Employee Spotlight: Antwan Allen

What does it mean to be Dean of Teacher Preparation?

I am part of the leadership team that works on the implementation of our teacher preparation programs — our teacher certification and our master’s degree programs, across all our locations. I work on strategy, program development, curriculum redesign, and coaching faculty and department chairs.

What is your favorite thing about Relay?

Our approach is practice-based and feedback-based. As a professor, you’re not just an expert who’s telling teachers what to do. You are a mentor and a guide who is working with teachers to provide them with the skills they need to be effective educators. We are committed to teaching students in urban communities. We are committed to teaching teachers who are diverse in their own backgrounds and identity markers. We do that unapologetically. To play such an important role in diversifying the teacher population is important work.

Is there a quote or mantra that guides you?

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” from Proverbs 27:17. It is a reminder to me of the importance of surrounding ourselves with good people who have diverse perspectives and can challenge us to continuously grow into better versions of ourselves. At the same time, we as individuals have the responsibility to contribute to the growth and development of others.

Describe a teacher who played a pivotal role in your development. How did their approach or guidance shape who you are today?

I’ve had a lot of phenomenal teachers, but I think about my mentor, Beth Pettit. She was the executive director of the summer school program I attended and later taught at in Harlem. She knew me since the age of eight. I learned a lot of things from her, including how to lead with a commitment to vision. She had this vision: Students in Harlem are being underserved in terms of advanced academic opportunities, in terms of early literacy opportunities, and she wanted to make a change, to do something differently. And so she did.

She taught me about the importance of having a vision as a leader, being very, very clear in your principles. And being unapologetic that we’re doing this to help kids. She also taught me about leadership and just giving people an opportunity. That program was the first place I actually learned about coaching teachers and managing people. At 21 years old, I’m helping to run an entire summer school program from a management level, and that set me up for my trajectory as a leader, to be a principal, to be a dean. Everything I’ve done in my life has been because Beth Pettit gave me an opportunity to do it first.

‍