Bridging the Gap

--------------------------------------- Choosing the 901 ---------------------------------------
was born and where Lucy’s mom, Nancy Johnson Foster
’71, had her first apartment after college.
In her cohort of 67, Foster said only five or six were
“local-grown Memphians.” The rest were from all over
the country. Her roommate was a young woman from
Corona, California, who had never been to the South
before.
Foster, who is in her second year of teaching 7th
grade at Soulsville Charter School, describes the Memphis
she knows now as “cooler” than the one she knew
growing up: “Memphis seems exciting, especially to
new people. A lot of young people are coming here, and
it feels like Memphis is onto something.”
She said she has found tremendous support
through MTR and that her mentor teacher, who happens
to be a Teach For America graduate, was phenomenal.
Foster now teaches on the same team as her mentor,
who is mentoring an MTR resident again this year.
The Coach and Encourager:
Courtney Taylor Humphreys ’01
Growing up, Courtney Humphreys could not have
located Orange Mound on a Memphis map, yet she
lived within a few miles of the neighborhood. Now, her
work has her rooted there.
A part-time MTR staffer,
Humphreys serves as a coach
for 11 teachers at Hanley
Elementary, a charter school
in Orange Mound.
She and husband McKee
both have MTR connections.
McKee was part of
the second cohort, and after
Courtney Taylor Humphreys ’01
completing his residency, he
taught 8th grade history for three years at Soulsville
Charter School and Cornerstone Prep. He now teaches
5th and 6th grade history at Presbyterian Day School,
where Courtney taught for four years before connecting
with MTR in 2012.
“MTR has been a real gift for both of us,” Courtney
said. “We have developed friendships with people who
didn’t grow up like us, and that has totally enriched our
lives.”
She supports MTR teachers through regular classroom
observations and debriefing sessions and provides
feedback on the residents’ online journals. She
also teaches a Math Content Methods class to elementary-education
residents. Outside of work, she enjoys
having them over for dinner and getting to know them
better.
In her mind, the strength of the program lies in its
Christian perspective. Courtney feels good knowing she
can tell new teachers that their ultimate worth is not
wrapped up in their students’ test scores or in a failed
observation. At the same time, she doesn’t negate the
challenges of working in high-needs schools.
“Seeing all kinds of dysfunction and brokenness
doesn’t mean that you have to get out, that you’ve
chosen the wrong profession,” she said. “It might mean
that you’ve chosen exactly the right one.”
The Guinea Pig: Grace Jensen Knight ’05
Grace Knight was a member of MTR’s first cohort,
which consisted of 23 residents. Now, six years later,
there are 67 residents. Knight remembers being a
college student at Auburn University and having an
awakening in the middle
of the night — she needed
to pursue urban education.
The next thing she knew
she was talking to MTR
founder David Montague
while driving from
Memphis to Auburn.
“I remember hanging
up the phone and telling
Grace Jensen Knight ’05
my now-husband that this
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