Chalkbeat

This New York City counselor used to teach math. Now she helps migrant students destress at school

2024-03-15T14:00:08+00:00

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As a middle school math teacher, Lisset Condo Dutan’s days often revolved around fractions and equations. But when the pandemic hit, her virtual classroom became a place where students came to confide in her.

“I would only see them through a screen, and they would share with me: I lost my grandma, I just lost my dad, I just lost my mom,” she said. She tried her best to listen, but she knew they needed more. “They didn’t really have the emotional support that they needed.”

Lisset Condo Dutan works with newcomer students at an elementary school in Queens through the nonprofit Counseling in Schools.

Driven by those conversations, Condo Dutan went back to school to get her master’s in counseling — while she was teaching full-time — and became a school counselor.

Last fall, she took a position with the nonprofit Counseling in Schools, which places school counselors in dozens of schools throughout New York City. Condo Dutan now works at P.S. 149 in Queens, not far from where she grew up. She was among a dozen bilingual or bicultural counselors that the nonprofit hired to meet the needs of a growing number of migrant students who’ve enrolled in the city’s schools.

Now, she spends her days popping into classrooms to see if newcomers need any help and meeting with students in small groups or one-on-one.

“Even though they went through a lot, they’re the strongest people that I’ve ever met,” she said. “I admire that.”

Condo Dutan spoke with Chalkbeat about how art therapy, breathing exercises, and sharing details from her visits to Ecuador have helped her connect with her students.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What are some of the mental health or social-emotional needs that your newcomer students have?

A lot of them have undergone some sort of trauma. Especially when they share their journey coming here to New York, either what they saw on their way here or what they saw at the detention centers at the border. It impacts them a lot.

Thankfully, a lot of the teachers pick up on these little emotions. Maybe they walk in sad one day or they look upset, or there’s a change in behavior. They’ll ask: Can you please just check up on the student? And when you check up on them, you realize that there’s a lot of things that are still bothering them.

They’ll share: You know, I had this nightmare, I’m still thinking about this. I remember when we were crossing the river. Or, honestly speaking, they’ve seen people pass away on their way here. Unfortunately, they’ve seen bodies and stuff like that. And these are third graders, second graders, fifth graders.

That’s still there for them. So, sometimes they do have days where they’re a little off. [It’s important] to provide them with that support and that safe space.

When you’re starting to build a relationship and a rapport with a student who has been through a really tough journey, what are some of the things you do to help establish that you’re a safe person and that they’re in a safe place?

I let them speak about their culture. A lot of these students are very proud of where they come from, so I give them that opportunity and that time to teach me about themselves.

Sometimes, we’ll share memories. But usually, we do a lot of art therapy. For most of them, that’s easier. Markers, crayons, glitter, pens, paints — anything that I have in the office.

They’re drawing their favorite dishes, their favorite places, or their favorite people that they left behind, as well as their pets or any traditional celebrations. For example, for Christmas, they shared that certain countries have a whole festival for like a week. They would draw bumper cars and parties, and certain cultural outfits.

What are some of the acculturation struggles that you’re seeing?

Usually, what they share is that it’s just hard overall. In their countries, they would have more freedom. There would be much more fresh air and free space for them to run around. Coming here and being in an apartment, or being stuck in school, it’s different for them.

They’ve slowly been getting accustomed to school life. It’s been a lot of teaching them how to schedule their time, time management, as well as asking them what other resources they need in order to feel comfortable.

What strategies or coping skills have you taught students that they’ve found helpful?

We’ve done a lot of breathing exercises. Sometimes [their exposure to trauma] does get them a little uneasy. They really like [an exercise called] smell the flower, blow out the birthday cake candle.

I usually ask them: If I had a flower in my hand, how would you smell the flower? And they would inhale and breathe in. And when I ask them to blow out a birthday candle, they blow out through their mouth. It teaches them how to not take quick breaths.

I’ve also done a lot of cooked spaghetti, uncooked spaghetti. I have students basically tense up every part of their body. So they’ll become very stiff, like uncooked spaghetti. And then I allow them to become like cooked spaghetti, very noodly, so they let go of everything.

It’s allowing them to take notice of what part of their body is under stress, and teaching them how to express themselves when they feel that stress.

How does being able to speak Spanish allow you to connect with the students in ways that wouldn’t be possible if you didn’t speak their language?

Instead of having to translate what they’re feeling, they’re able to just express themselves exactly how they feel.

If I don’t understand something, I do ask them: Oh, what do you mean by this? It could be because of cultural differences. I take that time to let them teach me about what they’re trying to say, or what they’re trying to get out.

Do you ever share things about yourself with the students to help make a connection with them?

My parents are Ecuadorian, and I do bring that to the table. When I go to Ecuador, I visit my grandpa, I go to the countryside, I go to the city, and I’m able to share that with them. Even if the child is not from Ecuador, they’re more open to opening up to me because they realize: She’s been outside of New York, she understands what’s going on in other countries.

Lisset Condo Dutan often shares stories about visiting her family in Ecuador as a way to connect with the students she works with.

They ask me: Have you tasted salchipapas? Have you tasted a traditional dish called tripa mishqui? I’m open to sharing that information with them, and they’re usually very happy [to talk about it].

Where my grandpa lives, it’s like a farmland. A lot of them came from farmland. So, me being able to say: You know, when I go to Ecuador, I spend a week with my grandpa, and I help him feed the cows and feed the horses. That usually sparks something in them. They look at me like: You did that? I used to do that! Little things like that have really helped me connect with them.

Kalyn Belsha is a senior national education reporter based in Chicago. Contact her at kbelsha@chalkbeat.org.

Newark school leader returns home, aims to create joyful and welcoming classrooms

2024-02-15T11:45:00+00:00

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Islah Tauheed’s return to Newark schools is a much-anticipated homecoming that carries on her family’s legacy.

The Newark native who recently became vice principal of Avon Avenue Elementary School comes from generations of educators and advocates for public education in the city. She started her career at the now-closed Miller Street School, where her grandmother went to school as a child. Her grandmother later became a school cafeteria worker and Tauheed’s mother spent 30 years as a special education teacher in the city.

As a school leader, Tauheed is now focused on creating a welcoming environment for new immigrant students and a joyful workplace for staff. She’s also prioritizing small group literacy instruction for K-3 classes.

When we last caught up with her, Tauheed was teaching English language arts at P.S. 567 Linden Tree Elementary School in the Bronx. After 12 years there, she returned to Newark last summer. “I thrived as an educator in New York City, but for every amazing thing I did, there was a voice in the back of my head that said, ‘I wish I was doing this for my own community,’” she said in a recent interview with Chalkbeat Newark.

In her new role, she works closely with Kinyetta Bird, a first-year principal at Avon Elementary. For Tauheed, this holds special meaning to be able to work alongside someone whom she identifies closely with, she says.

“Being a young Black woman leader and having her mentorship has been life-changing even in these short few months,” Tauheed said of Bird. “It changes your confidence to feel affirmed, validated, and understood. We speak often of how representation matters to students — but it matters to leaders as well.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What issues have come up for you as a school leader this school year, and how have you addressed them?

This is my third year as a school leader, but my first as a school leader in Newark. One major event happening this year is an influx of newly immigrated students into our school. This is a demographic shift for this community which has historically been largely African American, African, and Caribbean. As a leadership team, we are prioritizing hiring more Spanish-speaking staff. Our climate and culture committee came up with a welcome plan for families to reduce feelings of isolation. We’ve also moved to a more inclusive model where our new students are supported by our ESL teachers beyond pull-out services. Our teachers are helping our new students within all content areas, including math.

Another less tangible effort this year is creating a culture of joyful persistence within our school. With all the demands in education, this job needs to feel sustainable. Our community has experienced a lot of loss due to COVID and instances of violence. It was a priority for us to balance giving grace to the staff, understanding that change is not easy, while also holding high expectations for academics. The wellness of both students and staff is promoted within our school. For example, my principal holds Wellness Wednesdays, during which our physical education teacher leads morning yoga for the staff. The care that the staff feels trickles down to the students.

How is your team helping younger students boost their reading levels and refine their literacy skills?

My young learners are busy! To support building and maintaining those foundational literacy skills, we implement daily small group work where there is a focus on phonics and phonemic awareness. Teaching early elementary school for 14 years, I’m aware that managing small groups is tough for a classroom teacher to do on their own, especially with the other daily demands.

I work very closely with my literacy coach, my academic interventionists, my resource teachers, and my amazing paraprofessionals to provide support for my classroom teachers. They push in during the literacy block and assist with small group instruction every single day. There are no fewer than three adults leading small group work daily in my kindergarten through third grade classes — it’s all hands on deck!

I say that teaching reading is rocket science and that all my teachers are action researchers. We spend lots of time progress monitoring and analyzing data so that we are responsive to student needs and adjusting instruction accordingly. We’ve been seeing movement, especially in the second grade, where 93% of the students have moved reading levels. It’s lots of work but it’s work of love, and I’m really proud and grateful to my team for passionately jumping on board.

Islah Tauheed is the vice principal at Avon Elementary School in Newark.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

This is an ongoing challenge as I’ve been trying to establish a work-life balance since I’ve entered education, but The Nap Ministry has been instrumental in me seeing rest as a revolution.

Part of my rest is seeking out spaces of comfort. I find being in nature really grounding, yet challenging when you live in an urban city. But even on my busiest days, I’ll drive to a park and sit by the river and feel the air on my skin.

I also love to cook, which many may find as more work! However, I enjoy putting meals together. Cooking is a creative outlet for me. I subscribe to NYT Cooking, and I try new recipes whenever I can. Lastly, everyone who knows me knows that I love to travel. Catch me on a plane!

Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.

This Tennessee ESL teacher ensures that her students learn the language — and feel the love

2024-02-15T22:16:56+00:00

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Missy Testerman has been teaching at Rogersville City School for 32 years. But for the past few years, she’s been teaching more children who weren’t born in the rural Appalachian community where the school is nestled.

Some of the children are from Mexico and Honduras. Others are from India, China, and various Arabic-speaking nations. She heard stories about immigrant families braving dangerous routes to get to the United States.

“We’re very rural. We see cows every day,” said Testerman, 54, who also directs the ESL program at the school. “But what we’ve seen here is that [Spanish-speaking immigrants] aren’t settling close to the [southern] border anymore … they’re coming to towns like ours.”

To help these families acclimate, Testerman earned her license to teach English learners two years ago. What she’s learned is that the job requires more than helping children and families learn English and find their way. It means helping newcomer students fit in socially as well.

Sometimes, she said, the political climate can make that daunting.

“I try to make sure that my children and their families are assimilated here, that they’re participating in sports and everything, because if they assimilate, people will accept them more easily,” Testerman said.

She said it’s “heartbreaking” to hear people, particularly elected officials, make hurtful blanket statements about immigrants.

Last year, Testerman’s passion for her students and her work as an ESL teacher earned her the title of Tennessee’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. This year, the Council of Chief State School Officers selected her as one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year.

The winner will be announced in April.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” she said. “I’m still a little baffled as to how and why, because there are so many awesome teachers in my state and community who pour their heart and soul into their work. To be named as a finalist is just incredibly humbling.”

Testerman recently talked to Chalkbeat Tennessee about how she approaches her work.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How do you go about teaching English to non-native speakers?

You just start small, using photo cards, and expanding their reach, just like you would with a baby, by trying to fill their world with language. In the beginning, it means very basic language that you build on.

I do a combination of push-in services, where I go in, plan with the teacher, work with the teacher, and help deliver English language development skills at the same time I’m delivering academic content, and I also do [55 minutes of] pull-out for kids who need it — new learners, students who struggle.

This year, I really tried to focus on my fourth graders, because they were kindergartners when the COVID shutdowns started. They were home during most of first grade, and they’re the ones who have had the most loss.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I love everything about the reading process. My master’s degree is in education, so I love any lesson that has to do with the components of reading — whether that is breaking down themes, character development, contractions, antonyms, and synonyms.

What’s going on in your community that affects what happens in your classroom?

Unfortunately, there are [those], and they’re mainly politicians, who are on social media pushing out these untrue statements about immigrants, and a lot of times, that causes a bias to form against some of my students and their families, and that does affect their education.

Luckily, my school here is kind of insulated. We built this community inside our school, but outside our school, these are the things that my students and their families have to face. They want to fit in, but they also want to be proud of their heritage, and we want them to be proud of their heritage.

Also, something that is also very important to me is that they preserve their home language. It is a gift to have two languages, and I constantly work in examples of how they can use both of their languages in a career someday. I tell the story of my son’s girlfriend. [Her family is] Honduran. She was born and raised in Houston but she speaks both languages. They’re in supply chain management and real estate. She’s just incredibly talented because she’s able to talk to people in two different languages. I urge [students] to speak their home languages at home, so they don’t lose it. I can teach them English, but not Arabic or Spanish.

What inspired you to become a teacher?

I think I was always destined to be a teacher. I was always that typical kid who lined up the dolls taught the dolls, and forced my little sister to play school. I had so many incredible teachers when I was growing up, and I wanted to be like them, to emulate them. I wanted to dress like them. I remember when I was in the first grade, and I was so proud when my mom bought me a cardigan to wear with my Easter dress because my teacher wore a cardigan every day. I was so proud of that sweater.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

I worked with the very best mentor. She’s no longer with us, but she was always that voice asking what’s best for kids and how something will impact students. That’s the best advice I’ve ever gotten: To keep kids as the focus and to ask yourself what’s best for students.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

This may sound weird, but my husband and I get up at about 5:30 every morning, and we run before school. That is my stress reliever; it helps me manage the stress of the job.

Bureau Chief Tonyaa Weathersbee oversees Chalkbeat Tennessee’s education coverage. Reach her at tweathersbee@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago counselor focuses on building relationships to get students to share

2024-02-15T00:35:02+00:00

Marlita Ingram was an English teacher at Chicago’s Manley Career Academy High School in the early 2000s when she realized that she wanted to be a school counselor.

She noticed that students who struggled in class were often dealing with a problem outside of school. She learned that if she built a relationship with them, then they would sometimes open up.

Ingram, who has been a counselor for the past 18 years, helps students work through a range of problems – from issues with their class schedule to dealing with gun violence, which recently claimed the lives of four students near three Chicago schools.

Even as a seasoned educator, Ingram, a department chair at Foreman College and Career Academy High School, is still learning new ways to connect with students. Recently, as the school has welcomed many new migrant students, Ingram has relied on Google Translate, bilingual staff, and trusted friends of her Spanish-speaking students to facilitate conversations.

“I’ve had kids who are not even on my caseload [say], ‘Can I talk to you?’ I’m like, ‘OK, yeah, baby, you can talk to me,’ and it’s because one of their friends brought them,” she said. “The more approachable you are … I think they gravitate, and they are willing to tell you more than what you want to know, but they’ll tell you what they have on their mind.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a counselor?

Outside the classroom, I was doing a lot more community-based work with my students. They needed help with navigating different things in the community. They were having issues at home with family, and I started engaging with that work. And then one summer, I kinda helped out the school counselor at the school, and I was like, “I think this is what I want to do.” I still always tell people my passion or my niche is to teach or to help educate. I just do it in a different way with school counseling.

How do you get to know your students?

It varies. Kids say my presence is always “automatic” when I come in the room because I’m very boisterous. I’m very alive when I’m doing class instructions or class lessons with students. But I’m also a person who notices the small things.

If it’s a student I’ve never known before and they’re on my caseload, I might do a general introduction via email. We can see kids’ pictures; I just do a random look at the pictures so that I can start putting names and faces together. If I start seeing them in the hallway, I’m just like, “Hi, I’m Dr. Ingram, your counselor. What’s your name again?” I start that very general conversation, and then I build from there.

I try to be in the hallway during passing periods so I can observe how kids are interacting with each other. Do I see anything that’s not positive – bullying or something like that? I stay away from being security because that’s more punitive, and that’s not my role. But you will hear me in the hallway be like, “Ay!” Especially if it’s one of my kids that I’ve known for a while [like], “Uh-uh, Joshua, you already know where you’re supposed to be. I know your schedule by heart.” I don’t, but they think I do.

Every interaction builds to the next interaction. I’m in the middle of programming, so we sit one-on-one with our kids, and we start having conversations, like, “So what do you want to do? … Let’s start seeing where we need to plug in classes that might fit well with what you think you may want to do, and you can change your mind.” Kids flock to you when they know that you care.

Over the past month, multiple students in Chicago have been fatally shot near school, causing a lot of grief for not just the families, but also for students and staff. What are the first steps you take to support students experiencing grief?

On a school level, we may do some acknowledgment. We have these two groups, right, that don’t necessarily live by each other. They live in certain pockets of the city. One of our African American students may have heard about something in that particular area, whereas my Latino students may not know because they don’t live in that area. It’s sometimes challenging to be able to finagle what’s happened in what community, but when we do have that information, we do offer crisis services for students here at the school with our social workers. We have great outside partners, with Youth Guidance, with BAM and WOW. They chime in and help as much as needed. On a daily basis, in the counseling suite, we have a wellness room. It’s a space for students to utilize to kind of regulate their emotions. [One student was] dealing with the loss of her father. That was her saving grace when she transitioned back into school.

And then we are starting to help teachers get more involved in the regulation because sometimes kids won’t come to us. So we’re in the process [of] ordering different things that kind of help create a space, that if a kid just wants to take a timeout, and they don’t want to come all the way down to the counseling office, teachers can have these chair corners already established in their room that have gadgets and fidgets, meditating things, some breathing exercises, coloring, all the different things that can kind of help a student regulate and refocus.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your school?

We have [had an] increase in one part of the community of robberies. I’ve got a couple of kids who have been stuck up for shoes, jackets.

[Separately], we have an influx of our migrants that are coming in. Our bilingual numbers have doubled. So learning how to communicate with the students and make them feel welcome and safe.

I have learned over the years a few phrases, but I cannot hold a complete conversation in Spanish, but I utilize Google Translate. [Students learning English] become very resourceful, and they’ll find a peer partner to help translate. We have a list of staff that are bilingual or trilingual that I can reach out to like, “Hey, can you translate for me real quick?” especially with a parent and or a student. So we just try to maneuver, and I’m still trying to learn Spanish because I think I should just learn it anyway.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

I had a student who didn’t know how to come out to his family. That transition was a very hard time for him. And this was early on in my career. It was the first time I had a student who came out to me, right? And the love and support that I saw from [his mother and aunt]. It really, truly made me understand the need for that full circle, for that student to be that courageous, to be able to say, “This is who I am, and this is why you know. I’m not going to hide it anymore.” So it made me very much more in tune to try and check to see if I had any biases, and if I did, to try to correct those to be a support.

What part of your job is most difficult?

The meetings. As leaders in the building, we are pulled into quite a few meetings, and balancing that with being available for students in need [is a challenge]. Our leadership, our administration, only allows students to see us during the lunch period. (If a kid is in crisis, it doesn’t matter when it is.) But trying to balance being a presence, providing our perspective, being in leadership roles in the building, and being available to students — sometimes that just totally throws off your day. I’ll have days where I’ve been in meetings most of the day and I feel like I haven’t been available for my students. I’m learning as a department chair that sometimes your impact may be indirect because you’re making decisions … that are going to affect students indirectly. So I’m servicing them, it’s just not the direct service. And my passion is the direct service, right?

The second part is student advocacy. If I’m advocating for a student, be it for an academic issue or social-emotional or something like that, that is part of my job. It sometimes makes that tension [with another teacher or administrator] a little strong, I’m gonna say. [Teachers] feel as though I’m taking the kid’s side — I’m not.

What was the biggest misconception that you initially brought to teaching?

In teaching, my biggest misconception was that I thought all kids wanted to learn. I figured, if you came to school, you want to be there. That’s not how it is. We got kids who come for other reasons. It took me a while to learn that. I believe that a lot of students come to school for socialization. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have kids who want to learn — that’s not what I’m saying. But I am saying, kids feed off of interacting with their peers and growing those relationships.

As a counselor, I think my misconception was that I would have more freedom and fluidity throughout my day, and I really don’t. It’s very structured. Like [people will say], “Oh, you don’t have a class, so what are you doing?” When I walked in the door, it’s literally boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, sneak in a lunch, boom, boom.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

With school counseling, the best advice was for me to be transparent to students and families, to be vulnerable. If I can show them I was OK being transparent and I was comfortable being vulnerable with them, then they would do the same. If we can have that baseline of vulnerability and respect, we can go wherever we needed to go.

Esta maestra de Colorado lucha por lograr un cambio para los estudiantes bilingües

2024-02-14T23:05:35+00:00

Read in English.

En segundo grado, Carlota Loya Hernández pasaba mucho tiempo coloreando en su asiento. No hablaba inglés y su maestra no hablaba español, así que los lápices de colores y el papel eran su actividad favorita en la escuela de San Luis Valley en Colorado.

En la escuela intermedia, las cosas habían cambiado. Loya Hernández estaba tomando la clase de matemáticas avanzadas y estaba en camino a tomar clases más avanzadas en la secundaria. Con el tiempo, obtuvo su diploma universitario y se convirtió en maestra en el distrito escolar del Boulder Valley.

Hoy tiene un doctorado y aboga por los estudiantes bilingües, trabajando para asegurar que ellos tengan las oportunidades educativas que merecen.

“El mayor problema de las escuelas públicas es la falta de respuesta al brillante e increíble talento de todos y cada uno de los niños, especialmente los bilingües y multilingües”, dijo ella.

Carlota Loya Hernández.

Loya Hernández, que es especialista en matemáticas y en programas para estudiantes sobresalientes y talentosos en la Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer, una escuela de inmersión en dos idiomas en Boulder Valley, fue nombrada maestra bilingüe de primaria del año 2023 por la Asociación de Educación Bilingüe de Colorado. Ella habló con Chalkbeat sobre cómo aseguraba que las reuniones de padres y maestros tuvieran un 100% de asistencia, qué le dijo a la mamá de un estudiante y por qué le preocupan los sentimientos en contra de los inmigrantes.

Esta entrevista ha sido levemente editada para acortarla y hacerla más precisa.

¿En qué momento decidiste ser maestra?

Como estudiante de intermedia y secundaria, recibí capacitación para ser tutora de estudiantes porque con frecuencia venían a mí para que los ayudara. En la universidad, fui tutora de matemáticas y ciencias. Nunca tuve planes de ser maestra y quería ser ingeniera arquitectónica por mi amor a las matemáticas y al arte. Pero era mi vocación.

Abandoné la universidad por dificultades económicas y por no saber sobre las ayudas financieras. Conseguí un trabajo como gerente de un restaurante y comencé mi carrera en el distrito de Boulder Valley como una tutora de idioma natal. Disfruté mucho trabajando con estudiantes inmigrantes y refugiados, que a menudo eran ignorados o no recibían apoyo en los salones de clase regulares. Esto me enfureció y me impulsó a volver a la universidad y obtener un diploma de maestra.

¿Cómo influyó tu propia experiencia en la escuela en tu manera de enseñar?

Recuerdo mi primer día de segundo grado en la Center Elementary School. Acabábamos de mudarnos a San Luis Valley desde Silverton. Tuve apoyo bilingüe en Kinder y en primer grado porque acababa de llegar al país, pero en segundo grado mis opciones eran nadar o hundirme. Mi maestra no me entendía y yo no la entendía a ella. Me dio lápices de colores y me dejó colorear. Yo era muy feliz porque me encantaba el arte.

En la escuela intermedia, me asignaron a una clase de matemáticas avanzadas. En la secundaria tomé clases avanzadas de lenguaje, matemáticas y ciencias. Como hija de trabajadores agrícolas con pocos recursos en casa, la escuela se convirtió en un refugio seguro. Me iba muy bien en todas las clases, excepto en Educación Física. La única C que recibí fue en educación física porque tenía que vestirme para la clase. Mi papá no me permitía usar pantalones cortos y tampoco contaba con los medios para comprarme pantalones de sudadera.

La Center High School me abrió las puertas a un mundo de oportunidades y me nominó para la beca Spud Bowl del Adams State College en Alamosa (que ahora es la Adams State University). Gané la beca completa, y fue la clave para acceder a una educación superior y a un futuro lleno de posibilidades. Se convirtió en mi boleto para salir de la pobreza.

Cuéntanos cuál es la lección que más te gusta enseñar. ¿De dónde salió la idea?

Me encanta desarrollar lecciones que realmente conecten con los estudiantes, impacten en su forma de pensar y les ayuden a entender conceptos importantes. Para enseñar conceptos matemáticos importantes, como fracciones, decimales y porcentajes, preparé una lección utilizando el libro If the World Were a Village de David J. Smith.

El enfoque era muy matemático, pero los estudiantes pudieron analizar los datos y llegar a sus propias conclusiones. La lección permitió que mis estudiantes pensaran más allá de su propia existencia en su ciudad, más allá de las fronteras, y se enfrentaran a las graves desigualdades en el acceso a educación, atención médica, condiciones básicas para vivir, como acceso a agua potable, vivienda y alcantarillado, y pudieran imaginar la gran pobreza de tantos que literalmente se están muriendo de hambre. Nos permitió entender lo agradecidos que debemos estar por todo lo que tenemos en Estados Unidos, lo afortunados que somos y la gran cantidad de oportunidades que tenemos.

¿Cuál es el mayor reto que enfrentan tus estudiantes bilingües?

Los sistemas de opresión en todos los ámbitos de la vida de los estudiantes. Las manifestaciones de racismo incluyen programas de doble idioma adaptados para las familias blancas. La mayoría de los estudiantes de nuestro distrito que obtienen el Sello de Alfabetización Bilingüe (que demuestra que pueden leer y escribir tanto en inglés como en otro idioma) no son hablantes nativos de ese otro idioma.

