Angela Yeager, Laurel School
Angela, a 15-year veteran educator, also describes herself as an “environmental activist who believes in the power of nature and people to heal one another,” is the Director of Laurel School’s Environmental Justice Semester. The semester, a new initiative beginning in the fall of 2023, is open to any rising 10th and 11th grade girls from any school around Northeast Ohio.
A lifelong learner, Angela loves working for a school committed to girls’ education, and spends much time out of doors, looking for ways she can make positive change.
What’s so important to you about connecting your students to local history and issues?
As a student, I don’t think I learned one thing about my hometown of Lorain or even greater Northeast Ohio and its ecosystems in school. I remember learning about grand and distant environmental challenges like the destruction of the rainforest and none of the social issues like economic divestment and the legacy of the coal industry.
To have a healthy, functioning democracy and sustainable ecosystems, we need people to be knowledgeable and active in their communities. It is my hope that this next generation, armed with local knowledge and a feeling of connection to place, will be the changemakers we need to restore fractured systems.
How has Teaching Cleveland impacted your teaching? Your students’ understanding of themselves and their place?
Teaching Cleveland is doing an amazing job providing resources and instruction to help us educators. We recently had a group of high schoolers from Laurel School participate in the Teaching Cleveland Student Challenge (TCSC) and they all walked away with a greater appreciation of the history of Cleveland and feeling a little more responsible for its future. I appreciate the way history is presented in context along with science and social justice issues.
Angela Yeager, with this year’s Laurel team in the Teaching Cleveland Student Challenge (TCSC)
What resonates most with you about Teaching Cleveland?
What I am most impressed with about Teaching Cleveland is the committed staff, who take the time to develop engaging and informative lessons and activities with student interest and perspective in mind. They kept students engaged for three hours after school learning history, and that’s no easy feat. Every TC team member I met has a positive, collaborative spirit. They cultivate a learning atmosphere that allows everyone to show up as they are, bringing their unique gifts and talents to the team. I think there are many Clevelanders out there who look at their city with a little more respect and curiosity thanks to TC.
