In 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastated the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana leaving communities and homes destroyed and people in desperate need of assistance. As evacuees returned to their communities and neighbors from across the nation and world offered support, one group remained in need - the schools and educators. DOT recognized this need and in 2006, they partnered with Cisco Systems, Inc. to bring the TeachUp! Program to Mississippi and Louisiana schools.

Since its inception, DOT USA has strived to make the TeachUp! Program one that could be both sustained and replicated throughout Mississippi and Louisiana even beyond the initial investment from Cisco Systems. Four years later and DOT USA's TeachUp! Program has grown from serving 37 schools to training and deploying over 180 TeachUp! Interns to serve in over 160 schools across Mississippi and Louisiana.

DOT USA's team has secured not only the support of local communities and school districts, but also partnerships with local businesses, foundations, and granting institutions who are interested and impressed with the impact the TeachUp! Program is having on education in Mississippi and Louisiana. Today with additional partners including AmeriCorps, the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, and the Kellogg Foundation, TeachUp! Interns are serving 3,500 teachers and 100,000 students in the six Coastal counties of Mississippi, the Mississippi Delta, Jefferson Parrish, LA and the Recovery School District of New Orleans.

DOT USA believes that the successes of the schools, teachers, and Interns speak volumes about the impact of the program. It is through these successes that new relationships with partners are created. The impact on teachers and students is shared with the community and potential partners through school visits and Awareness Events, and the sustainability of the program relies heavily on testimonials from teachers and the ability to witness technology integration in action.

"To be perfectly honest, in the beginning, I didn't want to love the TeachUp! Program..." said Susan Bunch, Program Director of Teaching and Learning for the Mississippi Center for Education Innovation (MCOEI). "But I went to a TeachUp! School in Laurel (MS), and then I went to the DOT USA Luncheon in Gulfport, and then I visited another school in Hattiesburg (MS).  By the time I returned to Jackson, Mississippi, not only was I sold on the concept, but I was in love with TeachUp!"  

In 2009, along with the Kellogg Foundation and AmeriCorps, the MCOEI brought a 20-Intern Pilot TeachUp! Program to the Mississippi Delta after witnessing the benefits and successes on teachers and schools in south Mississippi.
 
"As a former school superintendent in West Tennessee, what I would have given for bright, talented, and energetic Interns to work with our administrators and teachers in utilizing existing technology to its maximum benefit.  Most schools have to wait on district-level technicians for the smallest amount of technical assistance and training is pre-determined in the school calendar, not based on current instructional requests and needs.  In TeachUp! Schools, technical assistance is around the corner, training is on-site, and the benefits to both teaching and learning are measured daily," said Bunch. "I hope our collaboration will continue for many years."
 
DOT USA continues to strive to reach new partners, foundations, and communities in hopes that TeachUp! will eventually touch not only communities in Mississippi and Louisiana but nationwide.

 Tech Challenge 2009: Race for the Planet

TeachUp! Interns in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana engage teachers in a motivating challenge in which they compete to create their best flipcharts.