Los estudiantes bilingües siguen estando sobrerrepresentados en educación especial, en referidos por disciplina y en escuelas alternativas con currículos técnicos en vez de en programas preuniversitarios y cursos AP/IB. Y no están suficientemente representados en clases avanzadas de todas las áreas, incluidas las de español. [A menudo], no se les identifica como sobresalientes y talentosos.

Estos son los sistemas contra los que lucho a diario. En mis tres semestres en la Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer, tenemos 25 estudiantes en matemáticas avanzadas solamente en cuarto y quinto grado. Cuando empecé en Pioneer solo había seis estudiantes. Hay otros 30-40 estudiantes en los grados más pequeños que están encaminados a toma clases de matemáticas avanzadas.

Como soy nerd para los datos, llevo cuenta del progreso de los estudiantes e identifico a los que tienen altas capacidades, tanto en matemáticas como en leer y escribir en ambos idiomas. Estamos en nuestro tercer año del Boulder Universal Advanced Math Program para estudiantes de cuarto y quinto grado.

La mayoría de los líderes de distritos y escuelas se enfocan en el nivel más alto de desempeño. Hay una urgencia por trabajar en la “brecha”, pero eso hace poco para mejorar una escuela. Tenemos que adoptar la mentalidad de desarrollar talento y oportunidades de aprendizaje avanzado para “subir la barra”.

¿Qué fortalezas notas en tus estudiantes bilingües?

Los estudiantes bilingües/multilingües están por encima del estándar, pero la fijación es que están por debajo del grado. Ellos logran un nivel más alto de lenguaje y de desempeño académico y social. Son el futuro de nuestra sociedad, ya que son ciudadanos con mentalidad global y serán los cuidadores del planeta. Los estudiantes bilingües/multilingües tienen más conciencia social a la hora de respetar y valorar diferencias, ya sean culturales, de idioma, religiosas, espirituales o de otro tipo.

Cuéntanos alguna anécdota memorable, sea buena o mala, en la que el contacto con la familia de un estudiante cambió tu perspectiva o estrategia.

Mis papás nunca pudieron ir a mi escuela cuando yo era niña porque trabajaban todo el día en los campos de lechugas o papas y llegaban tarde del trabajo. No tenían atención médica ni beneficios, y por lo tanto no podían darse el lujo de faltar al trabajo. Como maestra, me aseguré de quedarme hasta tarde y visitar los hogares de mis estudiantes para conectar con sus padres. Siempre me propuse y conseguí el 100% de asistencia en mis conferencias.

En mis 30 años como educadora, nunca vi a un padre o madre que no se preocupara por su hijo(a). La idea de que los padres no se preocupan, que están mal equipados para apoyar a sus hijos, tiene una base cruel y racista que contribuye a que los estudiantes de color sean vistos de manera más desfavorable, especialmente los que provienen de poblaciones de inmigrantes y refugiados. Por el contrario, esas familias cruzaron el continente a pie, huyeron del peligro y el hambre en su país de origen, y dejaron todo y a todos atrás para poder ofrecerles a sus hijos la mejor oportunidad para el futuro.

Una vez llamé a la mamá del payaso de la clase. Era un niño brillante que se negaba a hacer su tarea. Interrumpía la clase porque siempre estaba haciendo otra cosa y era muy gracioso. La madre contestó el teléfono: “¿Qué hizo Mario ahora?” Como estaba altavoz, Mario y el resto de la clase escucharon lo que dijo. No pude evitar reírme un poco, porque la estaba llamando para felicitarla por lo bien que Mario había hecho un examen o una actividad. Pero ese niño era y es brillante. Estoy seguro de que actualmente es un ciudadano exitoso y bilingüe que está aportando a la sociedad. No seguía las instrucciones siempre, pero tenía un potencial increíble. Para mí era tan obvio como el día; pero no todo el mundo es capaz de ver más allá del color de piel, trasfondo o comportamiento de un estudiante.

¿Qué está ocurriendo en la comunidad y afecta lo que pasa en tu salón de clases?

Nuestros estudiantes se ven afectados por el sentimiento antiinmigrante de este país, los asesinatos de latinos y negros a manos de la policía, los sistemas de prisión que alejan a los padres de sus hijos, la amenaza de los servicios sociales, y la falta de recursos en la comunidad, como vivienda básica, alimentos, atención médica, un salario digno y seguridad. La elección de un presidente — Donald Trump — que en su discurso y acciones proyectaba tanto odio, trajo miedo y angustia a las escuelas bilingües.

Los estudiantes estaban llorando mientras los maestros estaban en shock. Ese día tuve que quedarme en casa porque no podía afrontar la realidad de las elecciones. Este miedo ha regresado en 2024 porque el odio vuelve a afectar a todos los estudiantes de color, limita su humanidad y amenaza el bienestar y la seguridad de sus familias.

¿Qué estás leyendo en tu tiempo libre?

“Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal” y “We Want to Do More than Survive,” ambos escritos por Bettina L. Love. Me interesa mucho este tipo de literatura que trae a la luz y expone las causas raíz de las desigualdades en educación y sociales en la escuela y la sociedad. Este podría ser el enfoque de la siguiente fase de mi vida: enseñarle a la próxima generación la historia del racismo y la opresión en Estados Unidos para que puedan contribuir a cambiar la sociedad para que sea más equitativa.

Ann Schimke es reportera senior de Chalkbeat y cubre temas relacionados con la educación en la niñez temprana y la alfabetización temprana. Para comunicarte con Ann, envíale un email a aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

Traducido por Milly Suazo-Martinez

Bilingual students miss out on advanced classes and gifted education. This teacher fights for change.

2024-01-30T20:24:49+00:00

Leer en español.

In second grade, Carlota Loya Hernández spent a lot of time coloring at her desk. She didn’t speak English and her teacher didn’t speak Spanish, so crayons and paper were her go-to activity at school in Colorado’s San Luis Valley.

By middle school, things had changed. Loya Hernández was taking advanced math and headed for even more advanced coursework in high school. Eventually, she earned her college degree and became a teacher in the Boulder Valley School District.

Today, she has a Ph.D. and is a champion for bilingual students, working to ensure they get the educational opportunities they deserve.

“The greatest problem in public schools is a lack of responsiveness to the brilliance and incredible talent evident in each and every child, especially bilingual and multilingual children,” she said.

Carlota Loya Hernández poses for a school photo.

Loya Hernández, who is a math and gifted and talented specialist at Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer, a dual language immersion school in Boulder Valley, was named the 2023 bilingual elementary teacher of the year by the Colorado Association of Bilingual Education. She talked to Chalkbeat about how she ensured 100% attendance for parent-teacher conferences, what she told the mother of a class clown, and why she worries about anti-immigrant sentiments.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

As a middle and high school student, I was trained as a peer tutor because my fellow students would often come to me for help. In college, I tutored other students in math and science. I never planned to become a teacher and wanted to become an architectural engineer due to my love of both math and art. But it was my calling.

I dropped out of college due to financial hardship and a lack of knowledge about financial aid. I got a job as a restaurant manager and began my career with the Boulder Valley district as a native language tutor. I greatly enjoyed working with immigrant and refugee students who were often ignored or not supported in the mainstream classroom. This angered me and propelled me to go back to college and get a teaching degree.

How did your own experience in school influence your approach to teaching?

I remember my first day in second grade in Center Elementary School. We had just moved to the San Luis Valley from Silverton. I had bilingual support in kindergarten and first grade as I was new to the country, but in second grade it was sink or swim. My teacher did not understand me, and I did not understand her. She gave me crayons and let me color. I was happy as could be as I loved art.

By middle school, I was pulled for an advanced math class. I was in advanced language arts, math, and science in high school. As the child of farm workers with few resources at home, the school became a safe haven. I thrived in all my classes, except PE. The only C I received was in PE because I had to dress for class. My father did not allow me to wear shorts nor did I have the means to buy sweatpants.

Center High School opened the door to a world of opportunities and nominated me for the Spud Bowl Scholarship at Adams State College in Alamosa — now Adams State University. When I won the full-ride scholarship, it was the key to accessing higher education and a future full of possibilities. It became my ticket out of poverty.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach.

I love to develop lessons that really connect with students, impact their thinking, and help them understand important concepts. To teach important math concepts, such as fractions, decimals and percentages, I created a lesson using the book ”If the World Were a Village” by David J. Smith.

The focus was very mathematical, but students were able to analyze the data and come to their own conclusions. The lesson allowed my students to think beyond their own existence in their town, past borders, and to grapple with the grave inequities in educational access, medical care, basic living conditions, such as access to clean water, housing, and sewage, and to imagine the great poverty of so many that are literally starving to death. It allowed us to understand how grateful we should be for all we have in the U.S., how fortunate we are, and the great amount of opportunity we have.

What is the biggest challenge your bilingual students face?

The systems of oppression in all realms of students’ lives. Racist manifestations include dual-language programs tailored to white families. The majority of the students in our district who earn a Seal of Biliteracy, showing that they can read and write in both English and a non-English language, are not heritage speakers of the non-English language.

Bilingual students continue to be overrepresented in special education, discipline referrals, and alternative schools with technical tracks instead of pre-collegiate programs and AP/IB coursework. They are underrepresented in advanced coursework in all areas, including Spanish. [Often], they are not identified as gifted and talented.

These are the systems I fight against daily. In my three semesters at Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer, we have 25 students in advanced math just in fourth and fifth grades. There were only six students when I started at Pioneer. There are another 30-40 students in the younger grades who are in the pipeline for advanced math.

As a data nerd, I monitor students’ progress and identify students that have high ability, in both math and biliteracy (both languages). We are in our third year of the Boulder Universal Advanced Math Program which serves students in fourth and fifth grade.

Most district and school leaders do not focus on the high end of achievement. There is an urgency to work on the “gap,” but, that does little to improve a school. We must develop a mentality of talent development and advanced learning opportunities to raise the bar.

What unique strengths do you observe in your bilingual students?

Bilingual/multilingual students are above standard, although the fixation is that they are below grade level. They rise to a higher level of language and overall academic and social achievement. They are the future of our society as they are globally minded citizens and will be the caretakers of the planet. Bilingual/multilingual students have more social conscientiousness in respecting and valuing differences — whether it is cultural, linguistic, religious, spiritual, or otherwise.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

My parents were never able to go to my school when I was a child as they worked all day in the lettuce or potato fields and arrived late from work. They had no medical care or benefits, so they could not afford to miss work. As a teacher, I made sure I stayed late and did home visits if necessary to connect with my students’ parents. I always aimed for and achieved 100% attendance at my conferences.

In my 30 years as an educator, I never saw a parent that did not care for their child. The idea that parents do not care, that they are ill-equipped to support their child, has cruel and racist underpinnings that contribute to the deficit perspective of students of color, especially immigrant and refugee populations. On the contrary, families have walked across the continent, fled danger and hunger in their home country, leaving everything and everyone behind so they can provide the best opportunity for their child’s future.

One time, I called a mom whose son was the class clown. He was a brilliant child who refused to do his work. He was disruptive to the class as he was always off-task and hilarious. The mom answered the phone with, “What did Mario do now?” She was on speaker phone and both Mario and the class heard her response. I could not help but chuckle a bit as I was calling to congratulate her on how well Mario had done on a test or activity. But that child was and is brilliant. I am sure he is a very successful and highly bilingual citizen contributing to society. He was not compliant at all times but he had incredible potential. It was as obvious as day to me; but not everyone is able to see beyond a student’s color, background, or behavior.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on in your classroom?

The anti-immigrant sentiment in this country, police killings of Latinx and Black people, the prison systems that keep parents from their children, the threat of social services, the lack of community resources such as basic housing, food, medical care, a living wage, and safety all impact our students. The election of a president — Donald Trump — with all of that hate in his speech and actions brought fear and anguish into bilingual schools.

Students were crying as teachers were in shock. I had to stay home that day as I could not deal with the reality of the election. This fear has returned in 2024 as the hate returns to impact every student of color and limit their humanity and threaten the well-being and safety of their families.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

“Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal” and “We Want to Do More than Survive,” both by Bettina L. Love. I have become very interested in this type of scholarship that addresses and exposes the root causes of educational and social inequities in schooling and society. This might be the focus for the next phase of my life; to teach the next generation the history of racism and oppression in the U.S. so they can contribute to changing society to be more equitable.

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

This Queens teacher went from being an accountant to teaching entrepreneurship

2024-01-17T21:38:18+00:00

Lorena Izzo was working as an accountant about 20 years ago when she was assigned to oversee a college intern and realized her true calling: to become a teacher.

She returned to her alma mater, Hofstra University, to get a master’s in math education (on top of her MBA). She landed a job at the Academy of Finance and Enterprise in Long Island City, Queens, and she has remained there for nearly 17 years, teaching entrepreneurship, financial services, and accounting.

“My students create business plans from scratch,” Izzo said, “starting with the research phase and finishing with viable business ideas that are ready to be presented at national competitions in front of potential investors.”

Some teens have even won seed money for their ideas, with one such student marketing a homemade hand cream to local nail salons and another selling napkins and towels that she personalized with embroidery.

In raising the question, “What is the purpose of school?” New York City schools Chancellor David Banks often talks about the importance of ensuring students have real-world workforce experience and are financially literate. Banks visited Izzo’s class on entrepreneurship last year to see her in action and hear from her students about how they’re preparing for their futures, Izzo recounted.

Izzo began teaching entrepreneurship by chance. Soon after she started working at Finance and Enterprise, her principal asked her to join a class for educators held by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, or NFTE, a nonprofit focused on empowering students to build their own businesses. That experience changed her path — as well as that of many of her students.

The organization provides Izzo with a curriculum and professional development. It offers mentors and coaches to her students, who often go on job-shadowing trips and take career readiness workshops.

Several of Izzo’s students have participated in the organization’s National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Two students recently made regionals for their subscription company for culturally diverse treats, inspired by their own challenges finding authentic Vietnamese and Algerian desserts. Another student who always longed for more help with styling her curly hair created an app that recommends styling products and tips.

“It’s very inspiring to see how they take something they see as a problem, and they come up with their own solution,” Izzo said.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I went into teaching because every day is different. That’s what made me want to come out of accounting. Every day was the same.

I’ve been teaching the entrepreneurship class for over a decade now, but it is different every year because the students are always different. Technology is constantly changing along with styles and trends.

I remember 10 years ago, a student told me they were going to send their product to someone on YouTube. I didn’t see how that was a business plan and gave her a zero. Then I saw that person [from YouTube] on television, and the student explained what an influencer was. She was like, “Did you change my grade?” Yes, I did.

Why did you decide to focus on entrepreneurship education?

I loved the class that first year of teaching it. It’s very different from teaching finance and accounting. When teaching entrepreneurship, you get to really know your students through the businesses they want to start. You get to know what drives them, and you’re part of the whole process of making that happen.

My entrepreneurship class is not just about memorizing facts and dates but applying those skills students are learning in class. They can apply them to anything, even if they’re not going to start a business. Maybe students are going into the medical field and want to become doctors. Regardless of the career choices my students make beyond this class, when they face a problem, they will already be thinking about all the opportunities to come up with a solution. And this will open many doors for them.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

One of the lessons I absolutely love to teach in my Entrepreneurship 1 class is our LEGO activity because it also touches upon accounting.

It’s a very hands-on activity where the students get to play with LEGOs and create a toy. But they also have to tell us a few things: They need to identify the target market for the toy they created, the cost of the materials, and the labor that will be needed. So it helps them figure out what to do for their own projects while practicing on LEGOs.

I mean who doesn’t like to play with LEGOs? The students have so much fun with this one.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom or your school?

My classroom did see an increase in English-language learners, and with that came the need to adapt our curriculum to several languages including Spanish and French. Google Translate has been a major tool to overcome language barriers. I speak Spanish but not French, for example, so when I can’t translate for students personally, I rely on Google Translate.

But at the end of the day, the lessons of the curriculum are so universal and applicable to everyday things that, even if it takes them a little bit more time, they always learn and have fun in my classroom.

I have a student who is an English learner, and his business is a [bilingual English-Spanish] tutoring company that caters to both languages. So if there’s a language barrier, they will have a tutor who can teach you math and science in that language.

In your more than a decade in the classroom, what changes have you seen in terms of the skills your students need now?

I think that the dynamics of extracurricular activities outside the classroom have changed in the past couple of years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used to do a lot of trips where we would visit companies and give students the opportunity to shadow people in the industry, but this has become more challenging as companies aren’t all back in the office.

Our students absolutely love to be able to go out, go to companies, and talk to professionals to see what jobs and careers are out there for them. It’s also the little things that give them quite an impression, like, “Wow, look at their desk.” There was one trip last year where the students got free snacks, and they were like, “You give these out for free?”

It’s these experiences outside the classroom that broaden their horizons on what kind of workplaces to strive for and how to get there. And they can only get that from the people who work there.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

This goes for all teachers, especially those who are still starting out: Always have a plan B for the unexpected.

It’s not just about trying to make things work while they’re working. I faced this issue during my first year of teaching where I had a lesson plan, tested it all out, and the next day the website my entire lesson plan was focused on was taken down. And another teacher told me, “You just didn’t have a plan B.”

Always have a plan B, whatever it may be. The last thing you need is chaos in the classroom.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

This Detroit teacher became an educator to fight for equity in the classroom

2024-01-12T22:14:52+00:00

Peggy Clark dropped her career as a hair salon owner to become an educator after an interaction with her daughter’s second grade teacher that left her baffled.

“One day, my daughter came home and told me that all the kids that looked like her were in the lower academic groups in her second grade classroom,” said Clark.

Her daughter had been reading before entering kindergarten, and still, she was placed in a lower reading group, composed mostly of Black students, like her.

Clark asked the teacher about her child’s placement at the Ohio magnet school she attended but to no avail. Only after a meeting with the principal was Clark’s daughter moved to another classroom.

Though the student body of the school was diverse, Clark said the mostly white teaching staff did not reflect the student population.

“I think that’s really important,” Clark said. “If kids see someone else who looks like them in different positions modeled for them, they internalize that they, too, can attain those things.”

Clark, now a fourth grade English language arts and social studies teacher at Erma L. Henderson Academy in Detroit Public Schools Community District, has been an educator for nine years. She was recently named a Michigan Collaborative Teacher Leader in a program co-led by the Education Trust-Midwest and Teach Plus, which picks 20 educators across the state to meet with lawmakers, share their classroom experiences, and learn more about statewide education policies.

In the program, Clark is working on a committee focused on equitable school funding. She said her experience as a parent and an educator seeing inequity in schools first-hand informs her work.

“I’ve worked with students in poverty for most of my career,” she said. “Teaching has given me a variety of experiences and I’ve seen the things that students are going through. It made me be more empathetic to those students and realize that instead of just focusing on learning, we need to be wrapping our arms around them and supporting them.”

Peggy Clark

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

Teaching is a second career for me. When my daughter was a student, before I became a teacher, I got to see the public education system from an adult perspective. As I was going through the ordeal with her teacher, I began to wonder about what happens to children who don’t have parents who advocate on their behalf. From that moment forward, I wanted to do more to ensure equity for all students.

How do you get to know your students?

I get to know my students by providing them with various opportunities to talk about themselves. I spend the first couple weeks of school engaging them in various games and activities focused on building relationships and getting to know each other. I share personal information and stories about myself to make my students feel more comfortable with sharing about themselves.

I use a variety of get-to-know-you activities so I can reach all of the various types of learners in my class. Many of the activities involve movement and provide students with opportunities to interact with each other. Some of my favorite activities include the games 4 Corners, When the Wind Blows, and Teacher Hot Seat. In addition to classroom activities, I also make it a point to join my students for lunch in the cafeteria, so that I can talk to them and, hopefully, learn some of their interests as they interact with their peers.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach. Where did the idea come from?

I do not have a specific favorite lesson, but I do have a favorite lesson delivery method. I enjoy escape rooms, which can be used to teach a wide variety of different topics. I like escape rooms not only because my students enjoy them, but also because they provide the opportunity for students to practice a wide variety of skills that include collaboration, critical thinking, and academic standards. I got the idea of escape room activities from the 10-Minute Teacher podcast and subsequently did more research on them.

The most recent escape room that I used had students use context clues to determine the meaning of words and then place them in puzzles or riddles to identify a code. Once students determined the code, they delivered it to me, the Emoji Queen, to receive the next challenge. My students found the activity to be both challenging and fun.

What object would you be helpless without during the school day?

The object that I would be helpless without during the school day is my smartboard. My smartboard has a touch screen, which provides students with opportunities to take turns manipulating and annotating previously loaded activities or materials. I use a smartboard to guide students through lessons and assignments as I model expectations and my thinking for them. I also use it to guide students through the navigation of and use of various apps and software programs. My smartboard displays timers, videos, choice boards, and anything else that can aid students in their learning.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your class?

Something happening in the community that I think is having the greatest impact on what goes on in my classroom is the obsession with technology. I think that technology has many useful benefits and can provide students with many advantages that I did not have when I was in school. For example, it provides immediate access to dictionaries, translation services, calculators, learning videos, and many other things that can be used to advance the attainment of knowledge.

On the other hand, I think that technology is being overused. When I’m out with my family, I often see other families sitting at a table with everyone’s head buried in a phone or another device. I witness the impact of this lack of human interaction and dialogue in my class in the form of limited vocabulary, lack of critical thinking skills, inappropriate conversation etiquette, attention-span deficits, and writing deficiencies.

There must be a balance of tech and human interaction so that students — at home and school — develop skills important to their future. I do use laptops within my classroom because I want my students to have the ability to navigate various programs on their devices and to use the internet to become independent researchers and designers of fabulous print and video materials.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

During my first year of teaching, I called the home of a student who was sleeping a lot during class. As I was speaking with the parent, she shared that they were currently homeless and did not have a stable place to stay. This significantly changed my perspective and approach. I had been thinking that the student was either being lazy or staying up late to play the latest video game. Upon learning about the student’s situation, I realized that I needed to extend more grace to students and spend additional time trying to make them comfortable to share the why behind their actions. Now, I try to listen more and talk to students when they are exhibiting undesired behaviors.

What part of your job is most difficult?

The most challenging, and also exciting part of my job is meeting the needs of every student. I teach a district-mandated curriculum and spend a great deal of time with my students on that content. I also intentionally work with students who are reading below grade level to teach them the necessary foundational skills they might have missed so that they can persevere through a complex text or math problem independently. I believe we must strongly focus in the elementary grades on the development of these foundational skills so students can achieve and thrive in the latter years of school. I also hone in on each student’s needs by meeting with small groups of about six to eight students daily to focus on a particular skill or standard that they may be struggling to master.

What was the biggest misconception that you initially brought to teaching?

The biggest misconception that I initially brought to teaching was that teachers can only impact education from within the walls of their classroom. I now know differently. Through communication with other teachers, I have realized that we share many commonalities when working with diverse students, including building opportunities and policy levers to support our student’s emotional well-being, physical health, nutrition, and learning challenges, to name a few.

My desire to support as many students as possible has led me to Teach Plus, which helps teacher leaders like me advocate for student needs by empowering us to elevate our voices. This year, I’m looking forward to working with a cohort of Michigan teachers to push for changes in the areas of equitable school funding, early literacy, teacher retention and recruitment, transition to post-secondary education, and social-emotional and academic development. As a group, we will advocate for students by making policymakers and other stakeholders aware of the issues important to teachers, students, and communities.

Recommend a book that has helped you be a better teacher, and why.

The book that helped me be a better teacher is “Teach Like a Champion, 2.0″ by Doug Lemov. The author provides classroom management techniques for teachers to use and details specific actionable steps to help them to implement high expectations for students. It includes well-scripted routines accompanied by videos demonstrating how to implement them with students. It remains a resource that I sometimes refer to, and most of the strategies have become ingrained into my daily practice.

For example, one of the techniques from the book is called “Threshold,” which involves greeting students at the door as they enter the classroom so that I can assess how they are feeling to attempt to curtail any future problems or concerns. Another technique is establishing a routine of having students complete a brief 3- to 5-minute task that Lemov refers to as a “Do Now,” allowing me time to take attendance and/or speak with students as needed.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about teaching?

The best advice I’ve received about teaching is to remember to take time for myself. When I first started teaching, I would arrive early and often stay late after the school day ended. I wanted to make sure I was providing my students with the best education that I could. I found myself tired and missing out on something important to me: family time. Since receiving the advice, I still arrive to work early, but I get up even earlier to ensure I’m putting myself first. I go to bed early and try to get a good night’s sleep so I can make it to the gym at about 5 a.m. Sleep and exercise help me to be in the best physical and mental shape possible for both my students and me. Additionally, I meditate, eat healthy foods, and set time limits when I take work home to ensure that I have time to engage in activities with my family and friends.

Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.

Meet Colorado’s ‘Oscars of Teaching’ winner

2024-01-12T23:27:04+00:00

Leer en español

Teacher Caleb Flores knew a top-secret assembly was planned at his northern Colorado high school. The principal wanted the building to look flawless and for students to be on their best behavior. Flores wondered if an important government official was visiting on that December day.

Turns out that the visiting dignitaries, speeches, and gym full of cheering students were for him. Flores, who teaches English language development and language arts at Greeley West High School, had won a Milken Educator Award — also known as the” Oscars of Teaching.” The award, which is for early and mid-career teachers, comes with a $25,000 cash prize.

“I was speechless,” said Flores, who was the only Colorado teacher to win the award this year. “The entire day was phenomenal and something that I will always treasure.”

Flores, who was raised in Greeley and attended college there, talked to Chalkbeat about how coaching youth football changed his career path, why he began incorporating music into his lessons, and how a student’s request for a letter of reference humbled him.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

As a college student, I was a business marketing major at the University of Northern Colorado. Throughout my sophomore and junior years, I was a little league football coach with my college roommate. We had a blast getting to know the kids that we coached, and coaching was always the highlight of my week. I made the decision in my junior year to switch my major to English to pursue a career in teaching.

