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Local educators join forces with MC students and faculty to find ways to ‘Disrupt Poverty’

Photo of Mike Crabtree
Mike Crabtree

Maryville College students, faculty and staff members will join forces with local educators later this month for a community book study aimed at improving educational outcomes for children from impoverished communities.

The goal, according to organizer and Maryville College educator professor Dr. Rebecca Lucas, is to help participants examine and discuss strategies for disrupting the adverse influence of poverty on student learning; develop effective methods that replace outdated practices and mindsets that perpetuate student underachievement; and strengthen partner relationships among those who will take part in the study, which begins Feb. 22

The book — “Disrupting Poverty: Five Powerful Classroom Practices,” by Kathleen M. Budge and William H. Parrett — draws upon both research and classroom experiences to explore ways in which educators can dispel harmful myths, explain facts and find ways to push back against poverty’s debilitating effects on student learning. Many of the anecdotes are drawn from teachers who grew up in poverty themselves and share their experiences, strengths and hopes for ways to amplify practices that can make a difference in the success of students attending schools in high-poverty areas.

Mike Crabtree, retired assistant director of Blount County Schools and chief consultant with TopTenn Educational Consulting, will facilitate the study and lead the sessions, which begin Feb. 22. Other sessions on March 8, March 22, March 29 and April 5, and for the final session on April 12, book author Budge will take part. All sessions will meet in person, but virtual options will be available for those unable to attend.

“I am grateful that we have participants from all three local school districts — one director, two principals, an assistant principal and four teachers from Blount County Schools, Alcoa City Schools and Maryville City Schools. These committed local educators will join 11 MC students and at least three MC faculty members for this exciting opportunity to learn from each other and become better educators,” Lucas said. “Special thanks to Mike Crabtree for agreeing to facilitate this important journey.”

For more information, contact Lucas at rebecca.lucas@maryvillecollege.edu.

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”