Maggie Lanphere | Tiered Support Coordinator

To quote the powerful Audre Lorde,

“To refuse to participate in the shaping of our future is to give it up. Do not be misled into passivity either by false security (they don't mean me) or by despair (there's nothing we can do). Each of us must find our work and do it.”

This is something I repeat to myself as a reminder that change takes hard, dedicated work. It is a lifelong commitment of pushing the needle and I truly believe we are all capable of stepping up to do our part, whatever that may look like for each individual human. I took the slow, steady route to arrive where I am now: the right place at the right time. I am a social worker engaging with my community through the Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies (IWES) and the Coalition for Compassionate Schools (CforCS) in New Orleans. Along my journey, I am grateful to have had the perspective that every relationship, experience, and opportunity is a chance for me to learn and grow. This powerful lesson was instilled in me at a very young age by my mother. 

 My mom is so many things to so many people, but being an encouraging, creative educator is something that shines brightly from her whole being. She was an elementary Art teacher for nearly forty years, teaching in various settings to a wide range of diverse learners. She is my inspiration when it comes to building relationships built on genuine trust and care. My mom showed me the valuable skill of being able to adapt to changing circumstances; a strength that has connected us both throughout difficulties in our lives. For the past ten years, my mom has been living with Parkinson’s Disease, which is an awful and cruel illness, but her journey has provided me the opportunity to see her strength and resilience in the face of adversity. Her courage and commitment to positive transformation has helped guide me throughout my life and my work. 

As a stubborn young person, I was insistent on not following my mother’s footsteps in becoming a teacher; I graduated from undergrad with a BA in Spanish Literature and Art History. While I have a deep passion for both of those fields of study, the educator blood in me runs deep.

For over fifteen years, I have worked in public education in different roles and locations. Working with youth and families has always been something that comes natural to me and brings me joy. I have been a paraeducator supporting middle school students with exceptionalities in the Iowa City Public School District; a reading interventionist working with bilingual elementary students and an after school Art teacher, both in the Chicago Public School District; an English teacher to Spanish-speaking adult immigrants living in Chicago; an English professor to Spanish-speaking college students in the rural community of Miahuatlán in Oaxaca, Mexico; a high school Spanish teacher to youth in New Orleans; and a Bilingual Communications Director and Chief of Staff at a public charter school in New Orleans. As I moved up from one role to the next, I took all of the skills, resources, information, and guidance with me. 

Throughout my journey in education, I became more and more aware of the inequity and injustices that permeate the public school system in our country. As I continued teaching, I was finding it increasingly more challenging to focus on academics when my students started coming to my classroom for a snack, to chat, or to just sit down in the peace and quiet for a bit after school. It was in these moments that students would confide in me about the details of their lives. They provided me with more education than I ever could have learned from lectures or reading books. I learned that some kids were living without their most basic needs being met, or they had been deemed to be a caretaker of family members and were feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, or that they didn’t like to leave their house because there was too much violence going on in their neighborhoods. 

After years of providing a safe space, a listening ear, and a source of comfort for my students, I realized that there was more that I wanted to do. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole world cracked wide open and finally everyone was forced to sit with the brutal realities of the disparities between race and socioeconomic status. I found it impossible to think about things like state testing and enrollment numbers. I would regularly volunteer by preparing and passing out food to community members and I became an advocate for the families at my school who would reach out to me looking for support. As if this wasn’t hard enough to cope with, in 2021, Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans with devastating force. This was a defining moment in my journey of figuring out how to do the work I wanted to be doing. The City stood still and I poured every ounce of my energy into mutual aid and connecting people to resources. I would fundraise through my own social media platforms and by reaching out to people in faraway cities. I would then drive a far enough distance where I could buy basic necessities that people needed to take care of their families, clean their house, and start the long process of repair and healing. From that moment on, I knew I had to take a step away from public education and work towards getting my Master of Social Work. 

During my last year of grad school at Southern University at New Orleans, I started an internship at IWES and instantly found deep respect for the people I was working alongside. It felt so good to be in an organization where everyone is dedicated to supporting happy, healthy lives for the youth and families of New Orleans. Through this opportunity I was able to work with moms and their children at Hotel Hope, to help create and implement a wellness curriculum at Covenant House, to collaborate with local youth in trying to integrate the Arts back into education, to provide small group support to women in recovery at Grace House, and to facilitate presentations on a range of mental health topics to nurses working within the Metropolitan Human Services Department, the local governing entity that serves people in Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines parishes with Mental Health Disorders, Addictive Disorders and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities in Louisiana. During this time, I also went to the state capitol building to testify against harmful legislation that our state legislators were determined to pass into law. It was incredible to have such a wide range of opportunities to help inform how I would feel most successful as a social worker. 

As I stated earlier, I am grateful that I am currently exactly where I need to be.

All of the pushing of the needle I have done throughout my life has led me to take on a full time position at IWES in collaboration with CforCS. I am a Tier Support Coordinator working with teachers and students to help implement a Trauma-Informed Multi-Tiered System of Support. Through this position, I have arrived at an intersection where all of my experiences and passions come together. I feel so fortunate that I will continue to be a source of support and compassion for the happy, healthy lives of children and families in my community.