Tamika Bartley
There are many buzzwords in education. Unfortunately, the idea of
multiculturalism has now become a buzzword due to hyper-political lenses often
applied to education. But in truth and practice, it is a framework and a belief
system in which diverse cultures are acknowledged, honored, and woven into the
instructional fabric, creating equitable, safe, liberated learning spaces.
The Mercedes Bonner Leadership Award recognizes and celebrates the work of
an educator who understands this belief system, practices multiculturalism and
fights for students, especially BIPOC students, to be seen, heard, and given
space in school systems to grow. Tamika Bartley is not only a champion for
multiculturalism and solving multicultural issues in our school systems but a living
testimony of why understanding cultures and making space for culture and
diversity in the curriculum matters.
Tamika and served as a Teacher Development Specialists in Houston ISD
working primarily with middle schools and immediately noticed the inequities in
the curriculum and literacy initiatives when it came to serving Black and Hispanic
students in the district. She realized that predominantly Black and Hispanic
schools did not have access to rich, diverse texts in the district-supplied
classroom libraries compared to predominantly white schools and those schools
in affluent communities. She worked with literacy leaders to address her
concerns.
She also revamped her team’s approach to designing and delivering professional
development to middle school teachers. She started the practice of featuring book
talks at the start of each session. This quickly became a common practice in
many sessions and even in teachers’ classrooms who frequently attended her
sessions. After Houston ISD, Tamika continued to expand on her work in
multiculturalism and equity. She started her Books and Brushes Literacy, a
business dedicated to spreading a love of literacy through picture books and
encouraging reader responses via illustration. This practice was incorporated in
her professional development with teachers improving student engagement and
literacy outcomes.
Tamika leads book clubs with teachers and students in her community. She
continues to have a positive impact on multiculturalism in Texas as a Secondary
ELA Coordinator at Sheldon ISD. There she works with teachers to build rich,
diverse libraries and texts to support the curriculum. She is a member of several
professional organizations like HAABSE, TCTELA, TCEA, and NCTE. She has
presented sessions exploring multiculturalism, the importance of diverse texts,
employing Talk Read Talk Write to improve comprehension, and incorporating
other contents in the ELA classroom at conferences including NCTE, HAABSE,
HCDE, and Region 4. She is a phenomenal educator and deserving recipient of
the Mercedes Bonner Award.
Previous Award Recipients
2023- Georgina Castilleja
2022 - Monique Boone
2021 - Georgina Perez
2020 - Recipient not selected
2019 - Victoria Orepitan