The moment that made me decide to pursue culturally and linguistically diverse teaching was after college. Since I switched majors as a junior, I could not graduate with a teaching license. I began my career in Greeley-Evans District 6 working as a migrant advocate. My job involved supporting migrant families and students, most of them English learners, to make it to graduation. I fell in love with the role and saw that population as the subject area that I wanted to teach. I then applied to be an English language development teacher at Greeley West and enrolled in an alternative licensure program to receive my teaching license while working my first year.

How did your own experience in school influence your approach to teaching?

My parents had me and my siblings when they were young, so they did not have the opportunity to pursue a college education until we were older. My dad received his degree when I was in high school, and my mom and I graduated college on the same day. My parents always told us that they expected us to attend college right after high school, so I took school very seriously growing up.

I was always a talkative student in class, but I was fortunate enough to have teachers who were patient with me and held me to a high standard. These high expectations were crucial to me as a student to be able to perform well enough to be able to receive a scholarship to attend college. My parents and teachers were able to change the trajectory of my and my siblings’ education. (Both of my siblings also graduated from college.) This is something that I know firsthand can influence my students. I hold my students to a high standard and communicate with their families often to encourage them to perform well enough in high school to, hopefully, have the chance to pursue post-secondary education.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach. Where did the idea come from?

As an English 9 teacher, we incorporate students’ culture within our lessons so that students can see themselves within our classroom and our instruction. The idea for my favorite lesson came from a 9th grade student curriculum advisory committee. They wanted to incorporate music within our poetry unit — specifically, music that represented them.

One of my favorite poems that we annotate is a Spanish song called “Corrido de Juanito” by Calibre 50. The song is a first-person narrative describing the perspective of an immigrant to the United States named Juanito. The song is entirely in Spanish (we don’t provide a translation at first), so it makes my Spanish-speaking students the experts for the lesson. After annotating the song, students dispersed into small groups to discuss what they interpreted from the song and the themes it presented. After discussions, students do a comparative analysis project based on a song of their own choice and the themes that it presents. We’ve had amazing conversations and projects that students created from this unit.

What are your go-to strategies for connecting with new students, whether they’re new to your building or new to the country?

When they enroll in my class, we begin with an enrollment meeting with the student and family. This is such a crucial step because it helps ease the family’s apprehensions about enrolling in a school in the U.S. We make sure that the students understand their schedule, provide them with any school supplies that they need, and give them and their families a tour of the school.

When students arrive in my language development class, I always introduce them and involve them in the collaborative classroom activity for the day to encourage them to get to know their new classmates. Allowing this time for students to cooperate has been so crucial to building a sense of community within my class.

As a mentor to new teachers, what advice do you share?

Teaching is not meant to be done in isolation; get to know the staff and community of your school and learn from the experts who have found success. That definitely helped me learn and grow when I first started.

I would also encourage new teachers to embrace the diverse student populations. For me, it was teaching language learners. They may not be the easiest students to educate. They come with gaps in their learning, emotional traumas, and many responsibilities outside of school. However, they are some of the most thoughtful, inspirational, and fulfilling students that I have had the pleasure of teaching. Learning how to properly educate language learners made me a better teacher.

Caleb Flores, a teacher at Greeley West High School and a recent recipient of the Milken Educator Award, center in the black robe, poses for a photo with students at their graduation.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

One of the most memorable moments came from a student who was a part of my Language Development class. He had asked me if I would be willing to write a character reference letter for him. After calling his uncle, his legal guardian, I found out that the letter was to be presented to a judge because the student was facing an order for deportation. I knew that this was a pivotal moment for the student and his family, so we went and contacted several of his teachers to get letters of recommendation on his behalf. My wife and I attended court with him and saw firsthand the legal battles and additional barriers that my students face just to receive an education. My student was allowed to stay. It was a great moment. He is a junior now and is on track for graduation.

I was humbled that my student and his family trusted me to share what was going on, and it reminded me how important it is to be accessible to my students.

What was the biggest misconception that you brought to teaching?

My biggest misconception was about classroom management. I went into teaching thinking that one had to be stern, tough, and unkind to run an effective classroom. I came to find out that the opposite was true; most students did not respond to teachers who yelled. My style of classroom management is more around building relationships. I still hold students accountable and have high expectations for them, but when students misbehave or distract others, I can address it without embarrassing or disrespecting them.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

I just finished the book “Brown Enough” by Christopher Rivas. It’s a personal memoir and a social commentary about being brown in the U.S. and how to find one’s identity, sense of belonging, and place within it.

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

Conoce a Caleb Flores, el maestro bilingüe de Colorado que ganó un ‘Oscar de Enseñanza’

2024-01-13T00:41:58+00:00

Read in English

El maestro bilingüe Caleb Flores sabía que se había planeado una asamblea secreta en su secundaria al norte de Colorado. El director quería que la escuela se viera perfecta y que los estudiantes se comportaran lo mejor posible. Flores se preguntaba si ese día de diciembre estaría de visita algún funcionario importante.

En realidad, los visitantes, los discursos y el gimnasio lleno de estudiantes eran para él.

Flores, que es maestro de inglés y maestro de estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés en la Greeley West High School, había ganado un premio Milken Educator Award, también conocido como los “Oscar de la Enseñanza” El premio, destinado a maestros que están empezando o a mediados de su carrera profesional, incluye $25,000 en efectivo.

“Me quedé sin palabras”, dijo Flores, el único maestro de Colorado premiado este año. “Todo el día fue fenomenal y es algo que siempre atesoraré”.

Flores, que se crió y fue a la universidad en Greeley, habló con Chalkbeat sobre cómo haber sido entrenador de un equipo de fútbol americano de niños cambió su trayectoria profesional, por qué empezó a incorporar la música en sus lecciones y cómo se sintió cuando un estudiante le pidió una carta de recomendación.

Esta entrevista ha sido levemente editada para acortarla y hacerla más precisa.

¿En qué momento decidiste ser maestro?

En la universidad estudié marketing empresarial en la Universidad del Norte de Colorado. Durante mi segundo y tercer año, fui entrenador de la liga de fútbol americano de niños con mi compañero de cuarto de la universidad. La pasamos de maravilla conociendo a los niños del equipo, y el tiempo que pasaba entrenándolos era siempre la mejor parte de mi semana. En mi tercer año de universidad decidí cambiar mi carrera a inglés para dedicarme a ser maestro.

El momento en que decidí dedicarme a ser un maestro con diversidad cultural y de idioma fue después de la universidad. Como cambié de carrera en el tercer año, no pude graduarme con una licencia de maestro. Empecé mi carrera en el Distrito 6 de Greeley-Evans trabajando como defensor de los inmigrantes. Mi trabajo incluía ayudar a las familias y estudiantes inmigrantes a graduarse y la mayoría de ellos estaban aprendiendo inglés. Me enamoré de mi rol y vi que esa población era el área a la que me quería dedicar como maestro.

Luego solicité ser maestro de desarrollo del inglés en Greeley West y me inscribí en un programa alternativo de licencia para obtener la mía mientras trabajaba mi primer año.

¿Cómo influyó tu propia experiencia en la escuela en tu manera de enseñar?

Mis padres nos tuvieron a mí y a mis hermanos cuando eran jóvenes, así que no tuvieron la oportunidad de ir a la universidad hasta que fuimos mayores. Mi padre se graduó de universidad cuando yo estaba en el secundaria, y mi mamá y yo nos graduamos el mismo día. Mis padres siempre nos decían que su expectativa era que fuéramos a la universidad inmediatamente después de graduarnos de secundaria, así que la escuela siempre fue algo muy serio para mí.

Siempre fui un estudiante hablador en clase, pero tuve la suerte de tener maestros que fueron pacientes conmigo y me exigieron mucho. Estas altas expectativas fueron cruciales para yo desempeñarme lo suficientemente bien y recibir una beca universitaria. Mis padres y maestros pudieron cambiar la trayectoria de mi educación y la de mis hermanos. (Mis dos hermanos también se graduaron de la universidad.)

Esto es algo que por experiencia sé que puede influir en mis estudiantes. Yo les exijo mucho a mis estudiantes y me comunico a menudo con sus familias para animarlos a que se desempeñen bien en la secundaria y que, con suerte, tengan la oportunidad de ir a la universidad.

Cuéntanos cuál es la lección que más te gusta enseñar. ¿De dónde salió la idea?

Como maestros de inglés de noveno grado, incorporamos la cultura de los estudiantes en nuestras clases para que ellos puedan verse a sí mismos dentro de nuestra clase y nuestra enseñanza. La idea de mi lección favorita surgió de un comité asesor de currículo compuesto por estudiantes de noveno grado. Ellos querían incorporar música en nuestra unidad de poesía, y específicamente, música que les representara.

Uno de mis poemas favoritos que anotamos es una canción en español llamada “Corrido de Juanito” de Calibre 50. La canción es una narración en primera persona que describe la vida de un inmigrante a Estados Unidos llamado Juanito. La canción está escrita completamente en español (al principio no ofrecemos traducción), y por lo tanto los estudiantes que lo hablan son los expertos de la lección. Después de anotar la canción, los estudiantes se dividieron en pequeños grupos para discutir lo que interpretaron de la canción y los temas que presentaba. Luego de las discusiones, los estudiantes hacen un proyecto de análisis comparativo basado en una canción de su elección y los temas que presenta. Hemos tenido conversaciones y proyectos increíbles que los estudiantes han creado con esta unidad.

¿Qué estrategias usas para conectarte con los estudiantes nuevos, ya sean nuevos en la escuela o nuevos en el país?

Cuando se inscriben en mi clase, primero me reúno con el estudiante y su familia.

Esto es un paso crucial porque ayuda a que la familia se sienta a gusto con su decisión de inscribir a su hijo o hija en una escuela de Estados Unidos. Me aseguro de que los estudiantes entiendan su horario de clases, les entrego los materiales escolares que necesitan y les enseño la escuela a ellos y a sus familias.

Cuando los estudiantes llegan a mi clase de desarrollo del lenguaje, siempre los presento a los demás y los incluyo en la actividad colaborativa del día para animarlos a conocer a sus nuevos compañeros. Tener este tiempo para que los estudiantes cooperen ha sido crucial para crear un sentido de comunidad en mi clase.

Como mentor de maestros nuevos, ¿qué consejos tienes?

La enseñanza no debe hacerse de forma aislada; conoce al personal y a la comunidad de tu escuela y aprende de los expertos que han tenido éxito. Eso definitivamente me ayudó mucho a aprender y crecer cuando empecé.

También animaría a los maestros nuevos a aceptar la diversidad de los estudiantes. En mi caso, enseñaba a estudiantes que estaban aprendiendo inglés. Puede que no sean los estudiantes más fáciles de educar. Llegan con lagunas en su aprendizaje, han pasado por traumas emocionales y tienen muchas responsabilidades fuera de la escuela. Sin embargo, son algunos de los estudiantes más amables, inspiradores y gratificantes a los que he tenido el placer de enseñar. Aprender a educarlos correctamente me convirtió en mejor maestro.

Caleb Flores, maestro de la escuela secundaria Greeley West y reciente ganador del premio Milken Educator Award, en el centro con una túnica negra, posa para una fotografía con los estudiantes en su graduación.

Cuéntanos alguna anécdota memorable, sea buena o mala, en la que el contacto con la familia de un estudiante cambió tu perspectiva o estrategia.

Uno de los momentos más memorables fue con un estudiante de mi clase regular de inglés. Me había preguntado si estaría dispuesto a escribirle una carta de referencia. Cuando llamé a su tío, que era su tutor legal, me enteré de que la carta era para presentarla ante un juez porque el estudiante estaba enfrentando una orden de deportación. Sabía que era un momento crucial para el estudiante y su familia, así que nos pusimos en contacto con varios de sus maestros para obtener cartas de recomendación en su nombre. Mi esposa y yo asistimos al tribunal con él y vimos de primera mano las batallas legales y las barreras adicionales a las que se enfrentan mis estudiantes solo para recibir una educación. A mi estudiante le permitieron quedarse en el país, y fue un gran momento. Ahora es estudiante de undécimo grado y está encaminado a graduarse.

Esta experiencia me permitió ver una muestra de lo que mis estudiantes estaban enfrentando. Para mi fue un honor que ese estudiante y su familia confiaran en mí para compartir lo que estaba pasando, y me recordó lo importante que es ser accesible para mis estudiantes.

¿Cuál fue el mayor mito que tenías cuando empezaste a enseñar?

Mi mayor mito estaba relacionado con el manejo del salón de clases. Decidí ser maestro pensando que tendría que ser fuerte, estricto y poco amable para dirigir bien un salón de clases. Llegué a descubrir lo contrario: la mayoría de los estudiantes no respondían a los maestros que gritaban. Mi estilo en el salón de clases se basa más en establecer relaciones. Sigo exigiéndoles responsabilidad a los estudiantes y tengo grandes expectativas para ellos, pero cuando se portan mal o distraen a los demás, puedo resolverlo sin avergonzarlos ni faltarles al respeto.

¿Qué estás leyendo en tu tiempo libre?

Acabo de terminar el libro Brown Enough de Christopher Rivas. Es un libro de memorias y un comentario social sobre el hecho de ser latino en Estados Unidos y cómo encontrar identidad propia, sentido de pertenencia y un lugar para encajar.

To teach about Israel and Palestine, this geography teacher sets ground rules for tough conversations

2023-12-13T15:30:00+00:00

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As a kid, Morgan Patel was good at math and science in school. But she never liked how problems in those classes often had just one answer.

It was the intense, but meaningful, discussions that social studies provoked that drew her in.

“You’re talking with humans about humans and how they interact,” she said. “I just love talking about humans and how they’re imperfect.”

So it’s fitting that Patel, now in her 11th year teaching high school in Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools, does that on a daily basis in her Advanced Placement Human Geography class.

It’s a course that delves into where humans live in the world and why, with units examining how that’s shaped everything from culture and religion, to language and politics.

The class can be heavy. Even before this year, Patel taught about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the violent partition of India and Pakistan, the decades of fighting that led to the formation of South Sudan, and the ensuing civil war. The class includes other topics that can be difficult to discuss, too, such as human trafficking, gender-based violence, and food insecurity, including in the U.S.

Patel, who holds a prestigious National Board Certification teaching credential, says it’s her goal to help students wade through polarizing topics — by bringing in historical context, and not leaping to conclusions — so they can do the same when they consume media about these subjects on their own.

“Even though it’s tough to teach this,” she said, “I feel lucky to teach it.”

Patel spoke with Chalkbeat a few days after the most recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended about how she approaches complicated subjects like the Israel-Hamas war, the ground rules she sets for respectful class discussions, and why she asks her students to document their slang each year.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Your class teaches about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Before this year, how would students interact with that history?

I teach in a very diverse school. It absolutely has kids with family in one of those places sometimes, or they might be Muslim, Arab, Jewish, or Israeli. I’ve even had both [Muslim and Jewish students] in the same class before.

Even before this year, they would see things on the news or they’d hear from adults that this is a really bad conflict, but they wouldn’t understand why. So I always spend a lot of time on the why.

I use a lot of videos and maps. I show a picture of Jerusalem and I show how it’s divided into quarters. And I show a picture of the mosque, the Western Wall, and the major Christian church, and how they are all literally on top of each other. And then I use maps of the land over time — the Palestinian lands and Israeli land changing, depending on political or cultural events.

History doesn’t always have this visual component. It makes it much easier to grasp what’s going on.

We use a lot of geographic data, like looking at life expectancy or the unemployment rate in Palestine versus Israel. There is also a great video from a series on YouTube called “Middle Ground.” The kids can see both sides and see that there are biases on both sides, but that there are also people who are willing and trying to make this conflict better. Which I think is important for them to see.

AP Human Geography teacher, Morgan Patel, presents during class.

When students better understand this conflict, how does that help inform what you do later in the curriculum?

Once they learn how to read a map, and the data on that map, they understand that the key is picking up on spatial patterns. You look at data of Jerusalem, and who lives there, and you immediately see how diverse it is and that that can cause issues between groups of people who all say that’s their land. And are all not wrong. This conflict is not different from many other ones in that same pattern.

How do you handle discussions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in class?

More than others, the students who have an opinion [about this conflict] are very set in that opinion. So it’s not like other topics where we might have a discussion or a debate and there is an attempt to convert people to the other side.

We set ground rules, as I always do for a tough conversation. It’s always: Be an active listener. Try not to generalize your experience. You are an ‘I,’ you’re not a ‘we.’ Ask questions when you don’t understand. Make sure you are trying to understand the other side, instead of talking over them or assuming what you know is right.

You don’t have to agree with someone, but you have to respect them. If you can’t be in here, or you can’t be doing this, take a walk, or tell me. I can usually pick up on when it’s getting a little intense for someone.

You don’t have to participate at all. Sitting there and listening is participating. I never force them to talk. This would not be the kind of thing where you should do random calling.

You’re about to teach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in your class this year. Is there anything you’re going to focus on more than in the past?

Something new this year that I’ve never focused on as much is how to consume media. [Students] need to realize that sometimes, for your own mental health, it’s OK to step away from social media. But then, if you are going to be in it, know what you’re getting into and know how to consume it properly so you’re not overwhelmed.

I am more nervous than in past years to talk about this conflict. I usually leave open time for questions, which I will probably do, but I don’t want it to turn into a really contentious discussion. I just feel like it could end badly if I allow an open forum. So maybe we’ll switch to some kind of individual processing [such as writing or drawing]. I think a moment of breathing and thinking through on your own might be great.

[In past years], I always explain to them: I am severely summarizing something way more complicated, and I’m not telling you all the players. But because they’ve now seen the actions taken by Hamas and [the Israel Defense Forces], I think I am going to go more into that, defining who those groups are. I’m going to talk more about the actual current conflict — the attack starting it and the retaliation after that, and then the [temporary] ceasefire. I don’t know yet if I, or they, can handle showing videos.

You said you’re feeling a little bit more nervous to teach this than in the past. As you’re getting ready to teach this unit, how are you thinking about that?

In the past when I taught this, by this point, they would know my thoughts on religion and my own religion. They would know that I am not on either side of this conflict. I am a very unbiased third party is usually what I’d call myself.

But my issue this year, as I’m gearing up to teach this, I’m finding it more and more difficult to stand there and be unbiased. I am not going to shy away from showing the injustices that are happening, especially in Gaza. I’ll just try to go about it as unbiased as I can, but ignoring it is also not unbiased.

I think what might be important, which another teacher showed me, is adjusting the way you think about this. We’re very much taught to be like: OK, this is right, or that is right. When really there is gray area here, and it’s OK to see why both sides are wrong and both sides are right in different ways. We’re not looking to choose sides here. We’re showing injustices that are happening on both sides.

The conflicts you teach often aren’t taught in other classes, so this might be the only time kids are learning about it.

Right, they’ll briefly have it mentioned to them, but it’s never explained. I love that I get to teach a course like that, but it’s also a lot. These are civil wars and genocides. You have to go about it with an open heart and open mind. I know my students very well, but I sometimes have no idea they have a connection to a certain place I’m talking about.

Do you have a favorite lesson that you teach each year?

The culture unit, in general, is my favorite. Within culture, we talk about language, and origins of language, why different languages are where they are. As part of that, we talk about dialects. We talk about code-switching and how most of us change how we speak based on age, race, etc.

I have my students make a teenage slang dictionary as their dialect. I’m putting it together right now. It gives them a chance to be their true selves. I’ve saved it over the years; it’s kind of like a time capsule into how language, and how slang, changes.

Do you show them the old versions?

I was just doing it [a few] days ago. They were like: We don’t say that anymore!

What’s really cool is sometimes it’s the same word, but it’s just changed over time, and they have to redefine it in the 2023 version. It’s very realistic, and they enjoy that.

Kalyn Belsha is a senior national education reporter based in Chicago. Contact her at kbelsha@chalkbeat.org.

This Philadelphia teacher wants students to find themselves through theater

2024-01-10T22:19:20+00:00

Last month, Sally Wojcik, who teaches theater and creative writing at Benjamin Rush Arts Academy, was named by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as one of 12 finalists for state Teacher of the Year. Rush has just over 600 students who come mostly from its Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood, but as a criteria-based school, it also draws from all over the city. Some students commute up to two hours a day.

Students can choose from among various majors, including media arts, graphic arts, fine arts, theater, dance, and instrumental and vocal music. And once they choose their concentration, they take classes in that area every day and stay in that major for all four years. That means Wojcik is able to work with the same cohort of students for their entire high school careers and can plan a curriculum with that particular group in mind. “I was given full flexibility to design a curriculum that I thought was best for students,” said Wojcik, who chooses most of the plays her class will focus on, including some that may be controversial.

Rush has been her only teaching job, and she established its theater program there in 2009. She said she “was very lucky” when the director of Philadelphia Young Playwrights, who knew her from her work with the education outreach program of the Arden Theater, recommended her as a perfect fit for Rush, which was in the process of converting from a middle school to an arts-focused high school.

A summa cum laude graduate of Albright College, Wojcik has a master’s degree in English education (Pennsylvania does not offer teacher certification in theater) from Temple University, and also spent a semester at the prestigious National Theater Institute in Waterford, Connecticut. She spoke to Chalkbeat senior writer Dale Mezzacappa about how she approaches her “dream job” and why theater experience is important for high school students.

Why did you become a teacher?

I was a “theater kid” my whole life. That was always the thing that brought me the most joy and fulfillment when I was a high school student. And then I pursued it in college and when I finished college, I apprenticed at the Arden Theater Company in Philadelphia trying to figure out how I fit into the theater profession. I worked in Arden’s education department and realized that I really loved helping young people find their voice and figure out what kind of artists they wanted to be.

Tell me about your own experience in school and how that affects how you work today.

I was really lucky. I grew up in Western Massachusetts, and my high school had a longstanding relationship with Shakespeare & Company, which has an amazing program where they would pair their resident artists with schools, and would come to work with us on our own Shakespeare productions. I remember, as a student, being made to feel very much like a valued and important person, and I just loved being a part of a group that had this collective goal to tell a compelling story. All throughout high school I had these amazing teachers, one theater teacher in particular, who was also the journalism teacher, who inspired me to value words and language.

How do you teach theater? It can’t be just kids sitting in a classroom.

My approach is very holistic. Everybody knows what it means to be an actor because that’s what we are used to seeing, but my program purposely focuses also on directing, design, and playwriting. We actually do spend a bunch of time in the classroom sometimes because each of my units is tied to what I call an anchor text. We read, analyze, discuss, pull apart a text … then we break off so a student might do a scene study or create an original piece of playwriting based on inspiration within that play, or they might take on designing an aspect of that play.

What plays have you studied recently? And how do you choose them?

There are 15 to 16 plays over the course of four years. My goal is to make sure that every student at least once sees themselves represented in the plays I bring in. So it’s really important that they come from playwrights with diverse backgrounds that highlight diverse characters. We start at the very beginning … so there are a couple of Greeks, moving all the way up through contemporary plays. I try to bring in plays that have different kinds of conflicts, different kinds of themes, different kinds of structures or use of language. Every play has an engine, something that makes the play go, and it’s really important to bring in different kinds of engines so every student can get excited at some point.

What plays, specifically?

The ninth grade set curriculum is Antigone, A Raisin in the Sun, and The Glass Menagerie, three big canonical works. In 10th grade, it’s Medea and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, and I’m in the process of reworking what I want the third text to be. And in 11th grade, it’s How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel, BFE by Julia Cho, Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute, and then Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. The 12th grade is always whatever they chose as their senior play, then A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Stop Kiss by Diana Son, and 26 Miles by Philadelphia writer Quiara Alegria Hudes.

What kind of plays do the 12th graders choose?

We just finished a production of Elsewhere by Don Zolidis, which is a play that follows four teenagers into a kind of shared dream landscape where they have to navigate some childhood issues to realize what they want to become as adults. Last year, they did a murder mystery, and the year before that they did Tinkerbell, which is an adaptation of the Peter Pan story. Sometimes, I have veto power, but mostly, they’re chosen by students.

Rush focuses on the arts, but in other schools, arts tend to be the first thing to go when the budget gets tight. Do you think all students should be exposed to theater?

I think it is every student’s right to have access to high-quality arts education in the same way they have the right to a high-quality core curriculum. The thing I love about theater is that it’s about stories, and stories are the most fundamental way for humans to connect. Allowing students to explore other people’s stories gives them a pathway to explore and explain their own.

Is there a particular moment or production that you remember as being pivotal for you? Something that made you think, this is why I do this?

Well, lots of students have expressed to me that theater is the thing they come to school for. But there was a moment, I think, when my students changed me. It was maybe seven years ago, the senior production was Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour, which deals with two female teachers who run a boarding school and had been accused by a student of being involved in a romantic relationship. The student was mad and wanted to get back at them, but what she didn’t know was that one of them really did have deep feelings for the other. And the student actors playing the teachers were just both so good. I was sitting in the audience when I thought, they are both, at age 17 or 18, better actors than I ever was. And it was this beautiful moment where I felt like they had surpassed my own skill level, and I was learning from them. My program is designed for students to become really independent of me. I provide all the scaffolding and the structure, so, then, they can do it on their own.

What is the best advice you ever got as a teacher?

When I first started working in Philadelphia, I took a workshop with Young Playwrights, and there was a speaker who said that our job is to help students find their voices, and not our voice through them. And that has been something that has always resonated in the back of my head. I am always looking for ways to center students in the work that they are creating, and to help them learn to trust themselves and their stories rather than looking to me for validation of their stories.

Have you ever had a parent or administrator try to censor what you were teaching?

