Courtney Dern

Teacher Policy Fellow

Courtney is a founding teacher at Lodestar, a Lighthouse Community Public School. The 2017-2018 school year will mark her eighth year teaching in preschool and kindergarten classrooms. Courtney is a Teach For America alum, a passionate advocate for early childhood education, and an enthusiastic projects-based learning educator.

Why public education?

In college, as a literature and psychology double major, I honed my passion for the written word while simultaneously learning about the infamous “word gap” afflicting our youngest students. I am passionate about public education because I believe in a richly literate world where all people can write, read, and communicate with confidence. High quality early childhood education is one of the best tools our society has for promoting this equity.

Favorite quote and why?

“Developing our sympathetic compassion is not only possible but the only reason for us to be here on earth.” -George Saunders. I like this quote because I think humans should be kind to each other.