From students to teachers, TEACh Cincinnati is transforming communities

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) announced on Jan. 22, 2025, that it had selected Miami University’s TEACh Cincinnati program as the recipient of its inaugural “Increasing Educator Diversity: Promising Practice Award.”

TEACh Cincinnati started in 2017 as a partnership between Miami’s College of Education, Health and Society with Cincinnati Public Schools. It was created to address the growing teacher shortage in the United States by helping students of diverse backgrounds become educators within the Cincinnati Public School system.

“The TEACh program sets a high standard for innovation and excellence, serving as an inspiration to the entire educator preparation community for its outcomes in diversifying the Cincinnati educator workforce,” AACTE President and CEO Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy wrote in a statement announcing the award.

The program is not just limited to Miami undergraduate students; it spans from eighth grade students in Cincinnati’s schools to students who may want to pursue a master’s after graduating. According to its website, TEACh Cincinnati’s main focus is supporting and teaching students how to become effective educators in their community.

Teri’Ana Joyner, a junior integrated social studies education major, joined in the eighth grade. Initially, she had no desire to be a teacher.

“It wasn’t my first choice at all,” Joyner said. “[I] went to Aiken New Tech (High School), and that was the year they started the program. The teacher and the directors that were in it are what really made me want to be in the program.”

Seeing TEACh Cincinnati’s work first-hand, was what ultimately convinced Joyner to pursue a degree in education.

“I love the people in the community that it provided for me, because moving here, I didn’t have a whole bunch of family, and so that kind of became my family,” Joyner said. “Then they started talking about the teacher shortage and diversity in the classroom, and the lack thereof, and I was like, ‘That's what I want to do. I want to make a change.’”

Joyner also said part of TEACh Cincinnati’s goal is to place its alumni back into the schools they grew up in so they can act as role models, give back to their community and let students with diverse backgrounds see more representation in the teaching staff.

Shawn Bell, a sophomore primary education major, joined TEACh Cincinnati this year and found that teaching kids in the area he grew up in has been deeply rewarding.

“That’s what made me actually want to be in the program: pursuing education [and] to be able to be that role model for students, whatever grade, whatever subject,” Bell said. “I feel like it’s a really cool experience, and it has always been my passion to give back to my community.”

Students who participate in TEACh Cincinnati often receive direct support from one-on-one meetings with professors, weekly check-ins with TEACh Cincinnati staff and financial assistance during and after school.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

Sydnie Singleton, the campus base coordinator for TEACh Cincinnati, meets with each student weekly to make sure they’re doing well in their classes. She said part of her job is to make sure that students feel supported and connected.

“TEACh Cincinnati creates a community within a community, having that common ground of being from Cincinnati and a lot of students being from the same schools creates a safe space for [them],” Singleton said. “It allows students to become the change that they want to see in schools when they go back to Cincinnati and teach after graduation.”

On Aug. 22, TEACh Cincinnati expanded its program even further by opening up a new affordable housing building in collaboration with St. Francis Seraph Church, located near downtown Cincinnati.

“In today’s economy, just having guaranteed housing, or just knowing that you'll have housing that’s going to be at a price that is not common, is a really great advantage and perk of being a part of the program,” Singleton said.

Another component of the TEACh Cincinnati program is the Urban Cohort, which allows Miami students to take classes and workshops on involvement in the Cincinnati community and learn more about the different parts of the city.

Members of the Urban Cohort also interact with students in the Cincinnati Public Schools by helping them work through problems that may come up in their daily lives. Singleton said that as members of the Urban Cohort move through the program, they eventually start working with a broader range of members in the community.

Singleton said the TEACh Cincinnati and Urban Cohort programs are time-consuming, and students need to maintain a 3.0 GPA to remain in the program. Despite this, through Singleton’s weekly meetings, she said participants still manage to get their work done, in addition to other jobs and clubs they may have.

Even though students in TEACh may have a packed schedule, the lessons and experiences they receive make it all worthwhile. To Bell and Joyner, TEACh is a program where they do not have to worry about what their life is going to look like during and after college.

“It shows that a group of people care about us,” Joyner said. “It shows that they care about the future generations. They care about reminding me of why I want to be a teacher, reminding me this is still an issue, and that regardless of what happens in the world, we still have to keep looking to solve the teacher shortage, or what it looks like in the classroom for students.”

fahymm@miamioh.edu