Send Teachers Love: Aded Abioye, third grade teacher in Boston

To celebrate Teacher Appreciation Month, E4E is shining a spotlight on excellent educators and the amazing work they do on behalf of their students. Today, we’re recognizing Aded Abioye, a third grade inclusion teacher who is committed to making Boston Public Schools a more equitable system for her students.

Aded Abioye won’t let anything stand in the way of advocating for her students. As a member of E4E-Boston’s District Action Team, Aded proposed policy fixes to address curriculum and instruction. Shortly after the pandemic started, she took her advocacy virtual, and helped lead efforts to advocate for improved school culture. Now, she’s thinking ahead to the extra support they will need when schools reopen.

She says that social emotional learning supports are important now, and will need to continue. “This can’t be brushed off,” Aded said. “Student trauma will need to be addressed not just in every classroom, but districtwide.”

Aded’s teaching practice has constantly evolved as school closures have continued. In the early days of the pandemic, her focus was on connecting with families and making sure they had basic necessities. Now, regular Zoom meetings are the norm, and she’s worked to translate her lessons and classroom management to the online setting.

Through it all, she’s been so impressed by student and family efforts to stay engaged. Parents are sitting with their children for hours of online classes, asking questions to make sure they can support schoolwork, and calling her to follow up. “School closures have shown us that schools need to make engagement more accessible for parents,” Aded says.

“Many families face roadblocks that prevent them from engaging in traditional ways with schools–how do we help them feel more connected?” – #E4EBOS member Aded Abioye 

As educators continue to support students and families during a stressful time, Aded says it’s important to give yourself time and space to learn and improve. “If you’re doing the best you can for your students, then you’re doing the best you can.” 

This year, honoring teachers is more important than ever. Click here to see hundreds of messages of appreciation, and join us in lifting teachers up during Teacher Appreciation Month!