Tenacious Teacher Friendship Public Charter School

Hype or Help? Unlocking AI's Potential | Tenacious Teacher Podcast Ep. 3



AI influences everything, from how we create, work and learn. But how can we shape AI to work for teachers in classrooms where rigor, innovation and ethics hold equal importance? On Ep. 3, "Hype or Help? Unlocking AI's Potential," we kick off a two-part conversation with David Williams, a STEM teacher, global educator and AI enthusiast at Friendship Tech Prep High in Washington, D.C. Hailing from Bristol, England, David shares compelling reasons why teachers should integrate AI into their​ teaching experiences, and leverage the technology to think bigger, work smarter and open the world to their students. Join us as we explore how AI can transform the future of education. 

Do you believe in fairies? You will after watching Episode 2 of the Tenacious Teacher Podcast™! Join Atelierista Adia Harris as she guides us into the magical world of her early childhood art studio, located in the same school where one of former first lady Michelle Obama’s favorite artists, painter Alma Thomas, once explored her talents. Adia ignites a passion for learning by engaging young minds in process art, Black History, and yes, the wonderful world of fairies! Adia is a tenacious teacher at Friendship Armstrong Elementary and Middle School in D.C.



Adia shares an enchanted moment: “There’s flora hanging, twinkle lights, and a note on wall… Dear children, I met Ms. Adia and I’m fairy. She told me you were looking for treasure…look for the things other people overlook.”

How does learning through play spark the imagination and unlock coveted academic skills like critical thinking and Socratic thought? Tenacious

Teacher Podcast™ host Candice Tolliver Burns enters the world of early childhood Atelierista Adia Harris to find out.

Do you believe in fairies? You will after watching Episode 2 of the Tenacious Teacher Podcast™! Join Atelierista Adia Harris as she guides us into the magical world of her early childhood art studio, located in the same school where one of former first lady Michelle Obama’s favorite artists, painter Alma Thomas, once explored her talents. Adia ignites a passion for learning by engaging young minds in process art, Black History, and yes, the wonderful world of fairies!



Adia is a tenacious teacher at Friendship Armstrong Elementary and Middle School in D.C.

“After I played basketball overseas in Romania, I was questioned by an elderly woman in the airport. I was the only Black American on that plane, coming out of Bucharest. I guess she just wanted to know why – why was I on that plane? I told her, I played basketball. But then she said, what if that basketball stopped dribbling?" Two weeks later, Dominque received a text from her middle school assistant principal, “Can you work at my school?” In this pilot episode, “Starting 5,” tenacious teacher Dominque Johnson talks about how she has defied the odds on and off the basketball court, and why she took her passion as a professional athlete to the court of student achievement, helping lead her public school post-pandemic to reading levels 3 times higher than any other in the nation’s capital, outpacing national averages.

Dominque Johnson is the ELA chair and a middle school teacher at the Friendship Blow Pierce Elementary and Middle School campus in Washington, D.C., where over 80 percent of the student population represents groups most severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After I played basketball overseas in Romania, I was questioned by an elderly woman in the airport. I was the only Black American on that plane, coming out of Bucharest. I guess she just wanted to know why – why was I on that plane? I told her, I played basketball. But then she said, what if that basketball stopped dribbling?" Two weeks later, Dominque received a text from her middle school assistant principal, “Can you work at my school?” In this pilot episode, “Starting 5,” tenacious teacher Dominque Johnson talks about how she has defied the odds on and off the basketball court, and why she took her passion as a professional athlete to the court of student achievement, helping lead her public school post-pandemic to reading levels 3 times higher than any other in the nation’s capital, outpacing national averages.

Dominque Johnson is the ELA chair and a middle school teacher at the Friendship Blow Pierce Elementary and Middle School campus in Washington, D.C., where over 80 percent of the student population represents groups most severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.