Level Up TA Program

What is Level Up?

The Level Up program is an intensive teaching assistant role where you navigate classroom support to various students of differing academic backgrounds. In efforts to create equity, CPS English and History Departments held a series of joint meetings to discuss enhancing 9th grade instruction to address persisting opportunity gaps and the under-representation of students of color in Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Teachers and administrators determined that continuing to offer both Honors and College Preparatory level English and World History classes at the beginning of a student’s CRLS experience stratifies the student community and reinforces opportunity gaps. To address this problem, Cambridge Public Schools decided to “level up” by having all students engage in Honors level English and World History instruction. This implementation plan was made after careful study and several conversations among teachers, students and administrators.

Our Core Values

Equity:

We AIM to create an inclusive classroom environment that “meets our students where they’re at” to create a trauma informed classroom environment.

Initiative:

We ENCOURAGE our TAs to take initiative in their students' learning by stepping up to support our freshmen students academically and socially.

Diversity:

We STRIVE to disrupt homogeneous classroom environments and practices to encompass a DIVERSE array of educators and student backgrounds.

Inclusion:

We CONTRIBUTE to creating an inclusive environment by acknowledging our personal identity markers, as well as those of our students, to actively use our power to dismantle barriers in the classroom and to create representation for all of our students.

The role of a TA in the Level Up TA Program

The role of a TA in the program is to be an assistant in the classroom environment, but more specifically they provide extra supports for struggling students, and extra pushes for students ready for extension. Oftentimes educators are challenged with the responsibility of supporting all students, leaving them to be overlooked, so to combat the disparities, TAs are here to close that gap effectively.

Level Up TA Mentors

The Level Up TA Program is run by three mentors--former TAs who excelled in the role and are handpicked to provide support and advice to each cohort of TAs. The Mentors plan the entire Level Up curriculum, develop and grade assignments, facilitate seminars, plan professional development workshops for Level Up teachers, and cultivate community among the TAs. This unique role is completely student-driven and independent.