Hi, I’m Tiffany,
I grew up in Aurora and attended Aurora Public Schools (APS) throughout my childhood. I am an Aunt-T motherscholar who now coparents my niece – an APS student – with my sister.
Growing up attending APS, I am deeply committed to ensuring that APS provides the best education for our students. In order to do this, I am pursuing my PhD in Education in Leadership for Education Equity in Urban and Diverse Communities at the University of Colorado Denver. I am also a CU Succeed Professor, CU Anschutz Pre-Health Scholars Instructor, and the Director of Outreach and Marketing at the Financial Education and Economic Transformation Center. I am an Achieving Excellence Academy Teacher at Denver Public Schools, and I am a substitute for Kelly Services. In APS, I substitute and provide an after-school financial literacy program for students.
All of these experiences inform my decision-making as a parent, as an educator, and as a leader. I care deeply about our students, and want to ensure they are receiving the best possible education in an environment that is culturally responsive, equitable, and safe. My education and experience has taught me that if our schools are healthy, safe, and equitable environments, then our teachers are more effective and we can achieve better results for our students. Academic success comes from our students and our teachers feeling safe in their place of learning, and I am committed to ensuring all of our schools meet that standard.
Making a difference starts at the top with our educational leaders. I am enthusiastic to contribute to making the change needed to create a culturally relevant, inclusive, and equitable educational environment, and I hope you’ll join me!
Putting Educators and Students First
Our teachers are the key to our students’ success. In order to ensure the success of our students, we need to make sure our teachers feel safe and fully supported in their roles as educators. One of the best ways we can support our educators is to increase their salary and pay frequency. When our educators feel stable and secure in their own lives, they can show up better for our students. Financial stability is only the beginning. We must make sure teachers feel safe and supported in their working environments. Ultimately, an investment in our educators is an investment in our students.
Cultural Responsiveness
Cultivating a culturally responsive environment for our educators and our students is essential for their success. The best way to do this is to hear directly from teachers and students about their concerns. We need to bring both students and teachers to the decision-making table so that we can make the changes that would make the most impact on their experiences. When we, as a school district, can be responsive to the needs and desires of our staff and our students, we can increase efficacy, retention, and productivity.
Equity in Education
We know that having an equitable education is a necessity for our students’ success, specifically our youth of Color. In order to ensure this for our students, we must dedicate resources to assist all students based on their specific needs. Aurora Public Schools is one of the most diverse school districts in Colorado, making our efforts to diversify what and how we teach, all the more important. I’m committed to evaluating our curriculum and resources to ensure that we are creating and perpetuating an educational environment in which all students can see themselves reflected in the material in meaningful ways; thus creating an equitable curriculum. Beyond this, we must include equity initiatives in our strategic plans to provide resources that ensure underserved students emphasizing African American students are not excluded from opportunities.
Equitable education is a necessity for our students’ success, specifically our youth of Color. In order to ensure this for our students, we must dedicate resources to assist all students based on their specific needs. I’m committed to evaluating our curriculum and resources to ensure that we are creating and perpetuating an educational environment in which all students can see themselves reflected in the material in meaningful ways; thus creating an equitable curriculum. Beyond this, we must include equity initiatives in our strategic plans to provide resources that ensure underserved students emphasizing African American students are not excluded from opportunities.