It’s funny because I’m always waiting for that call. I’ve had parents ask questions, good questions, but I’ve never had a parent say their kid can’t read that, or can’t be a part of it. The play How I Learned to Drive [about a sexually abusive relationship between a teen and a trusted adult], every year I have students come to me afterward and say that the play changed their life, sometimes because they’ve been through something similar, and having the opportunity to process that through somebody else’s perspective has freed them. And I feel very backed up by the School District of Philadelphia. I feel really grateful for the progressiveness of the district I work in.

Did you ever aspire to be an actor?

No, this is actually my dream job. I was not ever very in love with the lifestyle of a professional artist [moving] from gig to gig. Part of what I love about being a theater teacher is that I get to really tuck in with the students and work with them over a long period of time. I love teenagers; I love this point of personal development when they are figuring out who and how they want to be. Teaching, for me, wasn’t a default. It was an active choice.

Dale Mezzacappa is a senior writer for Chalkbeat Philadelphia, where she covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. Contact Dale at dmezzacappa@chalkbeat.org.

How a love of language and travel shaped Indiana’s 2024 Teacher of the Year

2024-01-10T12:00:00+00:00

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As a first-year teacher in 2007, Eric Jenkins often sat in the dark next to a copy machine in a small shed in Ibadan, Nigeria, waiting for the power to come back on.

Rolling blackouts at the American school there were frequent, he recalled, which meant that it was a gamble to try and make all of your copies in one sitting.

“So much reflection and planning happened in those moments between the power shutting off and coming back on,” he said. “It forced me to focus on what I had available and in front of me at the present moment. It not only made me appreciate my life stateside but also helped me affirm that being an educator is the best way to impact the world.”

This year, Jenkins marks his 10th year at Franklin Community High School in Franklin, Indiana, with one of the state’s highest awards: the 2024 Indiana Teacher of the Year title.

His passion for travel prompted Jenkins to pursue his secondary education degree in English and language arts, with the idea of teaching English as a foreign language. During a study abroad trip in college, he met a French teacher who would later extend an invitation to him to teach in Africa.

Jenkins’ love of language continues to shine on the job: At Franklin Community High School, he teaches English language arts and a dual enrollment writing course offered through his alma mater, Indiana University.

“Both professionally and personally, the study of language arts, literacy, and composition has opened so many doors for me,” Jenkins said.

He is also a teacher consultant for the Hoosier Writing Project, which helps educators hone their writing skills and, in turn, become better writing teachers. Some of his best teaching strategies, he said, come from fellow teachers in the program.

After returning from Nigeria, Jenkins taught in Trussville, Alabama, before earning his master’s degree in literacy and moving back to Indiana. Jenkins recently spoke to Chalkbeat about teaching tips, life-altering interactions, and lessons learned from his travels.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What lessons did you take from your time teaching in Nigeria?

During that school year, I met so many wonderful people. My sixth-graders, in particular, taught me the power of sharing our backgrounds and experiences and the need to create a classroom community. Every day was a lesson in culture and connection — and food. The food was amazing.

The school was located in a walled compound outside of central Ibadan. You know the joke about teachers living at school? Well, we actually did. There was a house on the school grounds that we lived in, a short walk away from the classroom buildings. Three other American teachers and I shared that house. Describing it that way sounds like a pitch for a reality show, doesn’t it? In some ways, it was.

The teachers in that house really leaned on one another for support in so many ways. Thinking back on that now, I realize that it really shaped my views about the kinship among teachers. Regardless of content area or age range, there is an automatic bond and level of understanding among fellow educators.

Can you recall a memorable time, good or bad, when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach?

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about legacy in public education. But it was not until I had an impromptu meeting with parents two years ago, that I realized that legacy in education is generational, too.

Their student was starting his senior year, and our meeting marked the last “back to school night” for them as parents. Not only was there legacy in the fact that I had had that student in his sophomore year and now again as a senior, but they were also because he was the third and last sibling to be in my class. Their oldest was in my class during my first year at FCHS.

Eric Jenkins teaches a class.

It dawned on me that a significant part of their experience with English language arts and writing had been shared with me over the course of nearly eight years. They had grown up with me, and I with them. And even though the parents and I had only spoken a few times in person or over email over the years, I felt a genuine sense of connection with their family. That moment broadened and deepened my understanding of the impact that teachers have on their communities. Teaching is so much more than a singular moment or an anecdote, it’s an impact that lasts for generations.

What part of your job is most difficult?

All meaningful work is difficult.

The constant battle with time is (and always has been) a difficult part of being an educator, but I would say the biggest challenge is being a parent and an educator at the same time. It’s a real test of stamina and patience.

However, being a parent has made a positive impact on my teaching as well. I feel more at ease communicating with parents. That first parent conference or phone call as a new, twenty-something teacher can be terrifying. But now, like with teachers, there is an automatic shorthand. There is a shared understanding of all of the joys and challenges that come with raising children.

Tell me about your favorite lesson to teach – where did that idea come from?

I am a firm believer that choice is the best way to engage someone. I try to look for ways to incorporate choice into any project. It’s a delicate balance, though.

For a long time, debates in my class fell flat. So, I decided to give students free rein on their topics. While the students chose topics that they were personally invested in, it did not go well. Students were too dug into their viewpoints and positions, which resulted in more division than productive discussion.

So I decided to change from having a traditional debate to preparing mock trial performances. The cases still provide choice, but the fictionalized scenarios offer the freedom for them to explore many different points of view. With debates, their personal views were put on display to be dismantled and judged by their peers. Mock trials offer a chance to role-play and pretend; it’s competitive, but there is not as much on the line for them personally. It’s an activity that has become a staple for my sophomores in the fall.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about teaching?

I have been fortunate to have so many brushes with greatness.

One that I have been thinking about a lot lately is Simona Herring, my mentor teacher in my first year at Trussville. Simona is the embodiment of Maya Angelou’s lines, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

She helped me understand that we are in the business of teaching people, not content. We hope that students take away lessons about reading, writing, and speaking, but even more importantly, we want students to leave feeling seen, heard, and appreciated.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Esta administradora de Colorado adopta las lecciones de liderazgo de la cultura latina

2021-05-11T01:18:22+00:00

Read in English

Michelle Chambers tuvo un maestro de octavo grado que la empujó a inscribirse en un programa avanzado de secundaria. En noveno grado, tras meses de lucha, otro maestro le insistió que se rindiera.

Pero Chambers no lo hizo. En cambio, fue una de las 35 estudiantes que completaron el programa, convirtiéndose más tarde en la primera de su familia en graduarse en la universidad.

“Entiendo... cómo se sintió que un maestro creyera en mí y lo que sentí al esforzarme más allá de lo que imaginaba”, dijo Chambers, ahora subdirectora del programa de primaria en línea en el Distrito Escolar de Cherry Creek, al sureste de Denver.

Dra. Michelle Chambers

Chambers, una de las dos administradoras nombradas como Asistente de Director de Escuela Primaria del Año 2021 en Colorado, ayudó recientemente a iniciar un programa de mentoría para otras líderes educativas latinas a través de la Asociación de Administradores y Superintendentes Latinos de Colorado.

Ella habló con Chalkbeat sobre cómo la pandemia cambió las relaciones entre padres y maestros, por qué el aprendizaje en línea perdurará, y qué consejo de su mentor ella tomó muy en serio.

Esta entrevista ha sido levemente editada para acortarla y hacerla más precisa.

¿Cuál fue su primer trabajo en educación y qué despertó su interés por este campo?

De niña, invitaba regularmente a mis primos a “jugar” a la escuela, y yo era siempre la maestra. Mi maestra de primaria favorita fue la Sra. Lane. Ella hizo que el segundo grado fuera tan mágico que recuerdo haber llorado al tener que dejar su salón para ir al tercer grado. Esta maestra fue tan influyente que cuando di clases en segundo grado, hice muchas de las mismas actividades, incluido leer Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, ver la película original para celebrar, y hacer barras de chocolate individuales con un auténtico billete dorado para cada estudiante.

Mi primer trabajo en educación fue como maestra de segundo grado en el Distrito de Cherry Creek. Luego fui maestra de cuarto grado, especialista en el programa Gifted and Talented (para estudiantes brillantes y talentosos), entrenadora de diferenciación en primaria y asistente de director de escuela.

¿Qué le llevó a ser la primera de su familia en graduarse de universidad? ¿Qué desafíos enfrentó en el camino?

Aunque me encantaba aprender, no me resultaba fácil. También sentía ansiedad por los exámenes. Desde Kinder hasta la secundaria, tomé los cursos básicos, a menudo necesitaba apoyo adicional y obtuve bajas calificaciones en los exámenes estandarizados. Durante el octavo grado, mi maestro de estudios sociales vio algo en mí y me propuso para el programa de IB, o Bachillerato Internacional. Para mi sorpresa, me aceptaron.

Durante mi primer año, tuve problemas con el álgebra. Por meses iba a la oficina de mi maestro todos los días a la hora de la comida. También pasaba cuatro horas cada sábado en un Sylvan Learning Center. Después de ocho meses, mi maestra de matemáticas me dijo que, aunque me esforzaba, no creía que tuviera lo que se requiere para completar su curso o el programa de IB. Me dijo: “No puedes hacerlo, y deberías renunciar.”

Pero en lugar de renunciar, perseveré. El verano siguiente me matriculé en un curso de álgebra en una universidad comunitaria local y adquirí los conocimientos necesarios para continuar. Mi grupo de IB fue el primero de mi preparatoria, y empezó con 75 estudiantes de noveno grado. Yo estuve entre los 35 que se graduaron de esa primera cohorte. Como resultado de mis experiencias, entiendo lo que es luchar, lo que se siente cuando un maestro cree en ti, y lo que se siente al esforzarte más allá de lo que imaginabas.

Bajo su liderazgo, el Distrito lanzó una nueva escuela primaria en línea. Los estudiantes más pequeños a veces tienen problemas para aprender a distancia, ¿cómo resolvieron eso?

El verano pasado, miles de familias seleccionaron que sus hijos asistieran a la escuela en línea. Rápidamente nos dimos cuenta de que todos los estudiantes, especialmente los de primaria, participaban más durante las lecciones interactivas que tenían conexiones personales y basadas en el mundo real. Como resultado, empezamos a investigar aplicaciones que los maestros pudieran utilizar para asegurar que los estudiantes tuvieran oportunidad de compartir lo que piensan y tener voz. En general, nuestros estudiantes de primaria han mostrado una increíble disposición para aprender en línea.

¿Hay alguna lección a distancia que hayas visto a un maestro dar en línea que te pareció especialmente creativa o innovadora?

Para hacer que una lección sobre los enlaces numéricos (operaciones sencillas de suma) fuera divertida y atractiva para los estudiantes de Kinder, una maestra creó un “monstruo” de enlaces numéricos Como recompensa, los estudiantes fueron invitados a ayudar a la maestra seleccionando diferentes números para “darle de comer al monstruo” Mientras la maestra le daba de comer al monstruo, los estudiantes y ella hacían los sonidos del monstruo al comer. Todos, hasta yo misma, nos reímos mirando al monstruo comer los números.

En un ambiente en línea, los padres o cuidadores pueden escuchar las lecciones de sus hijos. ¿Cuál es el impacto de esto?

Uno de los muchos regalos de este año escolar fue lo mucho que cambió la relación entre los educadores y los padres para convertirse en una verdadera colaboración. En lugar de reunirse únicamente durante las reuniones programadas de padres y maestros, muchos de ellos encontraron tiempo, por la flexibilidad del horario en línea, para reunirse cuando fuera necesario durante todo el año escolar. Las reuniones entre padres y maestros también eran diferenten en línea, ya que muchos padres estaban familiarizados con la instrucción diaria y ayudaban a sus hijos a completar las tareas.

¿Cree que la educación será diferente después de la pandemia? Y si es así, ¿cómo?

Creo que el aprendizaje en línea y mixto formará parte de nuestro mundo de alguna manera. Muchos educadores y familias han mencionado lo mucho que les gusta la flexibilidad que les ofrece el aprendizaje en línea. Los maestros y padres han comentado que disfrutan cómo sus hijos pueden concentrarse en el aprendizaje con menos oportunidades de exhibir comportamientos sociales que interrumpen la clase.

Cuéntenos un momento memorable -bueno o malo- en el que el contacto con la familia de un estudiante cambió su perspectiva.

Como educadora principiante, me enfoqué en establecer relaciones significativas con los estudiantes dentro de las paredes del salón. Pronto descubrí que mis relaciones con las familias de los estudiantes eran fundamentales. Después de conocer y pasar tiempo con la familia de un estudiante de cuarto grado durante las reuniones para establecer objetivos, en las conferencias de padres y maestros, y mientras el estudiante asistía a sus actividades extracurriculares, encontré maneras de apoyar a toda la familia. También fui maestra de su hermano menor, invité a su hermana mayor a completar sus horas de trabajo voluntario en mi clase y ayudé a su mamá a explorar oportunidades profesionales.

¿Qué estás leyendo en tu tiempo libre?

Como delegada de Cherry Creek ante la Asociación de Administradores y Superintendentes Latinos de Colorado, participo en un grupo de líderes latinos. El grupo está leyendo el libro “The Power of Latino Leadership” de Juana Bordas. El contenido incluye aprender más sobre principios de liderazgo culturalmente específicos, como por ejemplo, Conciencia - conocerte a ti mismo y estar consciente de tu realidad; De Colores - inclusión y diversidad; Juntos - cuidar a comunidad colectivamente; y Gozar la Vida - liderazgo que celebra la vida.

¿Cuál es el mejor consejo sobre liderazgo educativo que ha recibido?

Cuando estaba adquiriendo confianza para compartir mi voz como educadora, un querido mentor compartió unas sencillas pero profundas palabras de sabiduría: “Michelle, sólo recuerda que si nadie lo dice, ¿quién lo hará?”

A partir de ese momento, juré que utilizaría mi voz para defender a los estudiantes, al personal y a las familias. Poco después, me encontré en una reunión de equipo en la que se debatía sobre el rigor de la enseñanza. Expresé mi convicción de que podíamos ofrecer más profundidad y complejidad, y que los estudiantes son capaces de cumplir nuestras expectativas. Aunque algunos de mis colegas decían que ya estamos haciendo suficiente y que ya le damos a los estudiantes todo lo que pueden recibir, yo seguí defendiendo mi postura de que todavía hay oportunidad para ofrecerle una mejor educación a cada estudiante.

Traducción por Milly Suazo

How this Illinois teacher uses the McDonald’s menu to teach math

2023-12-14T21:35:03+00:00

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When Erin Sagaskie was a high school student, she often felt invisible. Now, as a high school math teacher, she does whatever she can to engage her students inside and outside of the classroom.

Sagaskie teaches math to juniors and seniors at Carbondale Community High School in Southern Illinois, where she’s taught for 19 of her 22 years in the classroom. While she teaches courses that students might not be jumping at the chance to take — statistics, Algebra II, and transitional math, including some dual-credit courses — she works hard to make her classes fun and relevant.

When she was a teen, Sagaskie said she didn’t like school even though she was a good student. She would go to school, get good grades, but she couldn’t participate in after-school activities because she needed to catch the bus back home as soon as school was over. She had friends, but they often weren’t in the same classes. The experience made her feel unseen.

“I don’t want kids to feel unseen, and that’s how I’ve gone about my career,” Sagaskie said.

Erin Sagaskie, a teacher at Carbondale Community High School, poses for a portrait in 2023.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I was in high school when I decided to be a math teacher. I didn’t particularly like school, actually, but I realized that I liked a couple of things: I loved explaining math to other people, and I had a math teacher in 10th grade who looked like she was having a good time all the time. That was the first time I could say that I was having a good time in class. I was like “I can make money and be a math teacher. That’s a tangible goal.”

Why have you stayed a teacher over the past 20 years?

I’ve stayed invested in education in different ways. I have been involved in extracurricular activities with students. One year, I sponsored a junior class and ran a lot of concession stands. I’ve volunteered with students outside of the classroom. I worked on a college and career readiness program at a community college. Also, I’m always thinking about improving the classroom.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

My favorite types of lessons to teach are anything that uses real-world data and is relevant to what the kids are interested in. Recently in my Algebra II class, we were graphing parabolas. This one lesson was modeling when the McRib at McDonald’s will appear on the menu and for how many days. The question that students had to solve was “why?” But the lesson that I was teaching was about quadratic models. It was funny because around the time I was teaching the lesson, the McRib came back to McDonald’s menu, even though I didn’t plan that.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom (or your school)?

The lack of universal broadband access is affecting kids all over the nation. I have two dual-credit classes I teach through the community college. The kids need to have internet access because all of the assignments are online. Carbondale is not a small town, but not everyone has access to high-speed internet. Some places can’t get any access. Also, all the COVID emergency funds will run out next year, so we can’t afford to give kids devices anymore. I think having the internet in every household is also just a fundamental right these days.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

I read multiple blogs from mathematics educators. I think that’s good because they’re current and you get to learn from teachers in different locations. I also follow social media groups for teachers to hear about their struggles and solutions in the classroom. You can get ideas from hundreds or thousands of teachers, and you don’t have to just stick to the teachers that are in your building or in your district.

Sometimes, I’ll be up at midnight reading a teacher’s blog on my phone and think “Oh, that’s really cool. I’m gonna try that in seventh period tomorrow.” I don’t have the details worked out at midnight, but I’m gonna do it in less than 24 hours anyway. Sometimes it works out great, and sometimes it doesn’t. But learning, even learning from failure, is how we grow as people.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I like being outside. It doesn’t matter if it’s hot in the summer or cold in the winter. I like taking long walks and riding bikes. I have two bikes, a mountain bike and a gravel bike. I like doing several bike races.

Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.

Middle school is rough. Here’s how Colorado’s Teacher of the Year helps students find their voices.

2023-12-12T00:20:00+00:00

When Jessica May was 11, her family fostered a baby who’d been severely neglected and didn’t make a sound.

But May’s mother had a plan to get Baby Isabella cooing, babbling, and laughing just like a typical 1-year-old. The whole family lavished her with attention, and eventually, the little girl caught up on every milestone.

May, who is now a family and consumer sciences teacher at Turner Middle School in Berthoud, Colorado, said her experience with Isabella encapsulates what she loves about her job. These days, she helps students find their voices as they traverse the rocky road from childhood to adolescence.

All her students are her own “Baby Isabellas,” said May, who teaches lessons on everything from child development to making a budget and doing laundry.

May, who was recently named Colorado’s 2024 Teacher of the Year, talked with Chalkbeat about growing up with nearly 200 foster siblings, how she helped students cope with a classmate’s death, and what she leads with when she speaks with parents.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

No. I grew up wanting to hang out with all my teachers. I also gave assignments to my dolls and stuffed animals and graded them while they were at recess. The profession simply chose me at a young age.

A portrait of Jessica May, Colorado's 2024 Teacher of the Year.

How did your own school experience influence your approach to teaching?

I always loved school and had an innate longing to know my teachers on a personal level by keeping in touch with them. Growing up, I consistently asked them questions about teaching, searching for advice in order to figure out who I wanted to be as a teacher.

In fact, I still communicate with many of them. My first grade teacher just sent me a congratulations card the other day for my Teacher of the Year award. During my first year of teaching, I was paired with my former junior high school teacher, and now we are best friends!

You’ve mentioned that you like to tell students stories to connect lessons with the real world. Can you give an example?

My mom was a lifelong foster parent, starting when I was 3 years old. By the time I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado, I had 189 foster brothers and sisters. In that time, I learned a lot from my mom about kids with trauma. One of the stories I tell my students is the story about Baby Isabella.

When I was 11 years old, my mom told me we were getting a 12-month-old baby girl, but that she was the size of a 6-month-old. She explained that Isabella had learned early that when she cried, no one would respond or come to her aid — not to change her diaper, not to feed her, not to hold her. Because of this, she learned to stop crying. Therefore, she didn’t coo or babble, she couldn’t lift up her head, she couldn’t roll over, and she definitely didn’t crawl or walk.

Our job, my mom told me and my older sister, was to teach her how to cry again. The plan was to continually hold Isabella during the day and so my mom, sister, and I traded off while we went about our daily lives at home. My mom reminded us to talk to her in “motherese,” make eye contact when we spoke to her, kiss her cheeks, and sing to her. We did this for two weeks straight.

Then my mom told us “Step 2.” Every time we put Isabella down and she made any type of noise, we were to pick her up. We did this over and over until she finally realized that every time she made a peep, someone would interact with her. She started to coo and babble, she started to gain weight, she could lift up her head, and roll, and army crawl; she’d giggle and smile and squeal. By the time she was adopted at 18 months, Isabella had caught up to all the milestones of the average 18-month-old.

I explain the connection of this story to my students because they are stuck between being a little elementary kid and a young adult in high school. People, including their families, think they don’t want hugs anymore, that they don’t want to talk or play family board games, and that they want to be left alone. But that’s not accurate. They want to feel seen, heard, and talked to about life.

The reason I was meant to teach middle school and why I love it so much is because I can teach them how to “cry” again — to find their own voice, and tell others what they want and need.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach. Where did the idea come from?

A few years back, I had a seventh grade student with whom I had a close relationship. I dedicated several hours each week to helping him access content and overcome challenges he faced at home and in his social interactions at school. He tragically took his own life during the school year.

The loss of the student weighed heavily on my heart as he was the first current student I had ever lost. I knew I had to take immediate action for my students. I contacted the district’s restorative justice representative and requested she co-facilitate Peace Circles for each of my classes the following day. The students desperately needed an outlet to express their emotions and engage in the grieving process with their peers.

These circles evolved into experiences that profoundly impacted everyone present. They fostered a sense of safety, belonging, healthy emotional expression, and a sense of community. My hope was to make sure my students felt love, acceptance, and peace that day ... and hopefully for a lifetime.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

I think all teachers are nervous about making phone calls home because it can go either way for us. However, I have learned when calling a parent about an issue to always start with why I enjoy their child or what strength they possess. When I start this way, the parent or guardian understands that I’m not out to get their child and I have their best interests at heart. We then have a really wonderful conversation about how I can support their student so they can become their best selves. I’m no longer a nervous wreck when calling home.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

I’m reading “Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis. I’ve read this novel many times, but it continues to blow my mind. He wrote this fictional story in 1942, yet so many of the situations that Screwtape — a demon who is mentoring his nephew — talks about are actually occuring today. It’s also a good reminder to be mindful about my habits, thoughts, and actions on a daily basis.

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

This kindergarten teacher graduated during the pandemic. She was told to ‘be prepared for anything.’

2023-12-06T11:08:00+00:00

During the height of the COVID pandemic, when schools were closing and the future of education was uncertain, Sarah Budlow decided she wanted to become a teacher.

She is now in her third year teaching — her first in the School District of Philadelphia, and she said what she learned in her educator preparation program was simple: “Be prepared for anything.”

“We’ve been virtual, we’ve been in person, we’re not sure what it’s going to look like,” Budlow said was the attitude at the time she graduated in 2020. “We definitely had to have the mindset of, we don’t know what’s going to happen. So you’re just going to have to pivot and figure things out as it goes.”

Budlow is now putting her improvisational skills to work at Luis Muñoz-Marin Elementary School, teaching kindergarten. She regularly sends parents tutorial videos of lessons and skills she’s teaching her students so that they can continue the learning process at home. Because homework is optional in the youngest grade, giving parents the tools to do some extra practice when their kids aren’t in class can be crucial, Budlow said.

Budlow recently spoke with Chalkbeat about joining the educator workforce during the pandemic, getting kids excited about learning, teacher burnout, and her favorite book for early readers.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I graduated college in 2020 with no clue what I wanted to do. I knew that I was interested in urban education and I loved working with kids. I started teaching at an outdoor summer camp with social distancing because of the pandemic.

I was really interested in learning more about urban education and being a part of what goes on in urban schools. That’s when I applied for Teach for America. I’m from Baltimore, but I wanted to go somewhere new, so I asked to be placed in Philly.

Were you daunted about going into teaching during the pandemic?

The more I learned about the impact of a kid’s school experience on their life and their future, the more I was interested in getting involved, especially during the pandemic.

It was kind of good timing because I started teaching in 2021, right when we were coming back from being all virtual. I think that it really highlights just how important it is for kids to be in school. A lot of people would tell me that everything was so different now from what it was before the pandemic, but I have nothing to compare it to. So this is just how it’s always been for me as a teacher.

For the most part, it’s been good to start teaching at a time when I think there’s a lot more appreciation for what goes on in schools.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I’m really bad at picking favorites. The first thing that came to mind is math class. The district just started with this Illustrative Math [curriculum], and I love teaching it.

We’ve been learning about counting groups up to 10. There is a lot of room for kids to have conversations with each other and as a whole group about how they counted and why they counted and they can try different ways of counting. It creates this environment in math class where there’s not just one right way to do things. I think it gives them a deeper understanding of what we’re actually doing in math.

I’ve seen kids grow a lot from where they were at the beginning of the year and also just get really excited about math. I hated math as a kid so it’s awesome to be able to not recreate the experience that I had.

My other favorite lesson is any kind of read-aloud. Just asking kids what they think and what they noticed about the characters and getting those conversations going.

One of my favorites that I’m reading with my class today when they get back from lunch is “We Are In a Book!” by Mo Willems. It’s just a lot of fun. Right now I’ll read it to them, but later in the year, they should be able to read it with each other.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom (or your school)?

Kids bring good things and hard things from the community with them. When there’s a holiday coming up, they’re gonna get excited. One of my students’ big sisters just had a baby and he’s an uncle and he was really excited to show me pictures. There are those exciting moments in the community when kids just come to class and are really eager and excited to share.

