LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

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Angela Harris

Position: Second Grade Teacher
School: Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language
School District: Milwaukee Public Schools
City, State: Milwaukee, WI

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Music that Describes Angela

Angela Harris was nominated anonymously.

Ms. Harris is a LifeChanger because she has dedicated over 20 years to transforming the lives of students and uplifting her school and community. She has a proven ability to make a beneficial difference in the lives of students, from guiding kindergarteners in building strong literacy foundations to mentoring high school and college students as they prepare for life after graduation. Her impact reaches beyond academics; she cultivates confidence, leadership, and resilience in every learner she encounters.

Ms. Harris consistently enhances her school's atmosphere by fostering equity, inclusion, and joy in every space she enters. Whether creating restorative classroom environments, leading student organizations like the MLK Lioness Club, or organizing community-centered projects, she ensures that students feel safe, valued, and empowered. Her leadership is evident in her classroom and across her state, where she has shared her expertise as an equity ambassador and professional development facilitator, guiding fellow educators to build more just and equitable learning environments.

Her professional record demonstrates excellence at every level. Her innovative instructional practices, such as individualized phonics-based interventions, have directly improved literacy outcomes for historically underserved students. During the pandemic, she reimagined learning by transforming her home into an engaging virtual classroom, keeping students connected, motivated, and successful despite unprecedented challenges while simultaneously organizing a mutual aid effort for her community.

At her core, Ms. Harris is committed to producing a nurturing atmosphere. She approaches teaching with compassion and high expectations, balancing rigor with joy. Her unwavering moral and ethical standards set the tone for students and colleagues alike, modeling integrity, equity, and care.

"Angela Harris is not only an educator, she is a mentor, advocate, and changemaker. Her lifelong dedication to equity in education, her leadership within her community, and her proven impact on students make her the very definition of a LifeChanger," said the nominator.

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Comments (4)

Dayna Graves Posted 10 months ago

As a fellow colleague of more than 14 years, I have watched Angela tirelessly commit herself year after year to the advocacy of the most marginalized and underserved children of Milwaukee in the most laudable ways possible. In fact, I don't know a single educator more committed to ensuring positive outcomes for all children in the greater Milwaukee community. She is a vibrant pioneer in MPS who works enthusiastically and energetically to acknowledge and champion the whole child understanding that the needs of our students are not purely academic, but part of a collective of social-emotional skills like self-awarness, empathy, communication, and resilience. I absolutely love the way she not only consistently shows up for her students, but is so easily relatable and accessible to her community, naturally connected and is clued in on what's going on with young people today. However, her commitment and supportive outreach far surpasses the classroom as she has throughout her career facilitated so many educational workshops and forums over the years, not selfishly gatekeeping her acquired knowledge and high functioning skills, but sharing and disseminating them through collaboration educating her peers on some of the best practices in providing equitable, quality education to children of every demographic of our city. In my estimation, Angela Harris is an often overlooked asset and true champion of education of our ever-changing Milwaukee community.

Andrea Turtenwald Posted 10 months ago

Angela recently provided an empowering advocacy training to parent and youth leaders through the program I oversee. Her presentation received 5 star reviews, and attendees left feeling they could (and should!) make an impact in their community. That sounds like a LifeChanger to me!

Rashidah Butler-Jackson Posted 11 months ago

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being connected to Angela over the years. I’ve learned so much from her about education, community engagement, and more. She’s a wealth of knowledge and willing to connect with and collaborate with folks whenever possible.

Drea Rodriguez Posted 11 months ago

Angela is a gift to MKE! Thank you for recognizing her! #LCOY