The Delta Teacher Efficacy Campaign emanates from the Foundation and the Sorority’s joint commitment to ensuring that all students are educated in a manner that prepares them to enter and excel in college and, ultimately, create a thriving life and career for themselves. In addition, DTEC brings awareness to and addresses the need to increase teacher efficacy through an introspective professional development model; inclusive of modules on implicit and explicit biases that create stereotype threats, culturally relevant teaching, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and mental health, the whole child approach and many more.

Teachers Advocating to lead Great change (T.A.G.) is the initiative that builds upon the teacher advocacy component of the Delta Teacher Efficacy Campaign (DTEC). DTEC-TAG participants, known as Equity Warriors, increase awareness of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and build to execute a local TAG Advocacy Project. The DTEC-TAG Equity Warriors teams are currently located in Texas, DC/Maryland/Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to expand to two additional states this grant year. Equity Warriors have hosted 55 events nationally, regionally & locally in-person, and digitally reaching approximately 544,910 community stakeholders.

DTEC-TAG Equity Warriors.

DTEC-TAG’s mission aims to raise awareness about the relationship between teacher efficacy and student achievement by focusing on a myriad of topics through the lens of personal effectiveness and confidence. Fullan and Hargraves (2016) state that professional learning and development (PLD) are deliberate ways to improve the quality of teaching. Building upon this concept, DTEC aims to equip teachers to shift into teacher leadership and community advocacy and create a critical mass to lead change. With guidance from DREF’s National Advisory Council, the strategic plan for DTEC-TAG has resulted in over 500+ educators in 42 states across the country receiving professional development through 2021.

During the 2021-2023 grant award year, the DTEC-TAG initiative has identified three primary implementation strategies. They include:

• Provide strategies and thought leadership on accelerating learning for Black and Brown students as they return to school after the COVID-19 pandemic. These students have been acutely and drastically affected due to digital learning challenges during the pandemic.
• Continue and increase partnerships and collaborations with national organizations to encourage participation in DTEC-TAG programs.
• Ensure education advocacy is identified as a priority within the DST National Social Action Commission and National Program Planning and Development Committee agendas starting with 2021-22.