But then there’s things like gun violence, which is a very real problem in Philly. Every year that I’ve taught here, I have had kids that have had direct experiences with gun violence. A lot of times, they come to school looking for a place to process that. That’s really hard. But I also think it’s really important for us not to run away from that because that’s real. If kids are experiencing something like gun violence, then it’s important that they have a space to process that and don’t hold their emotions inside.

I will usually partner with parents, and if something comes up in school, I’ll let the parents know. But they also have the space to talk about it in school and just say how they’re feeling, and we can connect them with a counselor. Sometimes they just need to talk it out.

I think it’s a good opportunity to help kids process the world around them. Because we are in a classroom together all year.

When Sarah Budlow joined Teach for America, she asked to be placed in Philadelphia, where she currently is a kindergarten teacher at Luis Muñoz-Marin Elementary.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I never really felt like I had teachers that got me. My teachers were nice. I did well in school and I was confident in my skills to some extent, but I also never thought that I was that smart. I thought I was kind of in the middle. And I was never that excited about school. I think that there are certain things from my education that I would want to replicate, like my parents’ involvement. But then there are certain things I don’t want to replicate, like just feeling disconnected from my teachers and just feeling like school was kind of boring.

I want to see my kids in the way that I felt like my teachers didn’t really see me that well. I want to know what they like and what makes them excited and find a way for them to feel excited to be in school and also feel competent in their skills.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

I read an article for class when I was at [The University of Pennsylvania] last year that was about teacher burnout, and it was called “Burned-in, Not Burned Out.” A lot of it had to do with teachers taking care of themselves as a way of taking care of their classroom and taking care of their kids.

I used to work way too many hours. But once I read that article, it really changed my perspective because I realized that I was over-exhausting myself and overexerting myself for little things that maybe could have waited until the next day or the next week.

[Now that I’ve started to] take care of myself, I’m able to be more present for my class and just generally I feel like I can do a better job. And that was a really hard lesson. The first two years, I can’t say I did very well at that, but I’ve gotten a lot better this year.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

This Bronx teacher launched a filmmaking program. His students just helped produce a feature film.

2023-12-04T10:00:00+00:00

Benjamin Ducoff’s students often come into his filmmaking class thinking only about the actors in front of the camera and the director calling the shots. They haven’t necessarily considered who is operating the cameras, who is holding the boom microphones, and who is transforming an empty space into a believable set.

By the time the class wraps, though, they’ve learned about everyone and everything involved in filmmaking. That’s because Ducoff’s lessons aren’t just theoretical; he and his students are making actual movies.

“I have a rule for my students: If they write a script that’s five pages or less, I’ll produce it,” said Ducoff, who teaches at Health, Education and Research Occupations High School, better known as HERO, in the Bronx. “That’s the source of most of our content.”

Recently, the teens in his classes were involved with an even more ambitious project. They worked on a feature film set. The finished product, “Yaniv,” premiered at the Cleveland Jewish Film Festival in October, with additional screenings scheduled around the country in the coming months.

Ducoff stars in the comedy-thriller hybrid about a high school teacher who needs to raise $10,000 to produce the school’s spring musical. To make some quick cash, he and a colleague join a secret gaming ring run by a group of Hasidic Jews in Queens. Their card game of choice is called Yaniv, and the two teachers hatch a plan to stack the odds in their favor.

Ducoff’s students worked on the set, earning money as they operated equipment, assisted talent, and even acted in minor roles.

“Yaniv” marks Ducoff’s first feature film, which he wrote and produced with his film director friend Amnon Carmi.

Ducoff said he knew the experience of working on a film set would be life-changing for his students.

But “I never would have guessed how obsessed they became with the project’s success,” said Ducoff, who spoke recently to Chalkbeat about how he got HERO’s filmmaking program off the ground, the technical and life lessons teens learned while making “Yaniv,” and the power of asking for what you want — even if it sounds a little ridiculous.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How did you decide to become a teacher?

I was a struggling artist in New York City, landing writing and acting gigs here and there but mainly working in restaurants. One day, I saw an ad for a part-time tutoring position at a Huntington Learning Center and was hired on the spot. I hated the job, but I instantly connected with the students, who were hilarious and insanely creative. From there, I became a New York City Teaching Fellow, and I’m still teaching at the same school I started at.

Why did you start teaching high school students about filmmaking — and what’s involved?

Filmmaking, and production in general, is the ultimate educational tool. It requires collaboration, a strong vision, sweat equity, and commitment. And at the end of the process, there is a tangible product worth celebrating. My greatest memories as a teenager come from my experiences doing theater, where my peers and I put all of ourselves into the productions of plays and musicals.

In 2021, when I was working as a history teacher, I pitched the idea of a filmmaking program to my principal, who enthusiastically facilitated its creation and helped me partner with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development to get students paid for their work and training on set. Over the course of two and a half years, I guided my students through the production of a movie, from a half-baked idea to a final cut.

My biggest challenge lies in finding the right place on set for each student, based on their interests and skill sets. Most come in with the notion that filmmaking is simply acting and directing, and are surprised to discover all of the different jobs and skills that are necessary for a project to get off the ground. Then, we have to find a workflow that can keep us on schedule and under budget. As a producer, I do everything to get film projects completed, and I know that I have passed this obsessive nature onto my students, for better or worse.

HERO high school student and assistant director Zack Robles, left, with teacher Ben Ducoff on the set of another student film, "BurgerFake."

Tell me about the premise of “Yaniv,” and about what role your students played in bringing it to life.

“Yaniv” is the story of a high school teacher in the Bronx who, after learning that the budget for his spring musical has been slashed, resolves to earn the money by infiltrating an underground card game run by Orthodox Jews. I wrote the script with my best friend and creative partner, Amnon Carmi, who is an accomplished director and has taught production to my students at HERO.

As we began pre-production of the film, we knew that we wanted to involve our students. What better experience is there than working on the set of a feature film?

Spread out across the art, camera, and sound departments, these students were instrumental in bringing “Yaniv” to life. We had students operating the boom mic, assisting our camera operators, dressing sets, and helping talent get where they needed to go. They helped our production designer decorate the school building we were filming in. It was the middle of summer, so when we arrived most walls were bare, and the building looked like more of a storage facility than a public high school. Our students immediately got to work, creating posters, ads, graffiti, and homework assignments. They even littered trash in all the right places.

When we needed to shoot scenes in crowded spaces, they recruited their friends to come play background [characters], and a few of them were even cast as students in the film. In fact, four of our students are now Screen Actors Guild, or SAG, eligible.

What life and work skills did your students learn while making “Yaniv”?

They learned so much! Alongside the hard skills of audio mixing, camera setup and operation, and production design, students also became proficient in the areas of teamwork, organization, creative problem-solving, and conflict resolution. I will say the biggest difference between my students and students who don’t take film is that my students know how to use spreadsheets to communicate and track progress.

What surprised you about working alongside your students to create this film?

The biggest surprise for me was students’ enthusiasm. There were so many instances where I had to remove students from the set because it was getting too late, and they were working too many hours! They were having so much fun and showed a level of professionalism that I never would have expected from a high school student. By the time we wrapped production, I was not surprised when a few of our graduating students were offered jobs on other shoots.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

This is actually the basis for a course, an after-school offering, and a summer internship program that I currently teach at HERO, called Filmmaking for Social Justice. Students examine issues that face the community and then we pick up the camera and document how it affects life at school. Some topics that are currently being developed include smartphones in schools, bullying, dollar stores, community assets, and public housing.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

The best advice I ever received came from my great-grandmother: “No one ever died from asking.” All these projects were pipe dreams until I asked for help. If you have a crazy idea, ask around. Somebody will be down to help you. Honestly, that’s really the theme of “Yaniv.”

Gabrielle Birkner is the features editor and fellowship director at Chalkbeat. You can reach her at gbirkner@chalkbeat.org.

Why this award-winning school superintendent donates his bonus back for his students every year

2023-11-02T10:00:00+00:00

If his school community had to choose between himself and its nine therapy dogs, David Snowden jokes that “the director of schools would have to go.”

Now in his 23rd year as leader of Franklin Special School District, south of Nashville, Snowden has championed the canine program since Mattie Grace became the school system’s first trained therapy dog in 2018.

Five years later, each of the district’s eight schools has a canine companion on site, as does its central office, to provide emotional support to students and staff.

Snowden says the program is popular — and needed. Even before the pandemic, faculty and staff were seeing an increase in student anxiety, depression, and mental distress.

But all of the comfort and joy brought by the pups wouldn’t be financially possible if Snowden hadn’t donated his performance bonus back to his home district to help cover the cost. It’s a practice he’s done every year since coming to his suburban district in 2001 — to acknowledge and reward the collective work of the students, teachers, and staff who surround him.

“It takes a team effort to be successful,” he explained.

In all, Snowden has returned about a quarter of a million dollars in bonus money to pay for various needs over the years, whether to hire tutors, buy chargers for Chromebooks, or provide water bottle refilling stations during the pandemic.

His colleagues call him a “true servant leader,” but his peers across the state recently gave him another title: Tennessee Superintendent of the Year. Because of the honor bestowed on him in September by the state’s superintendents organization, Snowden will represent Tennessee in February in San Diego at the national competition sponsored by the American School Superintendents Association.

In a recent interview with Chalkbeat, Snowden talked about why he chose a career in education, how he tries to bring out the greatness in others, his strategy for dealing with negative politics, and what gives him hope for the future.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What led you to a career in education?

Other than my parents, the most influential and inspiring people in my life were teachers and coaches. Any and all successes I may have had, both personally and professionally, are directly related to their support and mentorship. With my own career, I wanted to provide students with those same positive influences to help them become as successful as possible.

Tell us about your own experience as a student and how it affects your work today.

Growing up in rural Mississippi, I was an average student who enjoyed school but struggled with self-confidence. Fortunately, I had teachers who supported and inspired me to achieve higher than what I thought I could. With those influences, I became a fairly good student by high school. But those early struggles still resonate with me as I watch our great teachers positively connect with and encourage students each day. Every child is not going to excel at the very highest levels, but we know every child can be successful with the help and support of great teachers.

Describe an interaction with a student or teacher that made a lasting impression on you.

When I was an assistant high school principal in Pascagoula, Mississippi, my initial interaction with this particular student didn’t make a lasting impression. However, the note I received from her 20 years after she graduated made me realize that we, as educators, can have a positive impact on the lives of students, even when we don’t immediately see the fruits of our labor.

This young woman was constantly late to school and class and seemed to have a terrible attitude in general. I tried to get through her tough exterior but never thought my counsel resonated. When I wrote her a detention note, she routinely wadded it up like trash as she left my office. She managed to graduate from high school, so that end result was positive. Fast forward 20 years. I received a note from her (written on the back of a detention notice, no less) thanking me for all of our interactions through the years and the advice I had given her. She wrote that she never would have graduated, had it not been for those “tough love” conversations and my support. I still have that note!

What’s the best advice you ever received, and how have you put it into action on the job?

“Be yourself.” “Do your very best each and every day.” “Listen more than talk.”

Leaders shouldn’t try to be someone they are not. No matter how hard they may try, most people can see through the facade.

Doing our best means to never accept the status quo and to always be open to new ideas and growth.

I strive to be a good listener and to model one of Stephen R. Covey’s principles of highly effective people: “Seek first to understand and then to be understood.” If someone doesn’t understand a person, there is no way they can effectively address their problem, issue, or idea. When we are engaged listeners, we understand better.

Kindergarten students at Moore Elementary School surprise Snowden at a 2023 leadership team meeting to congratulate him for his Tennessee Superintendent of the Year award.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

Many years ago, I read “Good to Great,” by Jim Collins, about why some companies become great, while others merely remain good. It made me realize the importance of always striving for continuous improvement. “Good is the enemy of great,” he wrote, so we know if we are not improving, we are regressing. He also said that you have to be willing to “face the brutal facts” of why you are not where you want to be in order to achieve greatness. It is important to create a culture of collaboration and trust in order for continuous improvement to occur.

In education, as we constantly analyze and utilize data, we must do our best to determine the root causes of our successes, as well as what’s at the root of areas that need improving.

What were the biggest challenges for you as a school leader during the most recent school year, and how did you address them?

The negativity we heard from some corners about public schools and public school educators in Tennessee was definitely a challenge. Those comments were not based on fact but came from people who want to disparage public education — in my opinion, for their own benefit. We responded by accentuating the positive aspects of public education at every opportunity and highlighting the work of public school teachers in our district and across the state. Our school board members also spoke out publicly about the unfair and unfounded attacks on public education.

What were the biggest rewards?

One of the biggest rewards centered on the resolve of our teachers and leaders to work together for student success, despite the challenging political environment. Our parents were great partners and supporters as they gave our teachers perks on a regular basis and frequently volunteered their time. And we saw continued local investments in facilities for our students, including a new state-of-the-art performing arts center, a new gymnasium, and a new athletic complex. All of these facilities provide our students with high-quality venues to showcase their gifts and talents.

Many students are facing heightened challenges with mental health. What do you think are the root causes, and how is your team helping to support them?

Schools are a microcosm of society, and we’re seeing the struggles of many people from all walks of life. This was true even before the pandemic.

Snowden checks in with Blake, a therapy dog at Franklin Elementary School, and his handler, art teacher Jennifer Alvarado.

We provide training related to trauma and how best to help individuals and groups of students to overcome the residual effects of adverse events. Being better informed about the effects of trauma is important so we can recognize those signs and provide specific support.

Through a partnership with a local clinic that provides behavioral health counseling services, we now have a mental health therapist at every school in our district, most of them five days a week.

In 2018, we launched a therapy dog program with one canine at Johnson Elementary School. The initial plan was to add a dog each year. But seeing the clear positive impact, we fast-tracked the initiative and now have a therapy dog in each school. We even have a dog at the central office to provide support for both students and adults.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

The goal is to stay active, whether it’s walking or working out. I enjoy playing golf, which gives me an opportunity to soak up some Vitamin D while trying to improve a not-so-good golf game. My wife, Kathy, and I like to travel, so we are always thinking about our next adventure.

What gives you hope at this moment?

My hope always lies in people and their human spirit. Even though there is a great deal of divisiveness today in our society, we believe that through perseverance, love, and character, we will return as a society to that place of mutual respect and understanding. Obviously, that doesn’t mean everyone will agree on every issue, but we can disagree without being disagreeable. As educators, we have to model how best to interact and effectively communicate with each other to enhance our community, state, and country.

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.

How this middle school teacher gets students to challenge themselves in math

2023-11-15T19:07:04+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Newark’s free newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system.

When Salvador Quijada, a seventh and eighth grade math teacher at Philip’s Academy Charter School, thinks back on his own journey as a mathematician, he gives credit to one high school math teacher who pushed him to take on AP calculus. Quijada said his teacher’s belief that he could succeed allowed him to challenge himself in ways he might not have otherwise considered.

Now, Quijada channels that positivity into his lessons. Last year, he approached Philip’s principal, Yasmeen Sampson, and asked to pilot a new, accelerated program to help prepare more students for Algebra 1.

State test math scores remain a cause for concern, as Newark’s overall passing rate sits at 15% for students in grades 3 to 9. Both traditional public and charter schools in the city have prioritized increasing math proficiency during the 2023-24 school year.

Quijada believes that giving students the opportunity to work on more difficult equations fosters excitement for the subject. He said that this year, his accelerated students have appreciated the opportunity to tackle challenges and have flourished in Quijada’s classroom.

In a recent interview with Chalkbeat Newark, Quijada, who is in his seventh year teaching at the preK-8 school, spoke about his passion for math and his desire to pass it down to Philip’s Academy Charter’s young mathematicians.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I was a student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and came to Philip’s Academy as a part of a work-study program to tutor. I enjoyed seeing the scholars grow an appreciation for mathematics and thought of my favorite math teacher who inspired me to pursue a career in mathematics. Due to all of these factors and a lot of thinking, I decided to change my career path to become a middle school mathematics teacher. It has been the best decision. I enjoy coming to work and helping my scholars in any way I can!

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

My favorite lesson is how to solve and write algebraic equations because algebra is the foundation to all mathematics. The scholars always enjoy it because they get happy from solving a tough equation and finding the value of an unknown variable!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

The best advice I’ve ever received has been to get the kids to talk in class. It seems like such a counterproductive situation, but it promotes engagement and higher learning when the kids talk to each other. They learn the most from each other! The kids are able to talk through a problem and provide reasoning for their thinking, and this allows for mistakes to be understood a lot better. We do a lot of group collaboration, especially when using our vertical learning surfaces — working on problems on our windows or whiteboards, which has the kids up and moving.

What new issues arose in your classroom during the most recent school year, and how did you address them?

There were a lot of students that needed an additional push in terms of their mathematics. Another teacher and I saw many students who excelled in mathematics, so we wanted to bring an accelerated version of the seventh grade curriculum. We wanted to provide a challenge and help them succeed further and avoid plateauing. We brought up the idea to Principal Sampson, and she encouraged us to move forward with it! I did the research to find the right curriculum. The kids are definitely enjoying the work and the challenge that the class brings. They are collaborating, discussing, and working hard.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

Newark always has so much going on! As a Newark resident, I see new restaurants, shows, and opportunities for culture and arts. We have taken students to the museum, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and to Prudential Center events. I typically teach STEM classes for electives, but we have been working to expose students to more holistic experiences, so I requested to teach drumming. In this class, we look at a variety of drumming styles from all around the world and learn different beats to immerse ourselves in different musical genres.

How do you approach news events in your classroom?

I like to be transparent with the kids and talk through things. Our Leader in Me classes promote time dedicated to discussions and social-emotional learning, which are extremely important. The scholars always share their feelings and great perspectives as young citizens of the world.

Tell us about something you’ve done as a teacher that you’re especially proud of.

I am especially proud of creating a classroom environment that encourages respect, learning, and engagement from everyone who enters. I always want my scholars to feel comfortable and safe, even when making mistakes. I try to emulate my favorite teachers throughout my life. In my first year as a teacher, I had a student who always challenged me and made it difficult to teach. I had to really learn how to work with him and get to know him to best support him. Once I was able to build a relationship with him, it became much easier to teach him. Now, seven years later, I still keep in touch with him and enjoy hearing all of his accomplishments.

Samantha Lauten is a fall reporting intern for Chalkbeat Newark covering public education in the city. Get in touch with Samantha at slauten@chalkbeat.org or reach the bureau newsroom at newark.tips@chalkbeat.org.

How running track led this Bronx middle school teacher and coach full circle

2023-10-25T10:00:00+00:00

Running track changed the course of Elías Cruz’s life.

At his Bronx middle school, Cruz joined a track team started by his English teacher. Now a Bronx middle school English teacher himself, Cruz started a running team for his students in the fall of 2021.

He credits his middle school English teacher, Shawanda Weems, who started a track team at P.S./M.S. 15 through the Rising New York Road Runners’ free youth program. Besides its robust youth programming and races that Cruz’s students are training for, the New York Road Runners is renowned for hosting the TCS New York City Marathon; this year, the marathon is scheduled for Nov. 5.

Cruz recounted how he and his friends wanted to become fast runners, so they joined the running group immediately.

“Looking back on that one decision, it changed my life in countless ways,” Cruz said.

Cruz started teaching six years ago at New School for Leadership and the Arts, near where he grew up in University Heights. He became an English teacher, like his first coach, Weems, who continues to offer him mentorship and advice.

Cruz brought the Rising New York Road Runners program to his students about two years ago, when school buildings reopened to all students after the majority of New York City children learned remotely for more than a year.

Worried how the students would transition back to being in person after prolonged isolation, he thought track could be as transformative to his middle schoolers as it was for him.

“The need to develop their social-emotional skills, teamwork, and help them improve their physical and mental health was at the forefront of my thoughts,” he said. “It triggered the memory of middle school track with Ms. Weems.”

As a student on the track team, he bonded with friends outside of the classroom. They began to think about their health and what they were eating, and they formed “lifelong memories” at their track meets, Cruz recounted. His middle school teammates, Cris, Jose, and James, continue to be a “huge” part of his life.

“Till this day,” Cruz said, “we still speak of the many races at Central Park, Washington Heights, the dreaded hills of Van Cortlandt Park, the meets at Icahn, and the bus rides back to school after a day running.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

It’s amazing to hear that you still live and teach in the neighborhood where you grew up. How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

During my high school years, my track team would practice Monday through Thursday, and I would write down all our workouts, drills, stretches, and my own personal times in a little notebook. Every Friday I would go back to my middle school and help the younger runners — help them improve with what I learned. I would demonstrate to them how to do new drills, how to improve their form on old drills, and help them improve on their own individual events they wanted to run at their track meets.

Little did I know, I was already forming a culture of teaching within myself.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why, whether in the classroom or the field?

During our track practices, I love when we do our buddy runs. For this activity, the upperclassmen must find a buddy in the sixth or seventh grade and run with them for the practice. You can actively see the upperclassmen not only mentor the younger runners but also teach them all the skills I have taught them over years.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your school?

Our school is located in the northwest section of the Bronx. We are able to go outside for runs, have practices in local parks, and walk to some of our track meets at Van Cortlandt Park. Even with all these great benefits, we cannot escape the economic perils that hold back many Bronxites.

Our first year with the Rising New York Road Runner program, we began with a core of around 15 students. The following year, 2022-2023, our numbers ballooned to 40 or so students. After our first month of practice, it was immediately clear that we had a nutrition and running attire issue.

With so many of our student-athletes living severely under the poverty line, it was almost impossible for all of them to go out and purchase running sneakers, something they drastically needed. I still remember one of our returning runners confessing to us that he had to stop running because his feet were in too much pain for him to keep on going any longer.

Thankfully, with the partnership of the New York Road Runners, we were able to gift to our runners and many from our school student population brand new New Balance running sneakers.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

The best advice I’ve ever had is to make anything you do in the classroom or in practice engaging. A student who can’t wait to accomplish a goal is a student who has bought into your program and philosophy.

Have you ever run the NYC marathon?

Next year will be my first-ever marathon. I took a break from running to focus on teaching and just recently began running again. Slowly ramping up my mileage in hopes that in 2024, I cross the finish line of the New York City Marathon.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

This Chicago principal creates a sense of belonging for migrant students and their families

2023-10-18T21:50:45+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

When Maureen Delgado walked into her first classroom at Clinton Elementary in 1999 to teach middle school English and Social Studies, it was virtually empty — no textbooks, no pens, nothing.

“If I hadn’t had experience previously teaching, I probably would have really struggled,” Delgado said. “But that’s also one of the things that I think about when I hire new teachers: How can I support them? How can I make sure that they have what they need?”

Delgado is now the principal at Clinton, a kindergarten through eighth grade school in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood on the city’s north side. It’s a role she took on in 2016 after several years as the school’s assistant principal.

This month, Delgado and a handful of Chicago Public Schools principals are being featured on Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains as part of Principal Appreciation Month. District officials said she was chosen for creating an inclusive environment for Clinton’s immigrant and refugee population.

Delgado spoke with Chalkbeat Chicago about how she leads one of the city’s largest elementary schools, serving more than 1,000 students, 90 percent of whom are from low-income households and 62 percent of whom are English learners.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What made you want to be a principal?

I think if you were to ask me, back when I was doing my undergrad work, I would say I just wanted to be a teacher, and that’s all I wanted to do. But through my experiences here, I found myself being pushed into leadership roles, such as a grade-level instructional team leader. I think one of the things that really propelled me, though, was I realized that the opportunities and structures I had set up in my classroom were not necessarily the same across the school. I thought I could do more good as a school leader in order to support all of our learners.

Tell me a little bit about your own experience with school growing up and how it affects your work today.

My own experience in school is kind of embedded in working in this neighborhood. My father was an immigrant from the Middle East. My mother was a second-generation American. School was always important. I was the first person in my family to go to college. There were no ifs, ands, or buts in our family. You were going to get a college degree. It was always ingrained in us that school is important, that we’re here in this country being given the opportunity to better ourselves. My father felt that education was really the driver to seek a better life, and he was a proponent of making sure that that happened for his family.

I always wanted to be a teacher. I tortured my family, my cousins by playing school on the weekends. I had a chalkboard that I was given as a birthday gift. I just was always really drawn to education and drawn to helping kids and to helping students learn. When I was attending school at nearby Rogers Elementary, I spent a lot of time volunteering in younger grades like kindergarten and first grade. I’d spend my lunch periods or other free periods helping out in those classrooms. In high school, there was a child development class and we had a preschool in our high school, where I would volunteer. At Clinton, I feel like I found my niche and I found the perfect community to do that in.

Chicago has seen a big influx of migrant students. How is your school helping newcomer students?

One of the things that has drawn me to this community and has helped me stay here is being a child of an immigrant myself. My family comes from the Middle East and my aunts’ education stopped at what would be the equivalent of third or fourth grade. They never felt like they could go into their children’s school. So they relied on my mother who was English-speaking to be able to advocate for my cousins because they just never felt welcome in the school and they felt that that barrier would hinder them.

West Ridge and Rogers Park is a very diverse part of the city and it’s been diverse for years. Clinton is right off of Devon Avenue, which is known as Little India. We’ve had a lot of Asian families from Pakistan and India, but we also have a lot of different families from the Middle East. When I was teaching, we would get a lot of families from Eastern Europe, especially Kosovo, Bosnia, when there was a civil war there. We’ve always been welcoming different immigrants and different refugees from around the world.

We’ve continued to do that at Clinton. What has been a little bit more challenging this year is that we’ve had over 115 kids that have enrolled as newcomers since the beginning of the school year. We do have a lot of support in place, but it’s just been very fast. And while about a quarter of them are Spanish speaking, there’s another quarter that are Arabic speaking. We also have students that speak Rohingya, Burmese, Somali. We have 45 different languages spoken here. Our issues have been, ‘How do we support this huge influx that we’ve gotten?’ Because we’re also expecting more.

