Latoya Landfair

Associate Director, Urban Teaching Apprenticeship Program

What does she do?

Latoya Landfair, M.S.Ed., is an educator, mentor, and coach. She obtained her Master’s in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, where she was a founding member of the university’s first Race in Education Symposium, “Breaking the Silence.” She was invited to return to the symposium in 2011 as a panelist, bringing light to the disparities between school reform and quality of education for Black and Brown students in low-income neighborhoods.

Ms. Landfair began teaching in West Philadelphia immediately after graduate school. Noting the connection between math teaching and student achievement, she obtained her Math certification in 2013. Ms. Landfair served as a math coach for three years, challenging teachers to connect literacy and math instead of treating the subjects as isolated entities. Insistent upon greater collaboration with other educators to advocate for students of color, Ms. Landfair co-facilitated a city-wide town hall, open to all Philadelphia educators, under the Delta Teacher Efficacy Campaign in 2015. 

Throughout her teaching career, Ms. Landfair’s math classes made significant yearly gains. She attributes the success mainly to treating and viewing students as capable. Ms. Landfair is passionate about coaching and has facilitated professional development to middle school math teams on how to make math accessible and engaging for all students. 

Ms. Landfair has been heavily involved with the community, speaking at the School District of Philadelphia’s town hall forums and neighborhood community meetings to advocate for students and parents/guardians in the midst of school closings.

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