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Jeremy Thomas is keenly aware that most of the students in his fourth grade classroom don’t look like him.
Thomas, 47, teaches at Sunnyside Environmental School, where 72% of the student body is white. Thomas, who is biracial, felt conflicted about transferring from Woodlawn Elementary, a predominantly Black school. Over time, he’s changed his view.
“I think when we say ‘a predominantly white school,’ we ignore the children of color that are there,” he says. As for his presence? “I think it’s super valuable, actually. For [students] to get a different perspective from the one they grew up with is really important.” Thomas recalls an event during his early years at Sunnyside when a student of color was thrilled to find out his teacher was “brown” like him.
Originally from Tacoma, Wash., Thomas spent his early years wanting to reshape cities. He studied urban planning, but moved into teaching in 2004 as an educational assistant. He sees a similar impact in both fields: “How can you affect society from the ground up?” His colleagues at Sunnyside, who describe him as amazing, say Thomas is doing just that.
WW is celebrating Black History Month by meeting some of the people shaping Oregon’s future: Black teachers. Look for a photo essay on a new teacher each week of February.
