Aaron Lesser
Greater Delta: Mississippi & Arkansas '12
As a founding math teacher at two different schools, Aaron has fallen in love with his career even though his undergraduate studies initially dictated a different path. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in international and area studies with minors in writing and Chinese language and culture, but went on to teach high school math while in the corps. He’s never looked back. Aaron relishes his current leadership position, as it allows him to write the curriculum while sharing the lessons he’s learned in the classroom with students and fellow teachers alike.
Washington University in St. Louis
Classroom Leadership
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Washington University in St. Louis
Aaron co-founded an organization where he coached several youth sports teams. The joy he derived in helping kids grow athletically and academically inspired him to join TFA.
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Teach For America: Arkansas Corps
Aaron taught a variety of courses as a high school math teacher, from AP statistics to state-tested geometry.
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KIPP Blytheville Collegiate High School
Aaron was the founding math teacher where he wrote the curriculum and managed other teachers while still teaching two classes. His students grew 2.25 points on the math section of the ACT in one year.
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Noble Network of Charter Schools
As the founding teacher in a new school for the second time, Aaron writes curriculum for geometry teachers across the country and is the data manager for his school.
Q & A
What led you to apply to Teach For America?
In college, I co-founded the Koaches 4 Kids organization, where I coached a flag football team, basketball team, and several soccer teams. I learned how much I liked working with kids through this experience. I started looking at a variety of service-oriented programs and jobs in the private sector, but I knew I wanted to do TFA after a meeting with my recruiter and learning about the mission.
What were some of the major lessons you learned during the corps?
The first year of teaching was humbling. In addition to gaining experience in the classroom, I slowly learned how to trust my students and the other people in my life. As a leader, you want to empower your students. So I learned to steadily release responsibility to my students. Last year, I saw the results when my students made an average of 2.25 points of growth on the math section of the ACT.
What do you do today?
I’m still in the classroom. I’m currently working at the Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago. Like with my placement school in the corps, I’m a founding math teacher. I’m writing curriculum for geometry teachers across the country and I’m the data manager for my school.
How has Teach For America prepared you to succeed in your current role?
The freedom you get from day one in TFA is the best way to grow as a professional and as a person. I was making decisions that had an effect on how much my students learned. That kind of autonomy and responsibility is stronger in teaching than any other field. TFA gave me the tools and support to become a more complete educator over the years.