Over the last few years, our teachers have gotten English as a Second Language endorsements. About 95% of our teachers have their ESL endorsements. One of the things we focused on, particularly last year, was doing a professional learning community with those teachers. We have our English Language Program teachers who work as coaches and so they go in and support teachers.

We also have a lot of teachers that speak another language. Whenever we have parent meetings or one-on-one meetings about a student’s progress, we make sure that if we don’t have somebody on staff who speaks that language, we utilize the language line [a hotline we can call to get a translator]. So that helps us strengthen that home-to-school connection.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received and how have you put it into action?

I think the best advice I’ve ever received is to really listen. One of the things that I’ve had to do as an administrator is really to listen to my community, our school community, and kind of hear what we’re struggling with and being able to have people express their concerns or question things. That has really helped to guide where we’re headed as a school and to guide our new instructional shifts and our focus is just really being able to listen to the community.

I think a lot of times people are always thinking about how to respond to something or about how they’re gonna get their point across. But I think for me, just really taking the time to listen and process what I’ve been told.

How has your school worked to support students’ mental health?

One of the things that we’ve always offered here is a partnership with Asian Human Services, now known as Trellus, so we’ve always been able to offer counseling within the school day, which I think really helps some parents become more comfortable with the idea [of counseling] because they trust the school.

Thankfully, the district has given us a second counselor. That has been phenomenal for our school. We have a rainbows group that’s meeting about loss. We have a positive minds group that’s talking about self esteem and really growth mindset. We have a wellness group that’s talking about wellness, holistically, not just physical wellness, but also mental health. We have different “lunch bunches” where kids are able to meet and have lunch with the counselor and talk about things very organically.

In addition, our counselors are supporting our teachers, with programs such as Second Step and Calm Classroom. We’re also working on restorative practices within our school.

All of that has helped to make parents more comfortable so that when we have students who do require some additional support, they trust us. We also do workshops on mental health with our Parent Advisory Council.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

If you ask my family, they’ll say I’m never not at work. Even if I’m not physically in the building, my mind is constantly thinking about school. But I think the way I take care of myself is really spending time with family and friends and taking care of my own mental health. Sometimes it’s getting a massage, sometimes it’s reading, sometimes it’s vegging out on Netflix.

Principal Maureen Delgado reads to a student at Clinton Elementary, where she’s served as principal since 2016 and has worked since 1999.

How does it feel to have pictures of yourself on Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains?

I haven’t physically seen one yet, but I know one of my clinicians did. I will say, I am really committed to this school and this community. I am really proud of the work that we’re doing. And I’m very proud of the teachers, our students, our staff, and our parents. Whatever I can do to share that I’m more than willing to do it.

My father passed away a few years ago and I was telling my mom about it and I said, ‘You know what, I think he would have been proud of me.’ And she goes, ‘Yes, he would be so proud of you.’ On a personal level, it’s kind of nice to know that I’m being recognized. But in terms of the school, I’m happy that we’re being recognized. Our goal is to be the best neighborhood school in the city of Chicago, and I think we’re on our way to doing that.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

A career switch led this teacher to helping students build businesses of their own

2023-10-18T11:00:00+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

Meredith Bryant wanted a change.

It was 2020, and she was working from home due to the pandemic. Bryant had been in marketing for eight years but felt like she was missing her sense of purpose.

So she decided to become a teacher.

For the past three years, she’s worked as a business teacher at Walker Career Center at Warren Central High School. This year, she’s teaching and leading a new program centered on entrepreneurship.

Interest in entrepreneurship was growing among high schoolers at Warren Central, so the school created a new pathway where students can launch their own businesses. Plus, they earn up to 16 college credits — roughly a full semester of classes.

Indiana education leaders are pushing to improve access to postsecondary education as the state’s college-going rate for high school seniors hovered at roughly 53% for the class of 2021, the latest data available, after years of decline. That includes efforts to reduce the cost and time it takes to earn a degree. Dual enrollment programs, where students can earn high school and college credits at the same time, are among those efforts.

For Bryant, leaving marketing for teaching proved to be an exciting decision. Her days now are filled with hands-on activities and helping students apply business lessons as they create their own companies and start to build their futures.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I decided to become a teacher during 2020, during the pandemic, when I was working in marketing for a local credit union in the investment department. I wanted some way I could be helpful and decided to go back to school, which turned into me doing a transition-to-teaching program.

I needed more of a challenge and something that was going to give a better-served outcome. Now that I’m three years in, I absolutely love what I do and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. I just wish I would have done it sooner.

Why start the new entrepreneurship program at Warren Central High School? How will it impact students?

Entrepreneurship used to be an elective, but when students started showing more of interest in the topic, they wanted to try it as its own pathway. This program will help students launch a potential business so they can graduate owning something of their own. I have four seniors who will hopefully be ready to launch their business ideas into the community by May. The other students, juniors, will have me for another year to finalize and work on their budgets, investments, and financial planning.

A “pathway” is essentially an area of expertise, like declaring a major in college. We have over 30-plus pathways that the students can choose from, and entrepreneurship is the most recent one.

As of right now, the classes are all taught by me and students have to pass with a C or better to pass the class. If they pass the Principles of Entrepreneurship, they will move on to the next class, Small Business Operations, and then the capstone.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

Every Wednesday, we do “workshop stations,” where the students go around to different areas of the room and complete an activity.

Recently, we did “Adult Day” where the students learned how to tie a tie, sew on a button, read paychecks, and write professional emails. These are not only fun for the students but for me as well because I get to engage with them on a different level than just a teacher-student relationship.

Overall, my favorite lessons to teach are hands-on activities. I learn better when I see it visually so doing hands-on projects is where I really shine as a teacher.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

Job loss has hit some of my students and even their families. It has been hard to keep their motivation when they see their community laying people off.

When circumstances like this happen, there are a lot of resources we can offer students, but I think with having this class, they have come to realize they can break that barrier. They can use this class to change their environment and better their situation.

What has been surprising about the program so far?

The ideas that the students have come up with so far has really shocked me. I’ve had students that have already launched their apparel business, and they’ve started gaining that experience.

This year as part of the new pathway, students are still in the brainstorming phase of the process but have come up with amazing ideas so far.

One student didn’t want to wait around and jumped into his business and is already making sales. He wants to start his own apparel line but, for now, is working with a manufacturer to design and distribute zip-up hoodies. He’s done very well so far.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I was a three-sport athlete and a good student academically. I think having that discipline at an early age has carried over to me as an adult and how I run my classroom.

For example, every week we do a Mindful Monday exercise where students watch a motivational YouTube clip and reflect on it in their journals. After they are done, we talk about it and allow some to share their experiences.

I had a high school teacher do this and being the student I was, it helped pick me up and remind me why I was there, and what I’m working towards. I hope to do the same for my students with these reflection days.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

The struggles and challenges that are given to you are put in your way to see how you will react to them. Will you overcome them or let them tear you down? It’s always your choice!

I tell my students every day that their attitude when they walk through the door will determine how class will go.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Improving literacy post-pandemic: This Detroit teacher shares what works in her fifth grade classroom

2023-10-17T23:45:44+00:00

As the daughter of a former librarian, Anna Mayotte has long been passionate about literacy. So a job teaching kids to love reading was a natural fit.

As a fifth grade English language arts and social studies teacher at Gardner Elementary School in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, Mayotte improves literacy skills in her classroom by meeting with students in small breakout groups for part of the day. She gets them excited about the books they study by reading aloud in a theatrical, exaggerated manner. She also makes sure to keep her classroom library stocked and connect kids with the kinds of stories they enjoy reading and reflect their own identities. Mayotte engages her students in the literature they explore by connecting the pages to their lived experiences.

When the class reads “Esperanza Rising,” by Pam Muñoz Ryan, for example, her students learn about the racism poor immigrant farm workers faced after World War II. The kids then discuss the racism they have experienced in their own communities, as Gardner Elementary serves a predominantly Black student body. They talk about the threats to basic human rights described in the literature and the parallels they see playing out around the world today.

Anna Mayotte, a fifth grade English teacher at Gardner Elementary school, says she always knew she wanted to be a teacher.

“Before we begin the book, I ask them why they think it’s important to study human rights,” Mayotte said. “I always go back to the fact that if we don’t know what our rights are, we don’t know when they are being violated and when to stand up for ourselves.”

(Books like “Esperanza Rising” have been challenged in school libraries and curriculum for years, with conservative lawmakers arguing that texts dealing with race and racism aren’t appropriate for young readers).

Mayotte, recently selected for the Education Trust-Midwest Michigan Teacher Leadership Collaborative, said reading literature that covers those topics gets students thinking and “practicing that muscle of empathy.”

“I absolutely think it’s beneficial and I would say it’s necessary because these things are happening to kids in all age groups,” she said. “If it’s happening to them, it’s something we should be talking about.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

There wasn’t one specific moment. I am one of those teachers who has always known they want to teach. From a young age, I’ve had a love for learning and children and knew I wanted to make a difference in the lives of students. Growing up, school was my home away from home and some of my favorite memories from childhood happened within the school building. It’s where I made lifelong friends, and the experiences I had in school shaped me into who I am today.

How do you get to know your students?

I try to find out little things about them like what they enjoy doing in their free time. But the best relationship building comes from the casual conversations we have while eating breakfast together, in the hallway, or at dismissal. Many of our students are newcomers to the country, so I also try to get to know their home culture and learn some words in their native language to connect with them. Students appreciate when you take the time to make those connections and even though they may seem small, they can make a huge difference in how welcome a student feels at school.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach. Where did the idea come from?

While I can’t take credit for it, our first English language arts module of fifth grade is my favorite. While reading “Esperanza Rising,” we make connections to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We talk about what human rights are and how this document was written post-World War II. Even though the writers of this declaration set out to ensure that those atrocities never happened again, we discuss how people still have their rights threatened today. Students find examples of human rights being defied in the novel and then write to raise awareness about how people are still experiencing this hardship in today’s world. My students absolutely love the book, and I love seeing them practice empathy while also working toward the goal of becoming proficient writers.

What object would you be helpless without during the school day?

I’d be helpless without my wireless slideshow clicker. I’m constantly moving throughout my classroom to check for understanding during a lesson, so I use the laser on the end to draw students’ focus to different anchor charts or a specific part of the text that we’re reading. It allows me to keep the lesson moving without having to stand in one spot.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your class?

The lasting impacts of COVID on our community and classroom cannot be understated. Many of our students and families are still dealing with the trauma of the pandemic and that’s resulted in a mental health crisis. We also have students entering fifth grade without essential foundational skills from previous grades. I have to be a lot more strategic in my instruction to make sure all my students are learning at grade level and get the interventions they need. There’s a huge push to bolster research-backed literacy instruction in the early grades, especially coming out of the pandemic. I am part of the 2023-2024 Education Trust-Midwest and Teach Plus Michigan Teacher Leadership Collaborative, which empowers educators to advocate for policy changes that will positively impact students. One of the things my colleagues and I are advocating for is ensuring that training in early reading intervention is provided to all Michigan educators to help close this gap made worse by the pandemic.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

During the pandemic, we conducted daily wellness checks on our students and families. These very quickly transitioned from just checking in to see how everyone was doing to hearing about illness, loss, and food and housing insecurities and then trying to locate resources to help. It reminded me that being an educator and part of a school community is so much more than just what happens inside the classroom, and for many of our families our schools are a lifeline. We offer wraparound services and resources on which so many in our community depend. It kind of expanded my perspective from just thinking about the students that I serve to include the families and the community.

What part of your job is most difficult?

I think the most challenging part of teaching is meeting all the individual needs of my students. I have many students and they all come to school with different academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. I plan individualized instruction and after teaching the whole group, I meet with students in small groups to teach the skills in which they need more practice. Sometimes I use this time to just talk with students about how things are going and provide emotional support. Students thrive during these moments, and I’ve seen a lot of students make progress. Unfortunately, meeting every single student’s needs is impossible and even though I try to do everything I can to make sure they are getting what they need from me, it can be overwhelming and disheartening when those needs are not met.

What was your biggest misconception that you initially brought to teaching?

When I came into teaching I believed that I was going to be able to make big changes to the education system. I didn’t have a full understanding of how the system worked nor did I understand just how many stakeholders there are in the world of education. There are so many people who are situated within a school or district, all working toward the same end goal of student success, but in different ways. It can be really hard to navigate that within the classroom, but I work hard to advocate for my students and the changes that I know will have a positive impact on their lives.

Recommend a book that has helped you be a better teacher, and why.

“The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping Students Make Meaning from Text” by Nancy Lewis Hennessy has really changed my perspective on reading instruction. It translates the research on each dimension of skilled reading into useful practice. So much of the literature on the science of reading focuses on word recognition, which is helpful. But for the upper grades, a lot of our focus is on reading comprehension. This book discusses how to align comprehension instruction with that same science of reading research. One of the most helpful things about this book was that it shifted my thinking of comprehension taking place at the text level to how understanding at the sentence level is how students derive meaning from the whole text.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about teaching?

Prioritize your responsibilities. Teachers have so many things on their plate and there’s no way to get everything done. Take a look at your to-do list and identify what items will have the biggest impact in your classroom. For me, that’s carefully planning out instruction and providing meaningful feedback on student work. My advice: complete those tasks and then leave work at work. Rest and enjoy your family at home so you can show up for your students the next day.

Hannah Dellinger is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering K-12 education. Contact Hannah at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.

She teaches recent immigrants. Here’s how she makes her NYC classroom a safe space to learn English.

2023-09-21T15:22:16+00:00

It was in the days and weeks after 9/11 that Elana Rabinowitz, then working in advertising, decided to become a teacher. “When the towers collapsed and the tone of the city changed, I did, too,” she said. “I wanted to help people, desperately.”

Rabinowitz had worked abroad and already had a certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages, so she put her skills to work in the classroom. More than two decades on, she is an ESL teacher and coordinator at Middle School 113 The Ronald Edmonds Learning Center in Brooklyn.

In recent years, many of her students have been recent arrivals to the United States — children from asylum-seeking families who fled violence and economic hardship. Some of them had been out of school for months or years as they made their way to the U.S.

Rabinowitz wants them to feel comfortable sharing their stories and identities. As soon as a new student is placed in her class, Rabinowitz buys a flag from their country of origin. But she wants them to feel at home in New York City, too, so she decorates her classroom with cozy secondhand furniture she finds at stoop sales.

When New York City Public Schools started earlier this month, an estimated 21,000 new migrant children had enrolled. As a longtime teacher of new arrivals, Rabinowitz spoke to Chalkbeat New York about how educators and families can help support English learners in their school communities.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Elana Rabinowitz with some of her students.

What drew you to teaching English learners?

I was already on an international path. I had been in the Peace Corps in Sri Lanka. I had run a language school in Ecuador. I had become proficient in both Sinhala and Spanish. I knew that learning the local language was the key to connecting with people. I wanted to do that for someone else.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

Anything that involves writing, even if it is just a picture and a word. I love when the students at every level can express themselves in prose. I find that poetry is often the universal form of communication, and anything from an acrostic poem about their ancestors to a sensory poem about their homeland always gives me the chills. It is giving students a voice who may not feel that they have one in another class, and their work is often spectacular.

Back in 2019, a student of ours was one of only 33 Latino students accepted to Stuyvesant that year, amid the controversy around specialized high school testing. I immediately wanted to know how he felt about it and was able to work with him to get his first op-ed published. He even got paid! Now that was a great day.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

The recent arrival of asylum seekers. The most recent arrivals have banded together to become fast friends. It’s funny how many teachers and staff suddenly know Spanish now and use it to make our students feel comfortable. When new arrivals are placed in my classroom, I immediately order flags from their countries.

Last year, two of the girls grabbed their flags and started singing Ecuadorian and Venezuelan pledges of allegiance in Spanish. It was beautiful. I try to incorporate aspects of their cultures in my classroom whenever possible. Many of my students are fantastic artists, so they paint scenery from their countries, and we display it in my room to remind them of their homes. I also add pictures of activities we do together to let them know that this is their home, too.

What new issues arose at your school or classroom last school year, and how did you address them?

Having such a large group of newcomers arriving at once. We now had students who spoke little to no English sitting in classes. Many had missed months, if not years, of school and came with so many needs. A group of us banded together to make sure they had appropriate clothing, school supplies, and emotional support. It was the heart of winter, and kids were coming to school without socks or jackets!

This support is ongoing. Once funding was established, we were able to create morning, after-school, and Saturday academies specifically to assist our newcomers in their transition. The students would learn English by doing — making waffles, playing soccer and basketball, painting pictures, and doing neighborhood walks, which ended in ordering pizza from a local pizzeria. They particularly liked learning how to order pizza!

Elana Rabinowitz enjoys pizza with a group of her students.

How do you think schools and educators can better meet the needs of immigrant and refugee students?

First off, stop with the ridiculous Spanish LAB, which is used to measure English-language proficiency. The test they have me administering is from 1982, the same year Michael Jackson sang “Thriller.” We need updated assessments in their native languages that can be scored before a child enters a school.

Also, newcomers need more English than the 360 minutes a week. At minimum, their first six months should be spent with intensive English courses. They can attend gym, math, lunch, and one other elective with their English-speaking peers, but the idea of having a child with no English sit in an ELA class is preposterous. Many teachers just put them on a computer all day or hand them translated text with no instruction. It is demeaning and staggers learning. These students have already been through enough to get here; we should be making them feel more comfortable — not lost or different.

What can families do to support migrant families in their school community?

Families and the local community can help by assisting with translating, donating basic supplies, and making the children feel welcome. A school in our building had parents volunteer on the weekends, and we coached the kids in soccer. We all had a blast! Some of the students would run into the parents in the neighborhood, and they greeted each other fondly.

How do you build rapport with the families of your students who have recently arrived in the U.S.?

I conduct meetings with the parents when the children arrive and try to offer a special welcome breakfast to make them feel comfortable. Last year, we had flags from all their countries and special food that we thought they would enjoy. I also work with dual-language teachers to stay in contact and help families find language classes, tutoring, and basic supplies.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

Reading about the concept of the affective filter, which is an imaginary filter that becomes an impediment to learning another language. If the filter is high, students are stressed and self-conscious, and language learning is delayed. If it is low, they feel safe and take more risks, which helps with language acquisition.

So many adults tell me they hated learning Spanish or French in school, probably because they were so self-conscious. I constantly write grants to buy supplies and use secondhand chairs, lamps, and cabinets to ensure that my classroom has a cozy feel similar to a home. I make sure that students are comfortable and respect each other so that they learn with ease.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

Seek out the educators who inspire you, watch them, sit in on their classes, and adjust.

Gabrielle Birkner is Chalkbeat’s features editor and fellowship director. Contact her at gbirkner@chalkbeat.org.

This Memphis ‘Educator of Excellence’ mixes English and arts to motivate students

2023-09-19T02:39:25+00:00

Years ago, while an intern with Bridge Builders, a Memphis program designed to help youths think critically and resolve conflicts, someone told Crystal L. Johnson that she had good rapport with the young people.

Johnson ultimately parlayed that compliment, as well as her diploma from Overton High School for the creative and performing arts, and her degrees in English and psychology, and in instruction and curriculum from the University of Memphis, into a teaching career.

She’s been at it for 17 years.

Johnson now teaches 12th grade Advanced Placement English at Hillcrest High School, a charter school of 432 students in Tennessee’s Achievement School District. Her work with the students at the Whitehaven school recently earned her recognition as a 2023 Educator of Excellence. The honor comes with a $1,500 award sponsored by the Crews Family Foundation and bestowed by New Memphis — a non-profit organization that focuses on supporting leaders and ideas to improve the city.

Johnson’s work transcends her classroom. She’s also a writer, spoken word artist and executive director of the youth development nonprofit Live Seed, Inc., which puts on spoken word performances.

Johnson, whose students affectionately call her “Miss C.J.,” recently told Chalkbeat Tennessee how she approaches her job.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

My lessons on poetry and creative writing are my favorite. It allows the students to break free from the traditional rules of grammar. It allows them to express themselves. The poetry lesson on “Where I’m From” is my favorite. The students talk and describe their neighborhoods and who they are. It gives me access into learning more about them and gives them practice being vulnerable with their writing.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

The Peppertree apartments are down the street from Hillcrest. The news reported the need to shut them down due to lack of maintenance, which made the building a safety hazard. The police and/or ambulance could be heard on our street heading to those apartments on the daily. Now that they have closed, it has affected our enrollment and daily attendance. Many of our former students lived there and now have moved. It’s a good thing that the apartments were closed, due to crime and safety issues, but we also lost some students.

How do you approach news events in your classroom?

I show the news clip and pose a question or writing prompt to accompany the video. For example, when the Montgomery Riverboat Brawl went viral, I showed a news clip and asked, “What is the story, or series of events that led to the brawl? What are your thoughts on this? How could this have been avoided? How does this news clip affect current racial relations in our country?

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I was a student that attended optional [magnet] schools, so I had access to different resources. However, I didn’t like that I had to leave my neighborhood to get the social and academic school experiences that I did. There was information that my neighborhood peers didn’t receive, and it compelled me to bring that type of instruction to any school I taught at, no matter the label or location.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

The best advice I received was from a Rotary Award-winning educator. It was my first year as a teacher at Overton High School, my alma mater. Mrs. Seymour caught me staying late after school again grading papers, planning ahead, and trying to get my bearings. One day she stopped inside my room and said, “Ms. Johnson, what are you still doing here?” After I answered, she retorted, “The work will always be here. There will always be papers to grade and students to tutor. Make sure you schedule some time for yourself, or this job will overwhelm you.” She was right. I had to learn to pace myself. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day!

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

The “Freedom Writers Diary,” and the film helped inspire me to teach differently. It confirmed what I already knew about teaching youth from urban areas. You have to build rapport, build connections to see growth and achievement.

What new issues arose at your school/in your classroom during the past school year and how did you address them?

Most issues dealt with seniors staying focused and attending school daily. Seniors especially begin to get part-time jobs, and it becomes a challenge to keep them motivated to the finish line. I had to implement creative ways to get them to come more such as field trip incentives for attendance and submitting satisfactory work.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

When I’m not at work, I spend time with my family, especially my 11-year-old son, Robert, who attends Maxine Smith STEAM Academy. I perform at poetry readings. I travel, work out at the gym, enjoy live music with friends, attend New Abyssinia Baptist Church, or just relax. It is smart to partake in self-care activities that encourage good mental health. As an educator, it can be draining, so it is imperative that I get “me” time.

Bureau Chief Tonyaa Weathersbee oversees Chalkbeat Tennessee’s education coverage. Reach her at tweathersbee@chalkbeat.org.

NYC is mandating new reading curriculums. This teacher had a head start.

2023-08-24T19:57:43+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

Second grade teacher Janina Jarnich was focused on bats.

As her students gathered on the classroom rug one June morning, she instructed them to flip through their workbooks and take their “magic finger” to trace the words from an article about the nocturnal pollinators. Her students read aloud in unison about the dangers humans pose, from noises that interfere with bats’ sleep patterns to building renovations that can upend their roosts.

The lesson came from a curriculum called EL Education — one of three reading programs public elementary schools may use under a sweeping new mandate beginning this fall. All elementary schools in Bronx District 11 must now use EL Education, including Jarnich’s. But she has a head start: Her school, P.S. 169 Baychester Academy, has used the program for years.

The curriculum has won praise from advocates who say its focus on building students’ background knowledge on a range of topics will set them up to be strong readers. It also includes lots of opportunities for writing. But some educators note EL Education is dense with materials and can take time to unpack. So far, only one of the city’s districts out of the initial 15 covered by the mandate have selected the curriculum.

We recently caught up with Jarnich, a 26-year veteran of the city’s public schools, about how she approaches reading instruction, what sets EL Education apart, and what kind of training she wished he had.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I was in my junior year of college and unsure of what I wanted for my career. I had originally wanted to be a veterinarian, but that was not working out. My mom was a NYC public school teacher, and my dad had just retired as a history professor from Queens College, so I decided to give teaching a try.

Literacy has taken center stage since Mayor Eric Adams announced a new reading curriculum mandate. What do you make of the renewed focus on how schools teach children to read?

I was very happy to hear about the new mandate. Teachers have known for a long time that the whole language approach and Lucy Calkins’ Teachers College readers workshops did not work for every child. Phonemic awareness and phonics are key for children to learn to read.

Your school already adopted EL Education, one of the three reading programs all elementary schools will be required to use. How would you describe that curriculum’s approach to a parent?

EL uses real fiction and nonfiction texts to teach real-world issues. There are four modules for second grade divided into three units. In unit one, students learn the background information about the topic and necessary vocabulary through close reading, discussion, shared reading, and short response. In unit two, students continue to learn about the topic by reading informational texts and writing about the topic. In unit three, students work on a culminating project: informational writing, narrative writing, opinion writing, and developing their research skills. Students also present their [work] in different ways and share their learning with other members of the school community and their families.

What are EL Education’s strengths and weaknesses?

EL’s strengths are the texts that provide the students the opportunity to learn about real-world issues.

The weakness is the difficulty of navigating all of the materials. Even after using EL for four years, it can still be tricky to find the end-of-unit assessments and to make sure you have all of the materials necessary for each lesson. There is a teacher’s guide, supplemental materials book, and student notebooks. The assessments are sometimes in any of these books. At my school we find it necessary to supplement the writing by giving weekly writing assignments, where the students use familiar texts to answer text-dependent questions.

Given the volume of materials you have to navigate, how do you approach crafting lesson plans?

