Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Cuellar Needham.
Tiffany, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in Alice, Texas, a small, predominantly Mexican-American town that was also a gas town.
There weren’t many options in Alice when it came to school choice, but looking back, it’s clear that some schools were able to provide more opportunities for students than for others, and that those opportunities often fell along lines of race and class.
My parents always had very high expectations for me when it came to my education. Neither received a college education, and they thought that higher education was of critical importance for me and my two siblings. I always like to joke that they bought the smallest house zoned to the best school that they could afford, but it’s true. I was able to go to an excellent elementary school, middle school, and high school and was in our honors program, which again, looking back, I also see that I was one of the few Mexican American students in those courses. And so much of my success was because of my mom’s support and advocacy. She was really involved in our school system: at one point, she was involved in the PTA of my sister’s elementary school, my brother’s middle school, and my high school all at the same time!
It wasn’t until college that I struggled academically. I arrived at UT Austin and found that I was woefully unprepared for the level of academic rigor, which was a big surprise because up until that point, school had always come easily to me and I had graduated high school near the top of my class. But I know now that this is the story of many students growing up in low-income communities when they arrive at college. I remember calling my mom freshman year and telling her I wanted to come home, and she told me, “Nope. I’ve already cleared your things from your room, and you’re not welcome back home without your degree. You live above a tutoring center–go get the help you need.” And I did, and ended up thriving.
I heard about Teach For America (TFA) my senior year from a college advisor, who thought it would be a great opportunity for me. In learning about TFA and its mission to achieve educational equity and excellence for students in low-income communities, I was able to reflect on my own experience and suddenly, so much of my own journey made sense. I’d majored in finance and had actually planned to be an investment banker, as financial security was important to me. After learning about TFA, I decided I would teach for a few years and then go on to earn an MBA or a JD. And of course, like so many who join TFA, I met my students and just fell in love and have worked in education since.
After college, I ended up teaching fifth grade in Houston for three years, which was incredible. I was so proud of what my kids and I accomplished together, and, at the same time, frustrated that the education system was structured in a way that left so many students behind. After my time in the classroom, I joined Teach For America staff and held a variety of roles before becoming Executive Director of our Houston region in 2016, which is the role I continue to serve in today. I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to think about our impact locally and work with partners to affect systemic change in our local education system.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There have definitely been some challenges along the way! As I mentioned earlier, my experience at UT Austin was a big shock for me. Initially, I was filled with self-doubt, and I felt like there was something wrong with me and that I couldn’t achieve the academic success I’d been used to. I understand now that it’s also a product of the education system I was brought up in, but at the time, that wasn’t clear to me. I was able to achieve success, but it took twice the amount of effort than it did for some of my peers. Even today, I still work to combat that sense of “I don’t belong here.”
And surprisingly, when I initially joined Teach For America, my parents were upset–they felt that I had taken this college education and squandered a chance at economic security for myself. It wasn’t until my mom came to visit my classroom that she fully understood why this was important and how much it related to our story as a family. And there was definitely a learning curve in the classroom. I wasn’t a Houston native and so initially, my students saw me as an outsider, even though we came from similar cultural backgrounds. I had this one student–Adriana–I think about her every day; she ran my classroom that first semester! Once I won her trust, other students followed, and we built from there. Ultimately, I was able to create so many incredible relationships with my students and their families.
Joining Teach For America staff was another learning curve. I joined our staff at a time when the organization was not as diverse as it is today, and it was growing rapidly. It was a great time professionally for me, and I grew quickly, but I did feel isolated sometimes, being one of the few Latinx staff members. I remember joining a Chicago conference and walking into this incredible conference room with a beautiful view of the city. Our executive directors were gathered; at that time, over half were white men. I remember thinking clearly, “I do not belong in this group.” And I think that kept me from applying for the executive director role for a long time. After 10 years, I had the confidence in my leadership to take it on, but that was definitely a process. And today, TFA staff is over 50% individuals of color, as is our leadership team, which I’m incredibly proud of.
Today, I can’t imagine my life any other way. I found my life’s work through TFA, my best friends, and my husband (we met in the corps). My children don’t know anything outside of education, as my husband works at Yes Prep, and I’m so proud of the life we’ve been able to create for our family and our students. I also know that this privilege is the result of having access to educational opportunities and that too few women who look like me have that same access.
As you know, we’re big fans of Teach For America Houston. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Teach For America works in partnership with 350 urban and rural communities across the country to expand educational opportunities for children. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding leaders who make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in an effort to end educational inequity. Today, Teach For America is a national force of over 64,000 alumni and corps members working in over 9,000 schools nationwide in pursuit of profound systemic change. From classrooms to districts to state houses across America, they are reimagining education to realize the day when every child has an equal opportunity to learn, lead, thrive, and co-create a future filled with possibility. We’re also a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. Teach For America Houston was founded in 1991. Over the last 30 years, we’ve welcomed 3,400 educators to Houston schools who have collectively impacted over 150,000 students, and the majority of our alumni continue to work in education or with low-income communities. Today, we are proud to partner with Houston ISD, BakerRipley, Aldine ISD, KIPP Texas, and YES Prep. We’ve also set an ambitious goal for ourselves and our communities: that by 2030, twice as many children in communities where we work will reach key educational milestones indicating they are on a path to economic mobility and co-creating a future filled with possibility.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I would name Teach For America’s Chief Executive Officer, Elisa Villanueva Beard, here. I see a lot of my story in Elisa’s. Elisa grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and was also someone who excelled in school until she reached college at DePauw University and realized that her academic career had not prepared her for college-level coursework, which was also my experience at UT Austin. However, she ended up thriving and joined Teach For America Phoenix upon graduation, where she’s worked since.
I first met Elisa when she was serving as executive director of Teach For America Rio Grande Valley. She became a role model to me immediately. I was so inspired watching an incredible Latina leader excel the way she did, first as executive director, then as Teach For America’s COO, before becoming CEO in 2014. I learned a lot from her leadership.
Elisa has also stewarded Teach For America through some of the most difficult moments in our country’s recent history, including political upheaval, the pandemic and its impact on education, and more. She’s led in these moments with an open heart, grace, and humility and has successfully helped our organization navigate the many challenges that came our way–and thanks to her, we’ve not only overcome them but also used these moments as opportunities to strengthen our work and live more deeply into our core values.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.teachforamerica.org/where-we-work/houston
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tfahouston
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TFAhouston/
Image Credits
Photos courtesy of Teach For America
