180 Days student and alum making a difference at CHS
Gabryela Carvalho and Anthony Santiago help students become the best versions of themselves.
There are 160 teachers at Springfield Central High School in Springfield, Mass. Twenty eight of them are alumni of the 180 Days in Springfield program. Anthony Santiago ’14MEd, a science teacher, and Gabryela Carvalho ’22, ’23MEd, a social studies/history teacher, have both made an impact at CHS. They both credit the College of Education with helping them develop a teaching style that encourages students to grow, not only as students, but as future citizens mindful of the world’s challenges.
180 Days is known for its rigorous timeline. Students teach full time while also taking classes full time. The benefit is that in only one year, graduates earn their master’s degree, obtain their initial teaching license, and foster relationships with faculty, students, and staff in Springfield Public Schools.
Small Victories
For Gabryela Carvalho, applying to the program wasn’t really even a question. Her family told her they would support her, and that was all the reassurance she needed. During the 2022-23 academic year, she taught 9th and 10th graders, focusing on World History and U.S. History, as well as English Language Arts. Whether they were discussing Reconstruction in the United States, imperialism in Africa, or creating political cartoons to comment on current events, her students demonstrated remarkably mature thinking and insight, says Carvalho.
“We’re there to teach them more than content,” Carvalho adds. “It’s this desire to create a nurturing and really safe environment. Let them let their guard down. It’s okay to be themselves. They’re empowered to do that.”
On days that didn’t go quite according to plan, Carvalho would look to her fellow 180 Days colleagues, both in the break room at CHS, and later on in the common areas of Furcolo Hall before class.
“We jumped right into it,” recalled Carvalho. “You have to start building up confidence in yourself.”
180 Days students look for victories in the “small things,” she added. Something as commonplace as a smile on a student’s face, or a moment of recognition in the hallway, carries significance.
Teaching in Springfield was an easy choice, Carvalho says, because its student population is incredibly diverse. She herself has experienced the global melting pot, having lived for 5 years in Brazil outside of Rio de Janeiro. Being able to speak Portuguese has even proved to be helpful, she says, because she can understand enough Spanish to communicate with bilingual students in more than one language.
In the spotlight
Carvalho's interest in education was sparked by her experience tutoring middle school students in her hometown of Marlborough, Mass. When she noticed students returning to open sessions year after year, she was hooked. "I didn't really enjoy it at first," says Carvalho, "but by the end of senior year, it was my favorite day of the week."
Full Circle at CHS
A lifelong resident of Springfield, Anthony Santiago attended and graduated from Central High School. When he began working on his master’s degree at UMass, he completed his student teaching there. And, since 2014, he’s taught at CHS as a science teacher, working with sophomore students initially, and now freshmen.
For Santiago, teaching in the same school that he himself attended is fitting.
“I think a lot of us see staying where we are as some kind of failure, or as not attaining your goals,” he said. “But, I realized CHS was the best place I could have been, and the best reason to have stayed. It has allowed me to give back to a school system and a city that helped me reach my goals.”
While education had always been a central value for his family, Santiago didn’t decide on a career as an educator initially–he had his sights set on medicine instead. But, when he realized that teaching sparked his interest more, he knew that a program like 180 Days was the ideal route to accomplishing his goals.
“The biggest thing for me was we were getting the actual classroom experience,” he said. He knew that when it came time to apply for a job, he would have a year of experience in classroom management, curriculum development, and lesson planning. Pair that with smart time management, and Santiago found 180 Days to be a manageable commitment.
In 2022, he also became CHS’s site coordinator for the 180 Days program. His responsibilities include pairing UMass Amherst graduate students with a CHS teacher, meeting with College of Education students every week, and providing holistic support to ensure they are successful in their teaching placements. While EDUC students eventually communicate primarily with their teaching mentor, Santiago sees himself as an “adjacent mentor,” someone who is there, in the school, and available to answer questions and settle nerves.
Making a difference in the lives of his own students, as well as graduate students in training, is rewarding, he says.
“I continue to choose Springfield,” he said. “There’s a great education here if kids want it.”
In the spotlight
"When I was in high school, my father ran for school committee...I spent a lot of time going to his meetings. From that, I was able to hear a lot and pay attention to a lot. Just having a lot of discussions with my dad about what his goals were, what was motivating him, started echoing in my head...That was a big influence."