EL has many components, and it takes time to learn where all of the materials are in the teacher’s guide and supporting materials. There is a Facebook group that I joined called Open Up Resources, where educators from around the country share their experiences with EL, from how to display vocabulary words to the differentiation of paper choice to meet the needs of all of our students. EL provides only one type of writing paper and planning pages, such as graphic organizers. Many of my students need picture support, primary lined paper, or additional supports since they are English language learners or students with special needs. Also, the Open Up Resources and Learn Zillion websites have all of the EL materials and slides for each lesson to help when planning.

At my school, we meet as a grade team to plan out each module. We take a backwards planning approach, where we look at the performance task and see what we need to teach in order for our students to be successful when working on their project.

What impact has the pandemic had on the way you approach reading instruction?

Many of the children are lacking the foundational skills necessary for them to become successful readers by the end of second grade. At my school, we have been using Heggerty to increase the students’ phonemic awareness and Fundations to improve their phonics skills. We use online programs such as Amira and IXL to increase fluency and improve reading skills, such as comprehension.

Thousands of teachers are in the midst of learning how to implement new reading programs. Did you receive training to implement EL Education? If so, what made those trainings helpful or not?

I did receive multiple trainings before and during the first two years of starting EL. The trainings were more about unpacking the modules and planning. I really would have benefitted from seeing EL lessons in action and in a classroom setting.

One of EL Education’s goals is to build students’ background knowledge on a range of topics — what’s your favorite lesson to teach from it?

Module two is my favorite. It’s about how fossils tell about Earth’s changes. Who doesn’t love dinosaurs?

My second graders learn all about being a paleontologist. They become experts on the process of fossilization. By the end of the module, they write a narrative where they are the paleontologist that makes the greatest discovery of their lives. The module lends itself to lots of hands-on experiences, like making imprints and doing a “dinosaur dig.” Since we are in NYC, I of course take the class on a field trip to visit the Museum of Natural History to see the fossils.

What are your go-to strategies for helping struggling readers access texts that might stretch their reading abilities?

The EL texts are on a third to fourth grade level. They are filled with content vocabulary. Many of my students are unable to read the text on their own, so we choral read during close reading time. The students also work with a partner and read together. This allows all of my students access to the text. We also break the text into chunks, whether paragraphs or pages, and discuss with partners and as a class.

Systemwide, do you think it’s a good idea to mandate that schools use specific reading programs? What will it take for that effort to be successful?

Yes, I think it’s a good idea to mandate specific reading programs. Many times I will receive students in the middle of the year from other schools in New York City, and they are not even near the same level as my students. Hopefully, with everyone using similar reading programs, students will have access to the same education.

Schools need to be given the resources and funding necessary so they can successfully implement the program. Teachers need to be given training and time to learn the program. Teachers also need to be given the freedom to adjust the program to their students’ needs.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I had much difficulty learning to read as a first grader. At the time, I was taught only with phonics drills and round-robin reading, where at reading group time, students take turns reading a portion of the text out loud. It took me a long time to find that love for reading. As a teacher, I feel it is just as important to learn to read as it is to love to read. I share my love for reading with my students through read-alouds. I also try to provide books in the classroom library on topics that interest my students.

Are you doing anything to relax over the summer?

I spend the summer boating with family and friends.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

This South Philadelphia principal is leading her community through an asbestos closure

2023-08-18T19:08:59+00:00

Philadelphia school days have been upended by the ongoing discovery of damaged asbestos in buildings across the city. And school district leaders have warned that more asbestos-related closures may be coming.

Principal Karen Howell-Toomer is tasked with making sure students are ready for in-person learning at a temporary location.

Universal Vare Charter School Principal Karen Howell-Toomer is guiding her community through one of the longest closures. Their building shut its doors in April when damaged asbestos was first discovered, and Howell-Toomer gave notice earlier this month that their district-owned building would remain closed through the 2023-24 school year as well.

Howell-Toomer is now tasked with making sure her 173 students, in grades five through eight, who learned virtually from April to June are ready for in-person learning at the nearby McDaniel Annex building at 1901 South 23rd Street.

Despite the daunting task in front of her, Howell-Toomer said she’s excited for the new school year. She’s already planned open-house visits for parents and a school-wide kickoff event on Aug. 25, when they are planning to give away backpacks, uniforms, hot dogs, and water ice.

“I’m calling our new school a boutique because it’s smaller, more intimate. It’s gonna be fun,” Howell-Toomer said. “I think the teachers and staff members will like it.”

Howell-Toomer didn’t always envision herself in this position. She began her career with degrees in social work and nursing and started substitute teaching to pay her tuition bills.

During her first weeks she taught at close to five different schools in Philadelphia, she said, before ending up at the Walter George Smith School in South Philly, which has since closed. At that school, the principal at the time told her, “you are a natural-born teacher,” and steered her in the direction of getting her master’s degree in education.

That conversation led her to spend 28 years in the Philadelphia school district, first as a classroom teacher, then in the district’s office of teaching and learning, where she supported early-career teachers, and eventually as a principal.

Howell-Toomer said she thinks those people who saw a spark in her when she was first starting out observed her interactions with her students, the way she commanded the classroom, and her relatability.

“A lot of times when people come as a sub, they treat it as ‘I’m a sub.’ I came in and actually treated it like these are my kids, these are my students,” she said.

Howell-Toomer spoke with Chalkbeat about her career and how she is leading her students, parents, and staff members through their asbestos closure.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What have you admired about leaders in your life? Who has inspired you on your educational journey?

The first principal that I served under, Sandra Ruffin Pearson. She was very steady, very calm. I’m the hyper one. I’m the quick, quick, quick, Type A personality and she was more subtle. She had excellent people skills, writing skills, and she just engaged with everyone. We have that in common. She was a good leader because she developed leadership in other people. She would see what their skills were and then she would hone in on those skills and help develop them further.

My second great leader is who I work under now, Penny Nixon, CEO and Superintendent of Universal Schools. She has a monumental task each day, and she makes it look like this is really easy. But I know that she’s working hard and just keeping us all together. She makes our job fun; she doesn’t micromanage. She allows each principal to use their own creativity in our buildings. She is extremely smart — serious when she needs to be but funny and engaging. She also does a good job of treating everyone individually. She meets you where you are and helps to develop you further.

What has it been like to navigate your school’s building closure due to asbestos?

It came as a shock. But [most of] the schools in Philadelphia have asbestos, if we want to be honest about it. Because they are all very old. We didn’t have ample time to get in, get our things, do what we needed to do. They came in and the next day, it was like, ‘OK, you guys can’t return to the building.’

The parents have been great. The scholars have been great. I’ve been communicating with the parents by email, ClassDojo, letters to the homes, calling them on the phone. They all have my cell number. So when they call, I answer. I’m able to give answers right on the spot. That’s why no one is disgruntled.

Parents have said they want more communication during asbestos closures. How have you helped parents through this process?

I’ve been keeping [parents] in the loop. I’ve been sending weekly messages. I don’t live too far, I live in the community, so parents see me. They have more accessibility to me. It was short notice. But for us, we were a little bit luckier — if you can find any luck in this — because it happened towards the end of the year. So it’s different from the other schools that were shut down earlier. Everybody was disappointed, of course, I don’t want you to think it was all roses. But they went along with it. And they were like, ‘OK, we know you got this, Principal Toomer, you’ll tell us what’s going on.’ All they cared about was A) Are we closed for the year? Then if so, B) What’s your plan? C) Where’s the new location? As long as you answer the ABC, they were good.

What’s the best advice you’ve gotten?

Treat every child like they’re your own, and treat people with respect and you’ll get respect in return. Be human when you’re engaging with your family members, kids, and your staff. Don’t fly off the handle if kids are chronically late. Dig deeper, ask, ‘Why are you late every day, sweetie? Come in here. Let me talk to you for a minute; what’s going on?’

Sometimes kids are just being kids, and their parents work early, and the parents aren’t there to wake them up so they oversleep, but some of them have deep-seated situations going on: I couldn’t find a clean pair of pants, I couldn’t find underwear. I didn’t have toothpaste, I didn’t want to go to school. I’m in middle school, and middle school kids can be mean. Even as an adult, if your breath is not minty fresh, they will remind you of that.

What do you do to take care of yourself outside of the classroom?

Right now, that’s a little bit of a challenge for me. Even though I’m working full-time, I am [my husband’s] primary caregiver. We always traveled everywhere. We’ve been to almost every continent. But we’re unable to do that now. Everybody keeps saying ‘self-care, self-care,’ but self-care is not always easy. I’ll figure it out. I just keep going. I stay on ten.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

‘I am here, I care:’ How this Colorado school social worker heads off mistrust

2023-08-16T23:29:52+00:00

Leah Williamson, a middle school social worker in the southern Colorado city of Pueblo, says some of her students have gone through more by age 14 than most adults do in a lifetime. They come from the city’s east side, where poverty and crime rates are high.

They don’t “come from white picket fences, unicorns and glitter, and do not want to be treated as [if] they do,” she said. “They want love and attention.”

But since many of her students have a hard time trusting people, Williamson, who works at Risley International Academy of Innovation, tries to meet them where they are and get to know them as individuals.

“Most are extremely proud to be ‘East-siders’ and need people to see them for who they are and where they come from,” she said.

Williamson, who was named 2023 Trailblazer of the Year by the Colorado School Social Work Association, talked to Chalkbeat about her own school struggles, the effects of the pandemic on students, and her advice for parents who want to help their children with mental health issues.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a school social worker?

I actually had no intention of being a school social worker or working with kids. While I was completing my master’s degree internship with the counseling agency State of Grace, they placed me in the Pueblo 60 district. I loved it and realized I was able to connect with the kids.

The district created a school social worker position and hired me to not only take on Risley but to show the need and establish what we can do. I knew then I had an important mission that would have a ripple effect and help every student and family in the district. Showing our worth ultimately led the district to hire nine more school social workers.

How did your own school experiences impact you and shape your approach to your job?

I was not passionate about school and did not see the value. I was (and still am) horrible at math. It was not something that came easily to me, and I lost confidence in myself. My perspective was If I didn’t do it, I would not fail at it.

This seems to be the case with a lot of kids. They do not believe in themselves. If I can be that one person that believes in them and gets them to at least try, they generally surprise themselves and realize they can do it. Then they get excited and want more of the feelings of pride and accomplishment. And yes, I do share my story of middle through high school — almost not graduating high school to graduating early, then earning a master’s degree.

As we emerge from the pandemic, what kinds of struggles do you see students facing? How do you help them?

The struggles are far deeper than being behind academically. Students have lost social and emotional skills, with communities like mine seeing extreme poverty, gang violence, and abuse. These kids need more than a teacher upset with them over a math assignment they didn’t complete. They need adults to understand and care why assignments aren’t complete.

I work hard to see and hear my students as well as be the connection between them and other adults in the building. I do not pretend students are someone they are not. They are all on the “rough side of town.” They also have goals, dreams, likes, and dislikes.

I work hard to remove the stigma of mental health l. I encourage students to seek help, whether from me or an outside resource without worrying about what others think or how it looks. I let them know I am here, I care, and seeking support is OK.

Do you have suggestions for parents whose children may be facing struggles with mental health?

Talk about it. Do not be ashamed if you, as a parent, have mental health struggles or if your child struggles. Be direct, open, and listen to what they say.

I encourage parents to get the resources they need, whether it is substance abuse support, mental health support, resources to help with finances, or parenting support. I use the “it takes a village” motto when it comes to raising kids and surviving this world.

Tell us about a time when you managed to connect with a challenging student or a student facing a difficult situation. How did you do it?

Last school year, I had a student who came from a significantly broken and abusive home. She was angry at everything and everyone. She did not trust anyone. It took time, but I kept showing up. When she would lash out and push me away, I came back — softer and with more compassion. I showed her I was not walking away or giving up on her.

She still comes to visit me. She now believes she can not only graduate high school but has plans for college. She tells me when she is faced with a decision, she hears my voice.

What’s the biggest misconception you’ve encountered about your role in schools?

The same misconception that all social workers generally face: We are here to destroy your family and take your kids. This is especially hard if you are working with a family involved with the courts or the Department of Human Services. Showing families that you are an ally is one of the biggest obstacles.

Sometimes helping staff understand exactly what you do and why can be challenging as well. Many think we are too soft and do not hold kids accountable when in reality, we do more than anyone. It just looks different.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

Last year I also serviced an elementary school. I received a referral for a student who was on the autism spectrum and was extremely selective in who he communicated with. I was warned about his mother and told she was hostile and difficult. After working with her, I came to realize that staying neutral was key. I did not go into it with a bad attitude or assuming the worst. Instead, I offered all the love, support, and resources I could and was able to meet her needs, the needs of the school, and do what was best for the kiddo.

What are you reading or listening to for enjoyment?

I am currently finishing “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma” by Bessel van der Kolk.

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan’s History Teacher of the Year helps educators combat racist myths

2023-08-15T21:55:36+00:00

Matt Vriesman was studying the work of leading professional historians during graduate school when he noticed over and over that there was a big gap between what historians have proven about race, slavery, and injustice, and what gets printed in state standards.

One textbook, for example, said Black Americans switched their allegiance from Republicans to Democrats because of relief checks during the Great Depression.

“The sentence that I found suspect was not only not true, it was not even debatable,” said Vriesman, a history teacher at East Kentwood High School who was recently named Michigan History Teacher of the Year. “It was a pure myth that served a purpose of minimizing racial injustice and Black agency.”

Vriesman teaches in one of the most diverse high schools in the state, and what he found during graduate school inspired changes to his own teaching lessons. But as much of the country was undergoing a racial reckoning after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020, a school administrator asked him to provide resources for other district educators.

That led to the creation of a website that includes 40 lesson plans that are tied to U.S. History content standards created by the College Board, which oversees advanced placement classes. Vriesman teaches Advanced Placement classes in U.S. History, African American Studies, and World History at East Kentwood High.

The website antiracistapush.com (the “apush” stands for AP U.S. History) helps teachers “go beyond notoriously softened high school text narratives,” Vriesman says on the page.

Matt Vriesman was recently named Michigan History Teacher of the Year.

Vriesman came across that language, and other “shameful” gaps, while working on his graduate degree in history online. At the time, he was traveling in the Middle East and Asia for several years, teaching in Seoul and Kuwait City.

“They were some of the best years of my life,” said Vriesman, of his travels and teaching in the Middle East and Asia. “Why did I go? Adventure and to experience and learn as much about the world as possible.”

Now, he’s inspiring an appreciation of history and the world in Kentwood Public Schools, a west Michigan district near Grand Rapids. During a 16-year teaching career, Vriesman has found success connecting with students and inspiring them through their interests.

“It’s so exciting,” he says about seeing that interest sparked. “The world is such a fascinating place. Each student has passion and curiosity inside them, and I am so honored whenever I can play a small part in igniting these things.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

I realized when I was 14 and not starting on the JV baseball team that I probably would never become shortstop for the Detroit Tigers. Therefore I pursued my “fallback” career choice in education. Haha, no seriously, I have never wanted to be anything other than a history teacher.

How do you get to know your students?

It’s certainly not easy when you see 130 students every day. You need to make a concerted effort. Aside from common beginning-of-the-year “get to know you” activities, I try to greet students at the door every day and set aside class time for one-on-one meetings. I try to create a general class atmosphere where everyone feels welcome and valued. When students feel welcomed and free to be themselves, they tend to share a lot more, and these relationships are key for their growth as scholars.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach. Where did the idea come from?

The first is the “Gunpowder Empires” game. I created a mixture of [the games] Monopoly and Risk. Students are in teams surrounding a map with a grid. The teams represent either the Ottomans, Safavid, or Mughal empires. Not only do they need to strategize the best use of the new gunpowder technology, they must also engineer great architectural or cultural wonders (Taj Mahal, Shah Mosque, Miniature Paintings, etc.). This game was created after living in the Middle East for a few years and traveling throughout Turkey and India.

The second is “The Trial of King George” I created this after completing a fascinating class on the American Revolution in graduate school. Students use the charges found in the Declaration of Independence to accuse or defend King George. To the students’ surprise each year, the case becomes a lot closer than they originally thought. Some of Thomas Jefferson’s charges are quite flimsy to say the least. It always gets very heated. So fun!

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your class?

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to teach World History in one of the most diverse school district in the state. Over 90 languages are spoken by our students. We are always looking for new ways to bring in the knowledge and experience of our students into the classroom. It makes world history so much more “real” for students. We aren’t just teaching a subject, we are teaching people.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

I remember my first set of conferences the best, the first semester I taught, 16 years ago. One student was giving me quite a bit of trouble and my strategy basically devolved into trying to isolate him as much as possible so I could get on teaching the other 30 students. This student seemed to have no desire to learn about history, and I reasoned that I’d tried my best and now I just needed to survive the semester. In a way, I’d given up on him.

Then I met his mom who was working her tail off and believed in her son but seemed to be overwhelmed and exasperated by his struggles at school. I saw she was looking to me to do something. Me, the one with the college degree and training, the one who signed up to get into this work because I said that I believed in every student’s potential. She was looking at me to do my job, and I realized that I just needed to be better. I realized that “giving up” and surviving was not an option. I needed to start each day new and greet every student with the belief that they could succeed.

I don’t think the rest of the semester changed his life or anything. But we did end the year on solid terms, and he passed. When I saw him as a problem student, I was ineffective. When I saw him as somebody’s son, someone who deserved the best public education that I could deliver, I instantly became more effective.

What part of your job is most difficult?

There are so many good times in the classroom. But not every second of every lesson is as inspiring and engaging as I want it to be. In those times, even after 16 years, I still find it very easy to start to question my ability to do this job. It’s hard, and we need to continue to affirm one another. It’s not going to look like you planned it every day, but in the end, sometimes you need to evaluate yourself based on effort and intention and cannot beat yourself up by outcomes. Adjust and move on!

Speaking of challenges, how have current debates about the teaching of historical events affected you in the classroom?

They have only empowered me and made my classes more interesting! It used to be harder to convince students that history class matters. The adults are doing a good job of proving that, and they are also giving us wonderfully relevant fodder to dissect and discuss.

Recommend a book that has helped you become a better teacher, and say why.

A love of reading is one of the key things that makes me a good teacher. I love to learn new things about how the world works, and I update my curriculum every year because of it. I don’t actually read many books about teaching, but I am typically reading two books about history at all times. The books I read this summer that have most helped to revive and sustain my love of learning are “The Black Count” by Tom Reiss and “Thomas Sankara: A Revolutionary in Cold War Africa” by Brian Peterson.

A book about teaching I would recommend is “Teaching Black History to White People” by Dr. Leonard Moore. I highly recommend it to all citizens, not just history teachers. The book starts with this line, “All white people should take a Black history class … although this seems like a radical statement, it is actually rooted in reason and practicality…”

A proper understanding of Black America’s struggle for liberty is key for “racial reparations, racial healing, and racial reconciliation,” the book says.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about teaching?

If you have a high AP passing rate, but your classroom does not look like your hallways (meaning the demographics of your AP classroom do not represent the diversity of your community) then you are not doing a good job. You are perpetuating the racial opportunity gap and you need to do better. Fueling your ego with impressive “score report stats” may lead to unintentional “gate keeping” where you push students into your class because you think they will help your score but advise other students to avoid the class. Instead, reach out to all learners, specially looking for students who may have never had a friend or family member take an AP class. Open up opportunities and do your part to shrink the shameful racial opportunity gap in American education. Your career can have a higher and more meaningful purpose.

What are some techniques you use to get students excited about history?

No. 1 You have to be evidently interested in the topic and understand why this lesson is important for student’s humanity, personal development, and future health of our community and democracy. If you are not into it, there is no chance that the teenagers will be.

No. 2 Memorizing dates and names is boring and not what historians actually do. I hear people say that they don’t like history, and it makes me sad. History is exhilarating. It is the very act of challenging common notions about why our reality is the way that it is. Historians don’t read books to memorize them, they read books to challenge them. We read books like a detective leaning over the suspect and challenging every claim. That’s exciting.

No. 3 You can turn almost any topic into a choose your own adventure game/debate.

What topics in history do you find your students are most interested in? What inspires them?

Students are most inspired when they feel called into the work of making our society live up to its original stated values. If you ask students what they think is required from a society to make it a good one to live in, just about every student will describe the basic classic liberal values that are described in the founding documents of this country. I find that the most engaging social studies class, while critical of the past and present institutions, makes students much more likely to want to become civically engaged.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. She can be reached at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana teacher helps her school implement the science of reading ‘one bite at a time’

2023-08-15T19:52:35+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

Indiana is in the midst of an enormous undertaking to improve literacy rates. The approach: Align state standards, curriculum, and teacher training programs with practices rooted in the science of reading, which emphasizes phonics to help students decode words.

Literacy coach Mika Frame has a memorable mantra for accomplishing big goals.

“My current principal always tells me, ‘Eat an elephant one bite at a time,’” she said. “Through this saying, he always encourages me to seek change in our staff by taking small steps, as opposed to expecting my teachers to change all at once or in drastic measures.”

A K-2 literacy coach at Rose Hamilton Elementary School in Centerville, Frame is part of the first cohort of educators that trained in reading science practices as part of the Indiana Literacy Cadre. Now she co-teaches, analyzes student data to see who needs more help, and leads her colleagues through the state’s new requirements.

Frame told Chalkbeat about her work as Indiana looks to bring more literacy coaches like her to its schools.

What drew you to a career in education?

My favorite part of high school was when I was a cadet teacher and worked with elementary students. I still love working with children today. I enjoy the energy, enthusiasm, and curiosity of young learners. Witnessing the progress and achievements of students, seeing them overcome challenges, and helping them reach their potential brings me a deep sense of satisfaction.

What does your typical day look like?

My typical day at Rose Hamilton includes working alongside teachers in their classrooms. Co-teaching is my favorite aspect of working with my colleagues. An additional responsibility I have most days involves disaggregating learning data. This data often presents patterns and helps teachers identify subgroups of students who need additional interventions. Each month, I also lead professional learning community meetings and offer new ideas and strategies to our teachers. Finally, coordinating testing is an important part of my position; I help ensure testing protocols are executed with fidelity and testing deadlines are met.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

My favorite lessons to teach are phonics lessons. Phonics plays a vital role in children’s literacy development by providing them with the tools to decode words, read fluently, and comprehend written materials effectively. It sets the stage for their future academic success. Phonics empowers children to read independently and with confidence. When children can decode words accurately, they can read books and other written materials on their own. This opens up a world of knowledge and imagination. I love seeing children’s eyes light up when they start sounding out words.

When did you first learn about the ideas of reading science? How have you been able to apply those recently with fellow educators or students?

I first learned in depth about the science of reading when I was accepted into the Literacy Cadre program. In the Summer of 2022, I attended a weeklong training that dove into the science of reading. I have been able to apply these strategies by leading professional learning community meetings. During this time, I’ve encouraged teachers in the building to present to one another about the science of reading instructional practices they are doing in their classrooms.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I grew up in Modoc, Indiana. My community was rural and consisted of approximately 160 people. I graduated with only 18 students in my class, and that included a few foreign exchange students. It was a close-knit community in which everyone knew each other. This background helps me understand that every single child matters, and no matter the size of the district, helping all students succeed academically and helping them reach their full potential is the ultimate goal in education.

Literacy coach Mika Frame helps her colleagues with the state’s new requirements on the science of reading.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

My current principal always tells me, “Eat an elephant one bite at a time.” Through this saying, he always encourages me to seek change in our staff by taking small steps, as opposed to expecting my teachers to change all at once or in drastic measures. I have used this advice frequently as our school has been going through new initiatives in the last year. Our next step this coming school year is to look into a new phonics program. We are slowly looking into the programs we are using and making small changes, if needed. Again, small steps that lead to changes are important!

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

This past year I read “Shifting the Balance” by Jan Miller Burkins and Kari Yates with my colleagues in the literacy cohort. It really helped me understand the aspects of science of reading. After reading the book, my superintendent was kind enough to buy a set for my teachers, and I led a book study at Rose Hamilton. It was great to meet after school with the teachers and reflect on each chapter, as well as what we do or possibly could do better.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

A veterinarian turned teacher looks forward to students’ ‘aha’ moments

2023-07-18T17:22:37+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

It’s not unusual to find students in Christy Herr’s classes gardening, canning salsa, or weighing steers. As an agriscience educator, Herr wants her students to experience what it’s like to work with plants and animals.

“I look at my lesson plans for the day and wonder if I would want to be a student in my class,” said Herr, who spent 27 years as a food animal veterinarian before becoming a teacher.

After five years of teaching at Hagerstown High School in Hagerstown, Indiana, Herr was recognized by Ivy Tech Community College this month as the statewide winner of Ivy Tech’s top honor for dual-credit faculty.

Her professional background allows her Hagerstown students to earn postsecondary credentials through Ivy Tech and offers them a look at potential vocations in animal science. It’s the kind of career experience that has become a priority for Indiana as the state considers how to graduate more high school students who are ready for the workforce.

“The realization that dual-credit classes could put my students ahead academically and financially once they left Hagerstown High School was enough motivation for me to do it,” said Herr, who spoke recently with Chalkbeat.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I spent 27 years working with all types of livestock as a food animal veterinarian. The physical stressors of the job had taken a toll on my shoulders and hands. My body was telling me it was time to find something else to do.

At about the same time, the agriscience teacher position at HHS came open mid-year. The school contacted me, wondering if I would be willing to sub until the end of the semester. I took a leave of absence from the clinic and gave teaching a try. The students were great, and I really enjoyed the classroom environment.

After looking into what it would take to transition my veterinary degree to teaching, I decided to make a career change. That was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my life. I truly mourned the loss of the great veterinarians, the office staff. and the clients I got to work with every day. That caught me by surprise.

The opportunity to work with students and show them how their worlds are touched by agriculture was exciting. It still is. I am hooked and so thankful for a second career that I enjoy, that is rewarding and allows me to promote agriculture.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach or activity to lead, and why?

