Vivett Dukes

Vivett Dukes (nèe Hemans) is in her eighth year as a middle and high school English Language Arts teacher. For her first four years in the DOE, she taught in an all-male, all minority, urban public school in Southside Jamaica, Queens, erected for the express purpose of counteracting the pervasive school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown boys. Currently, she is teaching in a College Board middle and high school also in Jamaica, Queens, where the population of students she serves is diversified on cultural, religious and socio-economic planes. During her time as a teacher within the New York City Department of Education she has served as a member of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Teacher Advisory Council 2014-2016 cohort, a classroom lab facilitator with Chancellor Carmen Fariña's Learning Partners Program, grade team leader, inquiry team leader, English Department Chairperson and Bethune Teaching Fellow for the New York Urban League.

Currently, in additional to teaching seventh-grade English Language Arts, she serves as a Lead Middle School Quality Initiative (MSQI) Reading Across All Disciplines (RAAD) Literacy Teacher, Advisor for the New York Times' Upfront magazine and Scholastic Inc., educational blogger for New York School Talk, and Co-CEO/Co-Founder of SpeakYaTruth.org and One Voice Online Blog Magazine. She also hosts a bi-weekly #SafeSpaceConvos Twitter chat about issues as the forefront of education.

At her core, Vivett is a passionate wife, mom, teacher-leader, keynote speaker, public intellectual, social activist, social advocate, and humanitarian who is dedicated to taking her voice outside of the classroom and into the public arena in an effort to elevate authentic conversations and grassroots changes in educational equity and human rights advocacy.
The NYC DOE Has Racism Coursing Through Its Veins and Carranza Is Trying To Do Something About It. Why the Pushback?: Part 1.
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The NYC DOE Has Racism Coursing Through Its Veins and Carranza Is Trying To Do Something About It. Why the Pushback?: Part 1.

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City kids are struggling with basic math and English — but a new Department of Education curricular initiative focuses instead on racial privilege and activism, The Post has learned. As soon as I read this opening sentence of this NY Post article, I was completely taken aback. Racial privilege? Activism? What — you mean activating… Continue reading The NYC DOE Has Racism Coursing Through Its Veins and Carranza Is Trying To Do Something About It. Why the Pushback?: Part 1.

I’m Afraid I Will Have To Abandon My Educational Journey: A Student Speaks.
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I’m Afraid I Will Have To Abandon My Educational Journey: A Student Speaks.

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I met Xavier at the EDXEDNYC conference on my birthday last year. As the shirt he’s wearing in his photo illustrates, he was a student volunteer and his true spirit of service shone bright. He helped me set up for my conference, showed me where lunch was being held, and answered all of my questions.… Continue reading I’m Afraid I Will Have To Abandon My Educational Journey: A Student Speaks.

Dear Parents: Your Expectations Of Teachers Should Match Your Commitment As A Parent.
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Dear Parents: Your Expectations Of Teachers Should Match Your Commitment As A Parent.

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Summer is here and I’m exhausted. Teaching, while extremely rewarding, is equally as draining — sometimes more so. Every year, it becomes more and more apparent to me that a huge part of why I’m so exhausted has to do with the shortage of parental involvement in their children’s / my students’ academic lives. Dear… Continue reading Dear Parents: Your Expectations Of Teachers Should Match Your Commitment As A Parent.

Classrooms Need Books Featuring Children of Incarcerated Parents. Here’s One That Fits the Bill!
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Classrooms Need Books Featuring Children of Incarcerated Parents. Here’s One That Fits the Bill!

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It’s the end of the school year and while most teachers are cleaning out their classrooms and packing their books safely away, I am excited about ordering new books to bolster the diversity and equity of my classroom library. (Here’s some tips on why that’s important.)  I had one particular book in mind, Anna’s Test,… Continue reading Classrooms Need Books Featuring Children of Incarcerated Parents. Here’s One That Fits the Bill!

“I’ve Been Hard to Manage But You’ve Taught Me So Much.” A Teacher Considers Her Impact.
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“I’ve Been Hard to Manage But You’ve Taught Me So Much.” A Teacher Considers Her Impact.

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Teachers, our students need us. Let me make that statement more personal: My students need and appreciate me. How do I know? They told me so in birthday cards that they wrote for me last Friday. For the first time in my career, I had a student with the same birthday as me (June 7th)… Continue reading “I’ve Been Hard to Manage But You’ve Taught Me So Much.” A Teacher Considers Her Impact.

To Promote Or Not To Promote: That Is The Question.
Accountability

To Promote Or Not To Promote: That Is The Question.

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It’s that time of year when the school year is coming to yet another end. While some students exuberantly await the start of their summer vacation, others are scrambling, beseeching, and working hard at last to hopefully avoid summer school attendance or worse — getting retained in their current grade, otherwise known as “getting left… Continue reading To Promote Or Not To Promote: That Is The Question.

Dear Chancellor Carranza: Keep Making Them Mad!
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Dear Chancellor Carranza: Keep Making Them Mad!

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We need more diversity in the teaching pool of the NYC Department of Education. It’s just too white and that shouldn’t be a newsflash to anyone. I’ve said it before and I will continue to strike that same note and will not stop speaking and writing this truth until the paradigm shifts and more teachers… Continue reading Dear Chancellor Carranza: Keep Making Them Mad!

Ode to My Son, Christian Hemans, On His College Graduation
Blog · Educational Equity

Ode to My Son, Christian Hemans, On His College Graduation

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Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy Black excellence baby, you gon’ let ’em see Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy Black excellency, baby, let ’em see” Jay-Z, “Legacy” I’m up early this morning and these lyrics by one of the most profoundly impactful rappers of our time takes on a whole new meaning for me and resonates deeply within… Continue reading Ode to My Son, Christian Hemans, On His College Graduation

The Mismatch Between Prison Education and Actual Employment: A Real Life Account.
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The Mismatch Between Prison Education and Actual Employment: A Real Life Account.

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It’s been six months since John has been home and the question that most people ask about his reentry focuses on whether or not he’s found a job. That’s telling in and of itself but that’s another post for another day. For John, securing employment once home from prison has always been of the utmost… Continue reading The Mismatch Between Prison Education and Actual Employment: A Real Life Account.

Of the Four Key Things I’ve Learned This School Year, This One Stands Out The Most.
Accountability

Of the Four Key Things I’ve Learned This School Year, This One Stands Out The Most.

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Around this time every school year, I reflect upon my professional glows and grows as well as my students’ academic and social progress. This year is no different. The four key things I learned this 2018-2019 school year are: (1) It’s beneficial to build relationships with all students in my school — whether I am… Continue reading Of the Four Key Things I’ve Learned This School Year, This One Stands Out The Most.