Schools

Watertown Teacher Wins Award for Dedication to Preparing Underserved Students for College

Noah Jefferson received the first ever Elizabeth D. Hodder Award from Breakthrough Greater Boston.

The following information was provided by Breakthrough Greater Boston:

Breakthrough Greater Boston, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preparing underserved students to attend four-year college and to training the next generation of urban teachers, presented one of its teachers, Noah Jefferson, with the first-ever Elizabeth D. Hodder Award. The award was presented at the organization’s end-of-summer event, ‘Celebration,’ on Aug. 9.

Named for Breakthrough Greater Boston’s Board Chair, whose visionary leadership reflects her lifelong dedication to education and teacher training, the Elizabeth D. Hodder Fund was established to support the organization’s “Students Teaching Students” model. Specifically, the fund supports recruitment and training of college-age classroom teachers as well as the recruitment of master teachers to mentor and coach Breakthrough’s budding educators. As part of the fund, the Elizabeth D. Hodder Award recognizes one Breakthrough teacher who demonstrates a clear commitment to entering the field of education, who is passionate about closing the achievement gap, and who is a leader in the Breakthrough teaching community.

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“As a second year teacher for Breakthrough, Mr. Jefferson’s enthusiasm for education and dedication to improving his craft as an educator represent the ideals and goals of our organization,” said Hodder. “Mr. Jefferson has shown exceptional skills in the classroom and has been a mentor to both his students and colleagues alike. I am thrilled that he was selected as the first recipient of the Hodder Award.”

Breakthrough Greater Boston annually receives 400 applications from students in the top quartile of our nation’s most competitive colleges and universities for 55 teaching internships. By comparison, America’s public school teachers have traditionally represented the bottom third of their college classes. With over 80 percent of Breakthrough teachers “turning pro”, the organization offers American urban schools a talented pool of new teachers every year.

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A 2012 graduate of Tufts University with a BA in Mathematics, Jefferson is currently pursuing his Master of Arts in Teaching for High School Mathematics, also at Tufts University. Jefferson was a National Merit Scholar and is currently a recipient of Robert Noyce Teaching Fellow ­– a fellowship for urban math and science teachers. 2012 marked Jefferson’s second summer at Breakthrough Greater Boston where he taught ninth grade math.

“I am honored to have received the Hodder Award and to have had the opportunity to learn and teach at Breakthrough,” said Jefferson. “The program has been exceptionally rewarding and I hope to use the award to grow as an educator so I can give back to the Breakthrough community and students elsewhere.”

For more information, or to support Breakthrough Greater Boston, visit www.breakthroughgreaterboston.org. 


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