Spring Woods High Grad Speaks Out on Teacher Training & Diversity

Spring Woods High graduate and Yale University student Chris Rice isn’t just hitting the books as a student and New Haven, Conn., resident. He’s active as president of La Unidad Latina, the first and only Latino fraternity at Yale University, co-chairs a city committee representing New Haven Ward One, and is a member of a student activist group MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlan).

In Spring Branch ISD, Rice helped form A Better Hand, a student-led organization dedicated to increasing access to higher education for low-income students of color. He testified recently before Connecticut’s General Assembly Education Committee on the topic of effective educator training, licensing and certification.

He said, in part, the following: “No child should be unfairly denied access to a quality teacher, but one could argue that a lack of diversity in our persistent shortage areas, such as mathematics or bilingual education, show that we must do more.” To view testimony, please visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eI3kcb2NK0&sns=em.