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Goshen College
From left: Aurora Villegas, Isis Espinoza, Kaliah Lefever and Jakyra Green. Haley Arms, Daniela Menendez Rodriquez, Maria Lopez.

First two cohorts make strides in Teach Elkhart County program

October 6, 2021

Two cohorts of future educators are currently enrolled at Goshen College through Teach Elkhart County, a program that recruits, prepares, places, and retains students from underrepresented groups in Elkhart County.

These students, who come from Elkhart Community Schools, Concord Community Schools, Goshen Community Schools and Bethany Christian School, were honored during a signing event on Saturday, Sept. 25.

“Each Teach Elkhart County participant is a talented individual with their own story, intersectional identities, family and community network supporting them, and unique journey into the education profession,”said Elisa Zwier, director of Teach Elkhart County.

Teach Elkhart County is made possible through grants from The Community Foundation of Elkhart County and Lilly Endowment, Inc., as well as generous gifts from private donors.

Teach Elkhart County recruits, prepares, places and retains students from Elkhart County as they complete a bachelor’s degree and into their first year of teaching in a partner school. The program’s wrap-around mentorship model provides professional development, academic success coaching, and peer support.

“We join hundreds of programs nationwide that seek to create pipelines into the education profession, though each pathway is unique to its context,” Zwier said. “Our goal is to provide culturally relevant, community responsive mentorship and professional development to future teachers.”

The 2020 cohort includes:

  • Mariela Esparza, a secondary education and English major from Elkhart
  • Isis Espinoza, a secondary education and TESOL major from Elkhart
  • Jakyra Green, a secondary education and English major from Elkhart
  • Solana Hubbard, an elementary education major from Elkhart
  • Kaliah Lefever, a secondary education and English major from Elkhart
  • Aurora Villegas, a secondary education and Spanish major from Goshen

The 2021 cohort includes:

  • Haley Arms, an elementary education major from Elkhart
  • Jocsan Barahona Rosales, a secondary education and music major from Goshen
  • Maria Lopez, an elementary education major from Elkhart
  • Daniela Menendez Rodriguez, an elementary education and TESOL major from Elkhart
  • Mia Angela Pettit, an elementary education/special education major from Goshen