New program gives potential ‘Teachers of Tomorrow’ a chance in the classroom

Riverhead High School students are getting a taste of what it’s like to be the grown-up in the classroom. 

The new “Teachers of Tomorrow” program, a collaboration between the school district and the Butterfly Effect Project, puts the local nonprofit’s teen participants in an elementary school classroom one day a month, giving them a glimpse into what it’s like working with young children. Some of the participants are thinking about careers in education or working with children and families in a different sector.

“I was thinking about being a teacher,“ said Jamia Greene, a senior at Riverhead High School. She joined “Teachers of Tomorrow” to get her feet wet, “and I’m starting to like it,” she said.

Last Thursday, seven teens in the Butterfly Effect Project — three students from Riverhead High School and four students from William Floyd High School — joined teachers at Roanoke Avenue Elementary School for the last hour of the school day. The program started at the beginning of the school year and is still in its pilot phase, but its participants and school officials already see it as a success. 

“One of the biggest issues in education today is the drying up of the teacher pipeline,” Roanoke Avenue Elementary School Principal Thomas Payton said. “And this has been an opportunity to try to hopefully increase that and get students interested in going into teaching that are in high school.” 

“And we’re focusing specifically on teachers of color, to hopefully increase interest in that,” Payton added. All of the students in the “Teachers of Tomorrow” program are people of color, as are many of the children in the Butterfly Effect Project.

“Teachers of Tomorrow” was inspired by “Take a Look at Teaching,” a union-sponsored initiative aimed at inspiring children to become teachers, as well as diversifying the profession. A “Take a Look at Teaching” summit in Riverhead was held in 2019, but it fizzled after the pandemic; Roanoke Assistant Principal Gary Karlson pitched “Teachers of Tomorrow” as a new approach to the same idea.

“We wanted to take a different approach — and not something big, broad and systemic, but just really local partnerships and their ability to help us select the kids, help transport the kids, help to give support to the kids if they need it, and then have these kids go off and become ambassadors, too,” Karlson said. The school district already had a partnership with the Butterfly Effect Project, which runs an afterschool program.

Greene joined Stacy Touhy’s second grade class in room 301, helping the kids create winter-themed picture frames. 

“It’s awesome” having Greene come into the classroom, Tuohy said. “We enjoy inspiring new teachers into the profession. The kids look forward to her coming. They like it.”

“It makes her want to be a teacher,” Tuohy added. “Being here, she knows. It solidifies her choice.”

Greene and the other Riverhead students in the “Teachers of Tomorrow” program said the best part has been connecting with the younger students. Being in those elementary school classrooms reminds them of a simpler time in their lives where they were more honest, innocent and friendly.

“I think working with the kids, it has given me a sense of nostalgia,” said Gianna Miller, a RHS senior. “Just looking back at it and being like, wow, I used to do things like this. and putting it into perspective. And just see how they all come together and problem solve.”

Miller said she wants to go into the healthcare field, but also likes to work with children. She said the program is a “good opportunity” and believes it will be beneficial to other high school students deciding on a career. 

“I think this is really refreshing to let you know, okay, this is not for me, or this is for me,” Miller said. “So I actually really appreciate getting this opportunity, because I think it’s letting me know what I would like to do in my future.”

A RHS junior in the program, Prinse Ruffin, came up in Roanoke Avenue Elementary School. He joined the programs because he was considering a career as an elementary school teacher, but now is leaning towards being a school psychologist. 

Ruffin believes children are the key to the future.

“These kids are really remarkable. They’re really smart, too. Some are probably going to be the most influential people of the United States. Truly. I’m not exaggerating,” Ruffin said.