Summer Bridge Program Cultivates Future Male Minority Elementary School Teachers

  • Five students standing in front of an instructor for a lecture.

    The ​Future Male Minority Teachers of Color cohort visits the CSUN campus for a week of learning about the world of teaching. Photo by Patricia Carrillo.

  • Five students sitting in front of an instructor for a lecture.

    The ​Future Male Minority Teachers of Color cohort learns about the world of teaching. Photo by Patricia Carrillo.

  • Six students standing in front of a whiteboard and discussing the methods that they observed in the different elementary teachers.

    The ​Future Male Minority Teachers of Color cohort discusses what they observed during visits to elementary school classes. Photo by Patricia Carrillo.

  • Darryl Mckeller shows images from his childhood while giving a lecture on successful teaching lessons to a room of students.

    Darryl McKellar gives a lecture on successful lessons in teaching. Photo by Patricia Carrillo.

  • A mixture of fifteen students, directors and speakers posing for a picture.

    The ​Future Male Minority Teachers of Color Summer Bridge Program fosters an environment to encourage more male minorities to pursue careers as elementary school teachers. Photo by Patricia Carrillo.

  • Darryl McKeller speaking to a group of students.

    Darryl McKellar combines mentorship and positivity to give his own personal outlook on the importance of mentorship and teaching. Photo by Patricia Carrillo.

 There was a simple question asked to the room of eager students and mentors: “May I teach?”

The audience answered confidently: “Teach on.”

This question was posed by Darryl McKellar, a teacher with 20 years of experience in inner-city schools in LAUSD. His primary audience included a group of seven students of various ages, participating in Future Male Minority Teachers of Color (F2MTC). The program’s mission is to create a pipeline for male minorities to become elementary school teachers.

From June 25 to 29, California State University, Northridge hosted a group of high school students and one college student for F2MTC’s summer bridge program. The event featured several workshops, including McKellar’s, which focused on topics such as mentorship, defending a position and teaching methods. Another workshop combined hip-hop and social justice to show the importance of teaching and mentorship through creating various rhymes with positives messages.

“All of my life I have had female teachers,” said participant and Northridge Academy High School student Adrian Lopez. “I think having men of color in elementary schools would make a big impact on the students.”

In the social justice and hip-hop workshop, the students were told to create a rap song about teaching. This technique was used to encourage and educate on various teaching methods.

“It was really good to see just how hard it is for teachers,” said Brandon Angulo, a Simi Valley High School student. “I want to be able to help the next generation and inspire them.”

The workshops were full of students eager to learn and mentors eager to teach. Through bonding and mentorship, the experienced teachers are able to build a valuable relationship with the students to promote positive habits and lessons.

“There is a male teacher shortage is elementary schools nationwide,” said Shartriya Collier-Stewart, a mentor and co-director of the Kellogg Grant, a grant that supports the recruitment, retention and advancement of male teachers of color, which helped fund F2MTC. “Through mentorship and social justice, we are able to foster a generation of male minority teachers that can transform their communities.”