THE ROSE THAT GREW FROM CONCRETE

On September 11, 2019 Our Voice Nuestra Voz invited education leaders and community partners to welcome the newest cohort of ¡DALE! Fellows and hear a special talk from Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade.

A professor, a school founder, and a classroom teacher, his pedagogy has been widely studied and acclaimed for producing social and academic success for students. Based off of the Tupac poem “The Rose that Grew from Concrete”, Jeff shared the significance of hope in the classroom, and strategies that teachers can use to nurture students.

Despite the growth our schools have seen with increased graduation rates post Katrina, Black and Brown students continue to be grossly underserved. In Orleans Parish, 9 in 10 students who are English Learners (EL), 8 in 10 Black students, and 7 in 10 Latinx students are not performing on grade level. We must come together to strategically change the course of our city’s education system!

“Did you hear about the rose that grew from the crack in the concrete?
Proving nature’s law is wrong it learned how to walk without having feet.
Funny it seems but, by keeping its dreams
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else even cared.”

– Tupac Shakur