The Practice Space

Speech and debate students from West Contra Costa Unified School District

After announcing that they had secured a national cohort of innovators who share the same mission as the non-profit, philanthropy group NewSchools Venture Fund will guarantee more resources for students, according to a news release from the organization With this new funding, the Practice Space plans to expand a full year project based, speech and debate curriculum and coaching services to support students.

“English Learners have amazing stories and experiences and too often feel like imposters in today’s high schools. We are deeply honored to work alongside incredible high school educators to provide more oral literacy opportunities and culturally-affirming experiences that honor their voices,” AnnMarie Baines, Founder of The Practice Space, stated in a press release. 

Practice Space started back in 2017, their mission has been to help underrepresented voices learn how to speak up and give them a sense of belonging without having to face stereotypes. They serve various K-12 schools in counties across the Bay Area, including some Contra Costa County schools. According to their website, they have received national and local recognition for their work in communities.

Teachers see the positive impact on their students when participating in this program. 

“The project-based approach helped my students go from whispering at desk level to wanting to make their podcasts public,” Zach Porter, an instructor at John F. Kennedy High School, said in the press release. “The authenticity really helped student engagement.”. 

NewSchool is a philanthropy that promises to support the building of a better education system by providing resources to programs.With the new collaboration, The Practice Space’s leaders believe it will not only be helped with funding, but will gain other benefits by the connections and influence from NewSchools, according to the message they shared in the press release.