Walk the halls of Harriet Tubman Charter School on any given morning and you’ll find Aamyah Marsh exactly where she wants to be, posted at arrival and greeting her scholars with a customary, “Good morning, queen!” What makes her presence at Tubman remarkable isn’t just the role she plays today, but where her story with CCS began: as a kindergartner at Akili Academy, nearly two decades ago. Akili began as a single-site charter school in 2008, joined the CCS network in 2012, and merged with Mildred Osborne Charter School in 2023.
Marsh’s school journey began with a challenge – albeit a good one for a student to have. Her teachers quickly recognized she needed more than the standard kindergarten curriculum could offer. Rather than skip a grade, she was placed in first and second grade ELA and math alongside older scholars. Fueled by the confidence that her teachers and peers had in her ability, Marsh continued to grow. “I think their belief in me is what really pushed me academically,” she said. “From there, I just kept striving.”
It was the teachers in those classrooms who ultimately set her path in motion. Her first grade teacher attended Marsh’s high school graduation in 2021, many years after their time together had ended. That kind of lasting presence stayed with Marsh and became the very thing she set out to emulate in her own career. “Having those strong female leads inside and also outside the classroom made me realize that’s what I want to do,” she said. “I want to be somebody’s female force in the classroom for another little girl just like myself.”
That vision brought her to Tubman. After hearing about the school’s strong community and support system, Marsh applied, interviewed, and walked away knowing she’d found her place. “It felt like home,” she said. “I already understood the classrooms, the values, and everything they expect from students, because it’s something I’ve been through already. It just made sense for me to be there.”
Her current role as a paraprofessional has allowed her to lead intervention groups, work with fourth graders in ELA, and support special education students. Every day, Marsh continues to build the kind of empowering one-on-one relationships that she knows from experience can shape a student’s entire trajectory.
In Marsh’s first year at Tubman, she is also serving as the head coach of both volleyball and cheer alongside her other paraprofessional duties. Just three months after starting at Tubman, Marsh was named the school’s MVP of the week. “It really made me feel like what I’m doing here, it matters. I’m being seen.”
This May, Marsh is set to graduate from Delgado Community College with her associate’s degree. She plans to enroll in the Reach University program while continuing at Tubman, in order to work toward her undergraduate degree and teaching certification and, one day, her very own classroom at the school she already calls home. Marsh hopes that her story is a lesson for the Tubman students that she coaches, teaches, and advises. “Don’t give up,” Marsh said. “Your path is your path alone, so go at your own pace. It’s all up to you at the end of the day.”
