Marilyn Rhames, Teacher, Third Grade, Chicago, Illinois

“I feel somewhat like a doctor, that what I’m doing is a matter of life and death,” says Marilyn Rhames, a third grade teacher at Chicago’s Sherman School of Excellence. “Education means the difference between a good quality of life for these kids in the future or enduring suffering and poverty for the rest of their lives.”

Ellen Lau, Preservice Teacher, Chicago, Illinois

Ellen Lau knew she wanted to teach in a high-need school – but she also knew she needed some direct exposure to the challenges high-poverty schools face. To get that experience, she signed up for ACI’s High-Need Schools Internship while she attended Knox College.