC will now work together to develop a comprehensive, strategic, and sustainable partnership that will strengthen educational success for both entities. The partnership will be designed to enhance the professional development and skillset of CML staff and TFA NC staff, corps members, and alumni based in Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas.
Shared training focusing on the topic of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) will launch this summer. The Library’s robust branch system and experience with online programming will provide the infrastructure for delivering classes and seminars via in-person and online-based training modules. TFA NC corps members and alumni educators will be empowered in their classrooms to share Library resources such as the ONE Access initiative.
“CML and Teach for America North Carolina share a unified mission towards educational access and equity so it’s a logical next step for us to formalize our coalition of partnership in support of the hundreds of educators TFA brings to Mecklenburg County as alums and corps members serving education and education-related fields,” said Dr. Monique Perry-Graves, executive director of TFA’s North Carolina regions. “With the Library as our partner we are building the next generation of educational leaders.”
“A TFA NC and Library partnership just makes sense,” said Caitlin Moen, chief library services officer at CML. “We share a core belief in education access for all.”
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is one of America’s leading urban public libraries, serving a community of more than one million citizens in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Through 21 locations, targeted outreach, a Mobile Library, and online, the Library delivers exceptional services and programs, with a mission to improve lives and build a stronger community.
About Teach for America North Carolina
Teach For America (TFA) came to North Carolina in 1990. Since then, thanks in part to the strong support we have received from the North Carolina state government, we have trained nearly 4,000 teacher leaders in our great state, impacting more than 250,000 students. Each year, we place and support 225+ teacher leaders in school districts and charter school networks across Eastern North Carolina, Charlotte, and the Piedmont Triad. These corps members impact over 19,000 North Carolina public school students each year. Moreover, we regularly work to further develop the leadership of the 2,000+ Teach For America alumni who continue to live, work, and worship across our great state. Close to 900 of those alumni live and work in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg County area. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on our Social Media channels (https://linktr.ee/tfa_nc) and LinkedIn.
