A Common Scenario We’ve all been there. It’s mid-October and the school year is in full swing. You’re co-teaching in 6th grade ELA, and Michael (a student on your caseload) raises his hand to answer a question. You hold your breath – this is a BIG deal. Michael is a struggling reader, making him very hesitant to participate in class. The teacher calls on him, he shares his response and… his answer is correct! This

Across Tennessee, and especially in Nashville, schools continue to face a critical shortage of qualified special educators. Meeting that need requires more than recruiting teachers. It requires preparing educators in ways that reflect the realities of today’s classrooms. That’s the vision behind the Special Education Job-Embedded Pathway, a partnership between Diverse Learners Cooperative (DLC) and Nashville Teacher Residency (NTR). The pathway blends coursework, coaching, and job-embedded practice so educators can immediately apply what they’re learning

The Teacher Leader Fellowship is a meaningful year of coaching and growth, school visits, mentor communities, and a culminating Impact Project. What actually happens to an educator over the course of a year in this program is harder to summarize. We asked two of our 2025-26 fellows to tell us themselves. Isormari Pozo is an ESL educator who used the Fellowship to redesign how multilingual learners (especially at-risk seniors) have a voice in the systems

DLC community, We’re writing to share an important update about the next chapter ahead for the Diverse Learners Cooperative. After founding and leading DLC over the last nine years, Brooke Allen will be closing her time with the organization this summer to begin a school founder role with the Nashville Incubator. DLC began when Brooke saw a critical need: teachers and leaders of diverse learners required better support. What started as one person leaning into