LAUREN DAUS

To whom it may concern,

I reviewed your job announcement online and I am interested in applying for the History Teacher position.
I have been searching for an opportunity such as this, and I feel my experience will fit your mission and
vision. I will bring strong leadership, solid judgment, cultural sensitivity, and commitment to social justice,
equity, and community service. I believe in the importance of acknowledging the many assets that youth
bring into the classroom and out to their communities. As an aspiring educator, I find the empowerment
and leadership of young people as vital components for developing and sustaining a more socially just
and equitable society.
As shown in my resume, I have experience working with a few organizations and programs, such as
Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP) in San Francisco and the Teacher Education Program (TEP) at
University of Los Angeles, California (UCLA). I have a strong background in developing innovative
curriculum and lesson plans that focus on topics such as oppression, social justice, and humanization. My
passion represents the contribution to a learning space in which students are acknowledged holistically,
where they are able to relevantly rearticulate what they learn in the classroom and make connections to
their own lives and communities. As a personal experience, when student teaching a unit on imperialism
and colonialism at Augustus Hawkins High School, I created a World History project in which students
were able to redefine these concepts into decolonization and humanization by creating a form of art, such
as a poem or painting, that depicted connections between what they learned and their personal
experiences. Aside from providing the opportunity for students to be researchers in the classroom, I have
also worked with students at Balboa High School to become researchers in their communities through
Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). During this project, students found that different forms of
violence deeply affected their school culture and the neighborhoods they live in. They were able to
present their research, recommendations, and action plan at the American Educational Research
Association (AERA) conference in 2013 for an audience of family members, friends, students, teachers,
researchers, and community members.
As I have enjoyed working in various settings, I find that significant experiences I have gone through were
during my student teaching at Augustus Hawkins High School and UCLA Community Schools. I have
learned many enriching lessons and have been given the opportunity to build meaningful relationships
with youth, which I hope to continue to do at your school.
I hope my background will call for an interview to discuss this further. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Lauren Daus