In this piece, Sara Ines Halabi reflects on her journey from elementary school teacher to graduate student in the Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Drawing on her experiences teaching in public schools in Georgia and Texas, Sara describes how her commitment to educating the whole child and honoring students’ cultural identities shaped her approach to teaching and learning. At HGSE, Sara highlights the close-knit TTL community and the program’s emphasis on building upon educators’ prior experiences while engaging deeply with research.
sara ines halabi (she/her)
Sara Ines Halabi is an Ed.M. candidate in the Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), in the Teaching and Leading strand. A former elementary public school teacher, Sara’s work centers on culturally responsive teaching, asset-based pedagogy, and advancing equitable literacy practices that honor students’ identities and lived experiences. Prior to graduate school, she taught first and third grade in public schools in Texas and Georgia, where she designed inclusive classroom environments and differentiated literacy instruction to support diverse learners. Sara serves as a Learning Research Intern with LXD Research, where she supports mixed-methods research projects designed to evaluate and strengthen educational programs, and she has also spent several years working as a research assistant at Texas A&M University, where she has contributed to a large-scale research project examining diversity, inclusivity, and asset-based teaching practices in schools nationwide. Sara holds a degree in Elementary Education from Texas A&M University. After HGSE, she plans to return to the classroom and, in the long term, pursue a PhD focused on preparing and supporting pre-service teachers at the university level.
My name is Sara Halabi, and I am an Ed.M. candidate in the Teaching and Teacher Leadership (TTL) program, Teaching and Leading strand, at HGSE. Prior to graduate school, I taught elementary public school for three years in Suwanee, Georgia, and College Station, Texas. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Texas A&M University in 2022.
My passion for teaching centers on educating the whole child by recognizing and building upon the assets, identities, and cultural contexts each student brings to the classroom. I am particularly committed to equitable literacy practices that honor students’ strengths while expanding their academic opportunities.
I began teaching because of the educators who recognized my strengths before I could name them myself. Their belief in me built a confidence that changed my trajectory, and I am committed to creating that same affirming, empowering experience for my students.
During my undergraduate teaching program at Texas A&M, I honed my interests into what I valued most as a teacher in my classroom. A culturally responsive classroom management course opened my eyes to the possibility of bringing students’ cultures and backgrounds into the classroom space. I began working as a research assistant on a project focused on asset-based pedagogy, further exploring how teachers across the nation implemented it in their classrooms.
My time in the classroom was deeply rewarding. Each class I taught was filled with an abundance of joy, knowledge, and inquiry brought by each of my students. My desire to incorporate students’ lived experiences grew, and I realized I wanted to learn more about how to do this in my own classroom and to better understand the research conducted on this. The TTL Program was a perfect fit, allowing me to explore my interests while honing my knowledge of the research in the field. The program’s focus on building on educators’ prior experiences and allowing flexibility to engage in what was most interesting to me drew me to this program.
The thing I have enjoyed most about the TTL program is the community of people that I am surrounded by, who are deeply passionate about improving and building the field of education. The students in the TTL cohort come from a variety of different backgrounds and experiences that come together and create something beautiful. The TTL faculty is also very loving, welcoming, and open to helping you build on the passions that brought you here. Some of my best memories from this year have been getting lunch and talking with my classmates at Gutman Library after class.
The most unique thing about the TTL community is how small and close-knit it is. Whether we have had one class together or all our classes, TTL is like a family. When we see each other at Gutman Library, and there is an open seat, you know you are welcome to join. All the people in this program come with a wealth of knowledge and experience, and I learn more about education with each conversation.
My main piece of advice to people applying to TTL is to be yourself and put what makes you happy and what you hope to get out of this program in your application. The faculty and community here are truly here to support you and help. I was unsure whether I was ready for a master’s degree when I applied to this program, as I had just started teaching not long before, but the beautiful thing about TTL is that, regardless of your experience, you will build and learn more.
After graduation, I would like to put all this information back into practice by teaching in the classroom. My long-term goal is to get my PhD and work with pre-service teachers at the university level.
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