Image by Freddrell Green

By: Freddrell Green, Staff Writer

Spelman Alumna Kerri-Ann T. Thomas ‘10 always knew that she wanted to pursue a career tailored to social justice. This would be accomplished through her mentorship with first-year Morehouse students Elijah McLean, Francis DeSilva, and Corey Lewis, first-year Spelman student Kaliya Springer, and first-year Clark Atlanta University student Saniya Perry, all of whom she taught as the first class of students in her beginning as a first-grade teacher at Achievement First.

Thomas saw a divide in the achievement of white students compared to black students and a shortage of black educators in her role as a founding teacher at Achievement First. Being the only black homeroom teacher, she sought to build a strong connection with her students both inside and outside the classroom.

“My belief as an educator is that you pour deeply into the kids that you are serving. When you do this work right, you will see that they are pouring into you just as much as you are pouring into them,” Thomas said.

Each classroom at Achievement First was named after the alma mater of the respective homeroom teacher. Thomas utilized her classroom to expose students to Historically Black Colleges and Universities early on.

“I love that they (the students) were like ‘You know what, she inspires me. I want to go to the school where she went to school.’ Or I would introduce them to my Morehouse brother and it’s like ‘Okay, he inspired me. She always talked about this school,’” she said.

For DeSilva, having Thomas as a teacher at such an early age motivated him to not only look forward to going to school every morning but to manifest his aspirations into reality.

“She made sure that everybody thought more of themselves, made sure they had goals because everybody has dreams, but you want to solidify them as goals so that you could push further and further,” DeSilva said.

Despite Mclean leaving the group before middle school, he took with him the lessons in dedication and strength that he acquired from Thomas’ teachings to Georgia and eventually Morehouse. His roommate, Lewis, practiced this as well by conquering his reading challenges.

“I told her I was only good at picture books when I was a kid and she was like ‘No, we’re gonna get you caught up and everything.’ and she helped me really start to read chapter books and start my educational journey,” Lewis said.

As the five of them progressed, each student decided to attend not only an HBCU but to arrive at the Atlanta University Center. Students like Springer and McLean intend to continue their education to engage in work similar to or with Thomas.

“I want to educate black and brown children as she did,” Springer said.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure on what I really want to do, but I know that working with Ms. Thomas would be a great option. And I know that she was a great teacher, and she was a great leader and role model. So I know she would be a great boss,” McLean said.

From the moment they came together as Thomas’ first class, to reuniting in college, the bond each student shares has been unbroken. Being at HBCUs like Morehouse, Spelman or Clark Atlanta showcases the byproduct of the nurturing they received from Thomas.

“I didn’t come here because somebody told me to come here. I came here because I wanted to come here and I see that I can do great things that I probably didn’t see years ago that she helped me see,” DeSilva said.

As each of Thomas’ former students matriculates, she hopes for them to take advantage of every opportunity, build more lifelong relationships, and stay true to who they are.

“Be authentically true to who you are and know that these are people who you are going to lean on for, probably, the rest of your life. And it’s such a blessing. Sometimes people take it for granted,” she said.

Thomas currently works as the CEO of Movement Schools, a charter school organization that serves students from pre-kindergarten to the eighth grade

Copy Edited by: Elijah Megginson, Features Editor