Share the Spirit: Bay Area nonprofit develops teachers amid Bay Area educator shortage

Nargiz Mammadli and Emmanuel Manny Morando Neri both have a passion for teaching and in particular teaching young learners Early Childhood Tuition Substitute Guide Empowerment Placement ECE STEP is looking to provide connections and training to help them pursue both With an eye toward careers in mentoring both Mammadli and Morando Neri stated they have gotten a boost from tools provided by the nonprofit commonly known as ECE STEP I was inspired to be a mentor when I was in third grade and I was years old Mammadli explained She was so nice I decided right then I longed to be a tutor Morando Neri expressed a similar enthusiasm for teaching younger children I ve perpetually liked the idea of being involved in early childhood mentoring Morando Neri stated I can teach kids in early childhood mentoring about social-emotional competencies I can help children learn how to regulate and how to deal with through their emotions ECE STEP launched a activity in to help people gain skills and find posts as substitute teachers and pave the way for permanent positions Manny Morando Neri a trainer with the Early Childhood Teaching Substitute Tutor Empowerment Initiative works with children at the Kai Ming Children s Center on Thursday Oct in San Francisco Calif Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group We want to train manage empower and place teachers in early childhood programs explained Sabrina Dong an official with ECE STEP The whole concept is to address the shortage of teachers in the Bay Area We bring in people with minimum experience as a facilitator and we patronage them all the way through the process I am proud of the initiative We are seeing a lot of success At least teachers have gone through the venture according to Dong We fill staffing gaps Dong disclosed It s more than workforce advancement The focus is also on mentor rise and supplying the guide pipeline The goal is to transition our trainees so they can become permanent teachers This sort of training scheme is essential at a time when qualified teachers are anything but plentiful Morando Neri mentioned There s an overall shortage of educators but there s also a shortage of educators who can address early childhood necessities Morando Neri mentioned A lot of educators are older and because they are older they have a more traditional way of teaching that doesn t address social-emotional learning ECE STEP also seeks to create a welcoming atmosphere that goes beyond the dry nuts and bolts of training sessions according to Mammadli Teachers Nargiz Mammadli left and Manny Morando Neri right with the Early Childhood Guidance Substitute Lecturer Empowerment Initiative work with children at the Kai Ming Children s Center on Thursday Oct in San Francisco Calif Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group They are more like a family Mammadli announced They email me to see how I m doing They are paying a year so I can take specific units in college I m taking online classes from a school in Los Angeles Related Articles At Bay Area Rescue Mission a mother finds strength to keep going Share the Spirit Paws In Need helps families pay for critical pet care Share the Spirit How a new East Bay nonprofit is caring for helpers Share the Spirit Meet the Bay Area nonprofit creating housing for people with special demands Share the Spirit Unlocking higher training for low-income first-generation East Bay tutors and students ECE STEP has been able to place teachers in an array of early childhood programs according to Dong These include Head Start Early Head Start and state-financed nonprofits that provide early childhood development Both Mammadli and Morando Neri noted they have been able to teach at an Early Start undertaking site in Concord after they went through the training initiative with ECE STEP The two teachers also aim to become entrepreneurs once they get enough teaching experience Both want to go beyond being employed teachers and aspire to start their own daycare businesses at chosen point Leaders at ECE STEP are concerned that the current system of finding substitute teachers a process that s usually done under pressure of last-minute facilitator absences is outmoded Early childhood educators are often at the mercy of last-minute phone calls and Rolodexes when trying to resolve immediate tutor shortages states a pamphlet by ECE STEP Nargiz Mammadli center a mentor with the Early Childhood Instruction Substitute Professor Empowerment Venture works with children at the Kai Ming Children s Center on Thursday Oct in San Francisco Calif Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group ECE STEP believes a tech-powered approach is an significant method to the scramble to find substitute teachers The STEP undertaking replaces these clunky measures with an intuitive app that allows childhood educators to book a tutor with the push of a button ECE STEP states Morando Neri and Mammadli each mentioned they have been quick to form bonds with the young children they are teaching On my first day of shadowing at a initiative the kids would run to me try to hold my hand and one craved to play tag Morando Neri announced All the others were the same way Mammadli also believes she is able to provide the children with more than just early childhood teaching I think I have a special bond with the kids Mammadli explained I can give them a comfort space I love to be part of their lives and to hear the stories they make up and to experience the giggles and the hugs and all of that Nargiz Mammadli second from left a guide with the Early Childhood Guidance Substitute Coach Empowerment Undertaking works with children at the Kai Ming Children s Center on Thursday Oct in San Francisco Calif Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group ABOUT SHARE THE SPIRIT Share the Spirit is a c nonprofit organization operated by the East Bay Times Bay Area News Group Since Share the Spirit has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them HOW TO HELP Donations will help Early Childhood Schooling Substitute Guide Empowerment Placement ECE STEP to expand its East Bay operations training and supporting substitute teachers to fill roughly vacant classrooms and enable about low-income children to receive high-quality care and learning Goal HOW TO GIVE Donate at sharethespiriteastbay org donate or by mail using this form Donations are tax deductible ONLINE EXTRA Read other Share the Spirit stories view photos and video at sharethespiriteastbay org