Berkeley Teacher Education Program - BTEP

Cohort 8. 💛💙

One final photo before crossing the stage.

This community carried one another through lesson plans, observations, inquiry projects, classroom challenges, late nights, reflection, laughter, discomfort, growth, and becoming. Together, they imagined more just possibilities for education and committed themselves to the deeply human work of teaching. 🍎

Faculty, supervisors, and teacher candidates all standing together in this moment feels like a reminder that teaching is never solitary work. It is collective. Relational. Interdependent.

So deeply proud of the BTEP Class of 2026 and grateful to have walked alongside them during this chapter of their journey.

Until the next cohort. 🎓❤️

Beyond the degrees, the regalia, and the ceremony — this moment is also about community. 💛💙

BTEP graduation is a celebration of the relationships that carried our teacher candidates through this journey: peers who became family, mentors who challenged and supported them, faculty who believed in them, and loved ones who held them through every season of becoming.

Teaching is deeply collective work. None of us arrive here alone.

We are so proud of the BTEP Class of 2026 and grateful for the communities that continue to nurture, sustain, and grow alongside them.

Congratulations, to the graduates of BTEP Cohort 8. 🎓

Shouting out BTEP alum Nathalie Brunelle for being recognized during Teacher Appreciation Week by GO Public Schools ❤️ .brunelle

A beautiful full-circle moment: during her time in BTEP, Ms. Brunelle created a community asset map centered on the very school community she now continues to serve and lead at Leadership Public Schools Richmond. 🍎

Nathalie’s students describe her as a teacher with high expectations who makes time to support every student and provide meaningful feedback with care and intentionality. Even as a student teacher, Nathalie’s work reflected her deep commitment to relationships, community, and educational justice. In her teaching philosophy, she wrote about creating classrooms where students feel “engaged, cared for, and respected,” and where education remains “a symbol for liberation.” ✊🏾

Now, years later, we are proud to see her continuing that commitment not only as an educator, but as a leader within the same community.

At BTEP, we believe teacher education is not simply about preparing people to enter classrooms — it is about cultivating educators who build long-term relationships with schools, students, families, and communities.

We are so proud of you, Nathalie. ❤️



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We are honored to celebrate 🎉 Nuntehui Espinoza, this year’s student speaker representing the Berkeley Teacher Education Program (BTEP) at the Berkeley School of Education Commencement on Thursday, May 21 at Zellerbach Hall.

Nuntehui is a future mathematics educator whose teaching philosophy is rooted in imagination, humanization, equity, and deep care for the communities that shaped her. As a Mexican-American and Q***r woman teaching in communities that reflect her own upbringing, she reflects thoughtfully on identity, language, belonging, and the importance of creating classrooms where students can fully be themselves.

Drawing from Ethnic Studies, abolitionist thinking, and her experiences working with youth, Nuntehui believes education should cultivate imagination, critical thinking, dignity, and possibility. She writes about the importance of helping students “build their own meaning” and developing classrooms where young people are seen as intellectuals, capable of reaching high expectations when supported with care, structure, and humanity.

Nuntehui’s reflections remind us that teaching is not simply about content delivery — it is about relationships, hope, identity, inquiry, and believing in more just possibilities for education and for our students.

We are deeply proud to have Nuntehui representing BTEP and the future of public education at commencement this year. 💛💙

Congratulations to the BTEP Class of 2026. 🎓

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“Teaching is an endeavor to be more fully human, to embody the fullness of human life in ourselves and our students.” 🍎

At BTEP, we believe teaching is relational, intellectual, joyful, and deeply rooted in community. Our teacher candidates learn to co-create classrooms where young people experience dignity, belonging, inquiry, and rigorous learning.

We believe becoming a teacher also means developing the courage to reflect honestly on one’s own practice, to lean into discomfort, and to continually grow alongside students, families, and communities.

We are proud to support educators committed to building a more just world alongside their students.

Interested in learning more about BTEP before applications open in September? Complete the interest form in our bio to attend an online Q&A session.

Upcoming Q&A sessions:
🗓️ May 13, June 24, July 15, and August 5
📍 12:00–12:45 PM via Zoom

“Teaching is a craft that deepens through an intentional stance of inquiry over time.” 🍎

At BTEP, we prepare teachers who approach classrooms with curiosity, reflection, humility, and a commitment to continuous learning alongside young people and communities.

We believe transformative teaching also requires educators to critically examine their own practice — to lean into discomfort, reflect honestly on tensions and contradictions, and develop an inquiry stance toward their own growth.

Teaching is not simply about delivering content. It is a creative, intellectual, and relational practice that grows through inquiry, collaboration, and experience.

Interested in learning more about BTEP before applications open in September? Complete the interest form 🔗 in our bio to attend an online Q&A session.

Upcoming Q&A sessions:
🗓️ May 13, June 24, July 15, and August 5
📍 12:00–12:45 PM via Zoom