On had arrived at Duke from California in the fall of 2020 as a “COVID freshman,” with virtual classes on Zoom.

Professor of the Practice of Education Jan Riggsbee was her first professor, during the first semester of On’s college experience. “Even though the classes were on Zoom, she made it feel like community. COVID was so isolating. She made it feel special.”

Riggsbee is retiring this month after a 36-year career at Duke supporting students entering the teaching profession. In 2015, she co-founded TeachHouse, a first-of its kind living and learning community of practice for beginning and early career teachers – teachers like On. Riggsbee will transition to emeritus faculty status and continue to guide the program.

Riggsbee has focused on understanding how schools and institutions can better support educators at different stages in their careers. “The TeachHouse model addresses the most pressing challenges facing the profession,” she said, including teacher affordable housing, isolation, burnout and attrition. “It is built on the idea that early-career educators need and deserve a level of support, mentorship, and community that leads to well-being and thriving.”

Connecting New Teachers to Communities They Serve

Annually, TeachHouse supports 15 residential fellows living in three homes across Durham, along with 20 TeachHouse Community Practitioners, a new non-residential program launched in January. There are also 300-plus educators across North Carolina and beyond in a TeachHouse virtual community of practice.

Riggsbee explained that it’s important for teachers to internalize “the stories, the history, the assets and the culture of (the community they’re in).

“If you’re driving an hour to teach and an hour to get home, then you’re not as connected,” she said. “And so, we look at purpose. We look at place. We look at the roots in that community, and that is really the model that we feel is so important.”

Debbie Goldstein, Duke‘s associate vice president and associate vice provost for community engaged scholarship, said that many of Durham’s best beginning teachers get their start at TeachHouse. “The community they build together serves as a foundation for supporting hundreds of teachers through professional development, peer support and a community network,” she added.

The TeachHouse model has been effective. About 95 percent of fellows have remained in education since the program’s inception, with nearly 60 percent still teaching in Durham classrooms.

It’s a challenging period for public school teachers in North Carolina, whose salaries are among the lowest in the nation. On May 1, thousands of teachers from across the state gathered in downtown Raleigh where they rallied for pay increases and more funding for public education.

Giving Teachers a Voice

Riggsbee says public school teachers having a seat at the table with policy makers is important. In 2015, six fellows met with 12 policy makers in a conference room housed in the Capitol Hill offices of Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education for the Obama Administration. This year, Maurice “Mo” Green, North Carolina’s superintendent of public instruction and Anthony S. Lewis, the superintendent of Durham Public Schools, visited fellows at TeachHouse for dinner.

“(They were) so inspiring. It’s important when young teachers especially, have a seat at the table and their voices are lifted up and heard,” said Riggsbee.

 Current and former TeachHouse fellows said that the program and Riggsbee’s leadership are the reason why they now see themselves as playing important roles in their schools and district.

“Dr. Riggsbee, simply put, is the reason I am a teacher today,” said Eleanor Mackey, a teacher-counselor at the Wright School in Durham and a fellow this past year at TeachHouse. “Dr. Riggsbee has always made me feel like teaching was something to be valued and proud of, not as a stop in the road or a step onto a more important job, but as a real and valuable profession itself.”

‘Lift Up the Teaching Profession’

Jasmin Riley graduated in May and will begin her TeachHouse fellowship this summer.

“During my student teaching class, she always made me feel comfortable asking questions and sharing my thoughts,” Riley said about Riggsbee. “She created a space where curiosity was welcomed and everyone’s voice mattered, and I plan to bring that same spirit into TeachHouse.”

Riggsbee has focused on building a sustainable TeachHouse model and expanding beyond Durham “across the state.”

“Healthy schools equal healthy communities,” she said. “Every community stakeholder has the responsibility to lift up the teaching profession and support education, and that’s part of the TeachHouse model too.”