My favorite lessons to teach happen when my old career and new career collide. The cardiovascular unit in [the course] Advanced Life Science: Animals would be an example. I can use disease processes in animals to help the students understand how the heart works and the function of the different parts of that system. When we dissect the heart, the students can finally put it all together, touching and seeing what we have been covering in class. It is great to see all of the ‘aha’ moments that take place.

How is a dual-credit course different from a standard high school course? What are the benefits?

I really like that I can give the students a taste of what college classes look like. They’re getting a college course experience but from the comfort of their home high school and alongside a smaller cohort of students. Differences from a standard high school course would include accepting very few excuses for late work, bigger penalties for any work turned in late, and increased academic rigor. I expect higher quality work from the students who are earning college credit.

The Chemistry 101 year-end final was a beast and took the students several hours to complete. I tried to get them to understand that in a university setting, they could very well take a second final exam like that in a different course on the same day during finals week. Being introduced to situations like that is a huge benefit of the dual-credit experience.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received on teaching, and how have you put it into practice?

I had several teachers tell me that building relationships with the students is important and will drive the learning that takes place in my classroom. They were 100% correct. The attendance question each day has allowed me to connect with each student a little more as the year moves along. My favorite is asking each student to write down the title of a song they are likely to play on repeat. Each Friday, I play one of those songs, and the class tries to figure out which classmate picked that song. This has been a great way to relate with the students and add a few new songs to my playlist.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

East Central High School [in St. Leon, Indiana] provided me with a great education and experience. All of my teachers were top-notch, but I was always drawn to the science classes. Mr. Tucker, Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Crabil were always so excited about the material and provided great hands-on opportunities. My goal is to do the same. I look at my lesson plans for the day and wonder if I would want to be a student in my class.

Tell us about any summer plans or what you’re looking forward to next year!

My goal this summer is to rest, read a few books, and practice hiking up and down hills. In October, my family will be heading to the Grand Canyon to hike from rim to rim in one day. Hopefully, there will not be a news story about rescuing an old teacher from the bottom of the canyon!

As far as the next school year goes, I am just looking forward to seeing the students again. We will be incubating eggs, weighing steers, canning salsa, and planting gardens within the first few months. That is all exciting to me.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Newark’s 2023 Teacher of the Year aims to prepare her students for life after high school

2023-07-17T11:00:00+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

Looking through an old scrapbook, Juanita Greene recently learned something new about herself.

The Newark Vocational High School math teacher rediscovered in those worn pages of a scrapbook she titled “School Days” that she wanted to become a teacher in first grade.

Greene, honored last month as the district’s 2023 Teacher of the Year, had forgotten all about her early career ambitions. But she does remember the moment in college when she made the life-altering decision to become a teacher.

“It wasn’t until I taught math during a summer program between my second and third years in college that I decided to change my major to mathematics and become a teacher,” Greene told Chalkbeat.

She would go on to dedicate 26 years (and counting) to teaching math.

Last month, Superintendent Roger León and other district officials showed up to her geometry class to surprise her with the announcement that she had been named Teacher of the Year.

Greene taught geometry to 10th graders and a probability and statistics class to seniors this past school year at Newark Vocational, where she just completed her fourth year.

Outside of teaching high schoolers, she’s also mentored teachers and taught graduate-level courses for students earning their master’s degrees.

As someone who felt ill-prepared for college, Greene aims to help her students feel secure and ready for their post-high school reality.

“I teach now so that I can better prepare students for life after high school,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did when I went to college.”

Greene spoke recently with Chalkbeat.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

There’s a lesson I do in geometry when I introduce two-column proofs that involves the card game UNO. That is a lot of fun. Proofs tend to be something new in geometry that students have never done before. By introducing proofs with something students know and enjoy, like UNO, they are more open to learning them.

How do you feel about being named Teacher of the Year?

It makes me so proud. It’s such an honor. I have dedicated so much of my life to teaching mathematics, and I work so hard. It’s great to be recognized after all these years for all the work that I do.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom (or your school)?

I hate to be so general, but everything that happens in the community affects what goes on inside my classroom. We all bring our history, what we believe, what has happened to us or our loved ones with us to school every day. I try to be open and honest with my students, and I think they appreciate that I share so much of myself with them. As Rita Pierson said, “Kids can’t learn from teachers they don’t like.” I hope my openness allows students to like me and want to learn from me.

How do you approach news events in your classroom?

I like to check in with my students every day, especially after a challenging or interesting news event happens. It allows me to make sure they are feeling OK and learn a little about them as people. My check-ins have daily themes: Monday Motivation, Talk About It Tuesday, Would You Rather Wednesday, Think About It Thursday or Thoughtful Thursday.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I enjoyed my high school experience, but I was very unprepared for college. I didn’t know how to study or advocate for myself. I didn’t have knowledge of books that most other students read, and I felt inadequate. I teach now so that I can better prepare students for life after high school. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did when I went to college.

Tell us about the times when you shifted away from classroom teaching.

Throughout my years in education, I left teaching in my own class a few times. From 2006 through 2010, I worked as an educational consultant, where I led professional development workshops for teachers and worked with teachers in their own classrooms. From 2017 through 2019, I was an assistant professor of practice for Relay Graduate School of Education, where I taught pedagogy to teachers earning their master’s degrees. Both of these positions allowed me to work in schools and with teachers, but I missed working directly with students and being part of a school community. Also, I was teaching and learning new techniques and realized that I wanted to try them in my own classroom.

What are your summer plans? And what are you looking forward to in the 2023-24 school year?

This summer, I am enjoying time with my family and friends. I have a lot of fun concerts lined up that I’m excited to attend. I will also attend a couple of professional development workshops. For 2023-24, I am looking forward to our new geometry textbook and using more technology throughout the school year.

Catherine Carrera is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Newark, covering the city’s K-12 schools with a focus on English language learners. Contact Catherine at ccarrera@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s how one transgender teacher is making space in Chicago Public Schools

2023-06-30T11:00:00+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

Eva Padilla knows that kids are more than their report cards. When she was young, she was labeled a “problem child.”

“I had a teacher in sixth grade who decided to see me as a student rather than a problem,” Padilla said. “I remember getting a report card back in sixth grade. It’s all Fs and Ds, and then one little B in social studies, and it planted that seed in my mind – like, maybe I can actually be a student.”

Now, Padilla — a substitute and resident teacher until this point — is looking forward to her first year running her own classroom in Chicago Public Schools. After growing up listening to stories about her mom’s years as a teacher, she wants to build on that legacy. Her mom had taken a break to raise her kids; she planned to return to the classroom when they were older, but she died of cancer before she could get back to teaching.

“Later on in life, I learned she had a student who had gotten pregnant, and my mom was the first person who she called,” Padilla said. “My mom helped her with everything that she was dealing with — how worried she was and how anxious. When I heard that story, I was like, ‘I want to be a teacher like that. I want to be someone who a kid can feel like if there’s no other place in the world they can feel safe or supported, at least within this classroom, they can.’”

Padilla is also paving her own path as a trans woman teaching in CPS. After struggling with student teaching, she decided to return to teaching after the pandemic hit.

At the time, she had been working as a canvasser for the U.S. Census Bureau. Unable to go door-to-door during lockdown, she thought a lot about what was next for her. It was during this time that she began her social and medical transition. That summer of 2020, she also started mentoring queer youth for a program hosted by Chicago Alderpersons Matt Martin, Rossana Rodriguez, and Andre Vasquez.

“Doing that and working with these amazing young people, I was like, I gotta go back to teaching,” Padilla said.

She started subbing at CPS three years ago and recently wrapped up a year of resident teaching at Chicago Academy High School, where she will work as a special education teacher in the fall. Padilla spoke recently with Chalkbeat.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What has it meant for you to be a mentor for LGBTQ kids?

I didn’t meet another trans woman until I was 20 years old. There was a lot of hatred, a lot of terrible stereotypes that I saw growing up. So being a mentor for these students means the world to me. I may not change their life, but I can just let them know that if you need someone, there is a queer person in your life that you can talk to. My queerness is not the main attraction or feature of the classroom. It’s just an organic part of it.

Is there a community that you’ve found among other trans teachers?

I found some community in it – there aren’t an awful lot of us, especially trans women. I am only aware of two other trans women who are salaried teachers in CPS. Every school that I’ve been at, I’ve been the only trans woman there. It’s difficult to be in that position because you have to serve as the welcoming committee. You have to stand up for yourself and be secure in your identity. You also have to deal with some people who don’t understand you. More than being difficult for you, it’s a disservice to their trans students. So sometimes you have to help guide them, and you have to take some things on the chin and some misunderstandings. Being an adult, that’s kind of your responsibility.

What is your favorite lesson to teach?

I love to teach lessons that are informed by my students and are representative of their cultures. It gives students — if they choose to do so — the spotlight if they want to be a wellspring of information for the class. Other times, a student is able to learn more about a culture or an identity that they hadn’t been fully aware of, and sometimes that’s even our own. I remember being in college, learning about Puerto Rican history. That was something, even though I’m Puerto Rican, I never learned about in school.

Tell me about your own experience in school and how that’s affected your work today.

I was in a community that was [nearly all] white, and I grew up with a Latino dad and a white mom. There were some really good teachers, but a lot of things in school were indoctrination into white supremacy, indoctrination into anti-Blackness.

That shaped a lot of my experiences growing up, because I had to unlearn a lot of things to undo internalized racism. Education and learning about history was my sanctuary. Learning about the history of oppressed people, queer history, Latino history — it really changed my life, to be able to feel that these narratives that I was always hearing from white people in this community weren’t true or that they were grossly mistaken.

What’s something happening in your surrounding community that affects what’s going on inside your classroom or your school?

I guess to bring it back to the LGBTQ community, I have students who talk with me about their parents disagreeing with them being queer because of their religion, because of societal pressures, [because of] what the neighbors will think. There’s also these narratives about trans teachers and queer teachers being “groomers.” So I have to sift through those things in order to best support those students. We’re in this together, where I want to provide the best support I can to students and give them the space to be themselves while also giving myself the space to be myself.

How do you make your classroom your own – if you have the chance to do that?

I’ve never been able to really make my own classroom because I’ve been a substitute teacher and a resident teacher. So this year is going to be the first. But towards the end of last school year, I got a random shipment of books. I said, “I’m going to use this to make a class library.” I went on my Twitter, and I had a bunch of people send me books for the classroom. Getting students to enjoy aspects of reading, it makes my heart sing; it truly does.

What’s one thing that you’ve read that you feel like has made you a better educator?

It’s kind of a strange pick, but I would say “October” by China Miéville. He’s mostly a fantasy author, and he ended up writing a whole history of the October Revolution.

Though I don’t agree with everything in the book, I think of that book when I think about the joy of teaching history. When I hear people say, history is just the facts, it makes me want to pull my hair out. It’s not reading off a timeline. It’s not just about facts and dates. It’s about narrative. That’s one of my main goals: to have people love learning about the past, to inform their future, and to make their own stories going forward. And to know that people made history — regular people like you and I — and that they can do the same going forward. They have agency in their lives. They have power. And there’s such incredible beauty in that.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I play in a band; I love getting to perform and work on songs. And I play the card game Yu-Gi-Oh, and that’s really a good outlet.

What is one thing you’re looking forward to next school year?

I’m really looking forward to finally being able to lead a classroom and have a space that I can craft with students. Each year is a whole new group of students to care about, support, learn from, and teach with. Some students just don’t vibe with you, and that’s okay. But I love winning over students — to [get them] loving education and enjoy being in our classroom. So I always look forward to that.

Max Lubbers is a reporting intern for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Max at mlubbers@chalkbeat.org.

Michigan’s top teacher wants more focus on mental health, learning recovery

2023-06-15T18:40:41+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

Like most teachers across the country, Candice Jackson has intensely felt the impact the pandemic has had on the academic and mental well-being of her third grade students.

Gaps in learning, she noted, “are still readily apparent,” and mental health concerns “are an overlooked issue in the classroom.”

These are issues Jackson, who was named Michigan Teacher of the Year during a surprise announcement last month, says are crucial to resolve. She will have a big platform to push for improvement as the state’s top teacher, representing teachers at State Board of Education monthly meetings and presenting on her learnings.

Jackson said students need counseling services and social-emotional learning programs to get back on track.

“This would involve increasing access to and funding for mental health services, reducing stigma, and providing adequate training to educators on how to recognize and respond to mental health concerns,” she said.

That work would pay off academically as well, she said, because stronger mental health “enhances academic performance, supports overall well-being, enables early interventions, and has short-term and long-term positive outcomes for students.”

Jackson teaches at Mann Learning Community in the Detroit Public Schools Community District and is the first district teacher to win the state honor since the 2006-07 school year. She will now represent Michigan in the National Teacher of the Year contest. Jackson spoke recently with Chalkbeat.

Candice Jackson is Michigan’s Teacher of the Year for 2023-24.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I was an accounting major going into college. Freshman year, I was involved in a program where I was teaching basic accounting and economic principles to children in the community. I immediately loved the interaction with the children and their eagerness to learn the subject area. After I wrestled with the fact that I would make far less money teaching, switching majors was a no-brainer.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I am a math teacher, and I love teaching any math lesson that inspires that “Eureka” moment — that moment when students connect the dots and discover the learning. For third graders, it usually happens early in the year when they realize that multiplication is all about making equal groups.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom (or your school)?

The effects of COVID are still very real and affect the classroom even in 2023. I am wrapping up my first uninterrupted school year since 2018-19. The gaps in learning are still readily apparent. My current third-grade students missed those informative years. Years where they learn not only basic skills but how to “do school” — how to walk in a line, how to hold a pencil, how to take turns, etc.

What will it take for students to catch up, not just in Detroit but across Michigan?

Schools need to provide targeted and intensive support to students who have fallen behind. This could involve additional tutoring, small-group instruction, or personalized learning plans to help them catch up on missed concepts. DPSCD has done a great job of this by using academic interventionists to provide targeted intervention. Schools also could consider creating extended learning opportunities such as summer programs, after-school programs, or weekend classes to provide extra instructional time. These programs can focus on essential skills and concepts to bridge the gaps in learning.

Schools also need to engage parents and the wider community in supporting students’ educational recovery. This school year, my school, Mann Learning Community, offered several make-and-take parent engagement events [projects that the family “makes” at the event and then “takes” home as a tool to support essential learning skills], which encouraged parental involvement and provided resources for at-home learning.

How do you approach news events in your classroom? Please provide an example.

Luckily, the average third grader is not keeping up with current events. I tend to leave hard conversations for the parents. But sometimes a conversation needs to be had. Most recently, with the school shooting at Michigan State University, the children had questions about school safety, and I had a candid conversation with them about the incident, including the fact that one of the victims was a former student at another DPSCD school I had taught at. I was able to show them a video I had saved of her from when she was their age.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I grew up in Macomb County, and I had very few teachers that looked like me. My third grade teacher Mrs. Harrington was African American, and she was the epitome of grace, poise, and sophistication. Unfortunately, that was one of the few encounters I had with a teacher that looked like me. That made me want to be what I did not have. Only 7.3% of Michigan’s teaching force is African American, and it is so important for children to see people that look like them in these positions.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

My first year teaching the principal told me, “Every parent is sending their absolute best to this school. That child who seems unlovable, unruly, and out of control, is the entire world to someone.” Keeping this in mind has helped ground my thinking when dealing with a hard-to-manage child and when communicating with parents. It helps me be less judgmental and more understanding of the story of the children that I teach. You never know what a child or a parent is dealing with, and under the circumstances, this may be their best.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

“The Growth Mindset Playbook: A Teacher’s Guide to Promoting Student Success,” by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley was a game changer. When teachers make an adaptive change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, student growth is limitless. It is the difference between a child saying, “I can’t do this,” and a child saying, “I can’t do this yet.”

What new issues arose at your school and in your classroom during the 2022-23 school year? How did you address them?

Many children are dealing with mental health issues themselves or dealing with the mental health issue of a parent or caregiver. In Michigan, we need to put as much time, resources, and funding into meeting the students’ mental needs as we do their physical and educational needs. Increasing the number of mental health care professionals in education would be a great start.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

Self-care is of utmost importance. I like the quote, “You cannot pour from an empty cup.” Having a work-life balance is important, and carving out time to do things that make you happy is essential. For me, that looks like travel, exercise, and yoga. I especially like hot yoga; if working out in 104 degrees does not make you connect with yourself, I don’t know what will.

What are some of the biggest issues facing the teaching profession right now? What do you want Michigan residents to know about what it’s like to be a teacher today?

One challenge facing education right now is the loss of COVID relief funds given to help mitigate learning loss. Schools must decide which initiatives to throw away and which to keep. Many fear this will lead to loss of traction in many areas.

I would like residents, lawmakers, parents, and stakeholders to understand the delicate balance that is involved in teaching. As educators, we must weave together many pieces to put on the show that is teaching. There is art and science to teaching. Our challenge this next year will be to take the reduced number of pieces we are given, “live” those pieces out, and weave them with best practices to produce productive and thoughtful little people.

Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.

This Queens math teacher started mentoring Ukrainian educators after Russia’s invasion

2023-06-09T15:45:00+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

High school math teacher Larisa Bukalov came to the U.S. with her family 30 years ago as a refugee from Ukraine, when it was part of the Soviet Union. She was 19 at the time.

In the eyes of many New Yorkers, she was Russian, which was her first language. How she viewed herself, however, changed when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

“The words can’t describe the pain and anxiety I experienced when the first tanks started advancing to Kyiv,” said Bukalov, who’s been teaching at Bayside High School in Queens for 25 years. “On that day, my identity changed from Russian emigrant to Ukrainian American.”

Remembering how her own childhood was filled with math competitions that pushed her to feel challenged and engaged, she wrote to the Mathematical Association of America, asking if she could organize the American Mathematics Competition in Ukraine, since that nation’s local and regional competitions had been canceled. To Bukalov’s surprise, the math organization agreed to her plan. Bukalov assumed the role as the association’s liaison to Ukraine.

The organization Tutoring Without Borders helped her advertise the contest and recruit students. She used social media to find kids and teachers and fundraised to pay the competition fees and contest translations. In the end, 196 Ukrainian students signed up, though only 152 competed because of lack of heat and electricity and internet interruptions, Bukalov said. Roughly 30 of the participating students were Ukrainian students who had fled the country and were living abroad, including four living in the U.S. (Bukalov helped get them permission to take the exam in Ukrainian.)

Bukalov, who has taught everything from pre-algebra to multivariable calculus, is being recognized this month by Math for America, receiving the organization’s prestigious Muller Award for Professional Influence in Education for her commitment to developing current and future mathematics teachers through mentoring, writing textbooks, and designing professional learning experiences.

She joined Math for America more than 15 years ago, around the time she considered getting a doctorate in math education. The organization, which builds a community for exceptional math and science teachers, offered her a different solution: to stay in the classroom and practice her craft while mentoring teachers and creating professional development workshops.

Now, Bukalov is trying to start an organization based on the Math for America model in Ukraine. She spoke recently with Chalkbeat.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I was raised by my maternal grandparents who were teachers. You can say that I grew up in a school. By the end of eighth grade, I firmly believed that I wanted to teach math. There were a few reasons for it:

• I entered high school at the end of the Soviet era and Perestroika. My classmates constantly harassed our government and history teacher about her brainwashing and lying to her students for years. Did she really believe in what she was teaching? I did not want to wear her shoes.

• As I learned more advanced mathematics, I loved it more and more. I used to spend hours and sometimes days on a particularly interesting problem until, finally, I would come up with a solution.

• Probably the most important reason was my grandfather. As I got older, I understood that my grandfather was a brilliant mathematician. He also was not just a math teacher in a rural Ukrainian school. He trained teachers, lectured in a local teacher college, wrote articles, and presented at conferences. I wanted to emulate him in everything he did.

Tell us more about your role as the Mathematical Association of America’s liaison to Ukraine.

While working on the contest, I often heard that ‘we have to save the best Ukrainian kids.’ That really bothered me. As an educator, I was thinking about the struggling students. Who is helping them?

Around that time, I saw a picture of a Ukrainian math teacher sitting in a gas station and teaching his class remotely. I wondered how many of my colleagues would do the same. I started working with Ukrainian math teachers. Together with [math education researcher] Daryna Vasilieva, we started a Telegram group for math teachers. [Telegram is a messaging and audio platform similar to WhatsApp.]

We organized workshops supporting Ukrainian school reform, New Ukrainian School, and opened space for teachers to showcase their work, share concerns, and collaboratively plan. Now our dream is to build a community similar to the Math for America model.

A map of teacher locations in the Telegram group that Bukalov helped create. The group is made up of Ukrainian math teachers.

Are there ways the Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected your students here in NYC? Did your students do the math contest with the students from Ukraine?

In the U.S., any student is invited to the first round. In New York City, large non-specialized high schools like Bayside, Cardozo, Francis Lewis, and Midwood sign up to participate in the American mathematics competition. All specialized high schools participate. In the U.S., the top 5% of participants get invited to the next level; 11% of Ukrainian kids received qualifying scores.

My math team students wanted to know how the kids in Ukraine scored relative to them. They compared their solutions and exchanged challenge problems.

During the competition season, my department and school administration were also very supportive. Teachers volunteered to proctor the exams, generously donated money, and frequently just asked how the kids were doing.

This experience also opened a space for my students to share their family histories and talk about struggles their families had as new immigrants. The war in Ukraine became real, not just an item from the list of current events. In math we seldom get an opportunity to talk about democracy, identity, and justice. This year kids were a lot more open.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

Anything that can be taught using textile or visual experiences, like manipulatives or illustrations. For example, the area model. We first find the area model in the writing of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, who is considered the father of modern algebra.

This model illustrates operations with numbers and polynomials and helps students to build an intuitive understanding of algebra without memorizing long and meaningless preceders. (I can’t memorize!) Teachers who use this model are building a bridge between basic arithmetics and sophisticated algebraic computations used in advanced mathematics. Their students are more likely to see a big and connected system instead of a disjointed list of steps and procedures. This model also presents an opportunity to discuss non-European origins of modern algebra.

Kids love to know who thought of this stuff!

A stamp issued on Sept. 6, 1983 in the Soviet Union commemorates Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi’s (approximate) 1200th birthday.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

Remember that I attended school in the USSR.

I was very lucky to have many outstanding teachers. For example, My first to third grade teacher received the national teaching award. In the early 1980s, she had an overhead projector, used homemade manipulatives, frequently used group work, and took on student teachers.

My Ukrainian language and literature teacher was the most kind and sweet person. I could sit for hours and listen to her speak Ukrainian. It is very melodic. I always loved reading, but after meeting her, I became obsessed with Ukrainian poetry, folk music and dance, and ethnic costumes. My dolls were the best dressed because I used to make outfits for them based on the pictures of historic Ukrainian garments I researched in the library.

What new issues arose at your school or in your classroom during the 2022-23 school year, and how did you address them?

Mental health is still the big one after we came back to school from fully remote instruction. In each of my classes, at least one student was out of school for an extended period of time, more than two weeks, due to mental health illness. This is significantly more compared to pre-COVID. In Bayside, the caseload of each guidance counselor was reduced to 250 students, and additional social workers were hired. Teachers are very alert to changes in students’ moods and attendance. We try our best. Parents often complain to us that they can’t get services for their children outside the school because most of the providers do not take their insurance and only accept out-of-pocket payments.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

After teaching for a few months, I lost my voice. My grandfather, as a teacher trainer, diagnosed my illness: “You are talking too much! Your job is to facilitate the conversation in your classroom, not to talk at your students.” This affected my teaching in two ways. I stopped talking at my students and concentrated more on creating lessons where my students can do most of the thinking and explaining.

Additionally, I learned that when things in the classroom do not work out the way I planned, I need to examine my own teaching practices and see what needs to be changed. Blaming parents, elementary school teachers, or anyone else is not productive. However, reflecting on your own teaching practices is a constructive way to grow professionally.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools’ Teachers of the Year reflect on teaching, equity, and hands-on learning

2023-05-18T16:11:03+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools named two Teachers of the Year in surprise announcements on the last day of Teacher Appreciation Week.

The award goes to one educator each at the elementary and secondary level who is nominated by a school principal to represent the best in excellent teaching and accomplishments. Local Teachers of the Year may choose to compete in the statewide Teacher of the Year competition run by the Indiana Department of Education.

Below, Brandon Denning and Robin Houdek answer questions about their work and reflect on the joy of hands-on learning, the importance of reflecting on their teaching practices, and what teaching means to them.

Butler Lab School 55 teacher Robin Houdek, left, and Center for Inquiry School 84 teacher Brandon Denning are the Teachers of the Year for Indianapolis Public Schools.

Embracing the arts and unpredictability while teaching

Robin Houdek, the K-6 winner, works with teachers at Butler Lab School 55 to incorporate hands-on activities into their curriculum. She is called an “atelierista,” a term from the Reggio Emilia philosophy of learning that Butler Lab schools adopt. The Reggio Emilia style of teaching embraces the theory that children have multiple modes of expression and understanding, and emphasizes learning through the environment and participation.

She studied at Indiana University’s School of Fine Arts, later earning a master’s degree in art teaching from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She’s also a former IPS student.

What was your own education experience in IPS?

Houdek attended the now-closed Key Learning Center, which was based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences that people have different capabilities in processing information.

As a student at Key, Houdek learned in an environment where art was valued as much as reading and math, she said.

At Shortridge Junior High, Houdek also participated in the performing arts program.

“I learned a lot about intrinsic motivation as a young child so I think that had the biggest impact on me,” she said. “But I didn’t realize it until down the road in life when I got in more traditional settings and was able to see how much that progressive, non-traditional experience shaped just my learning and life.”

How do you incorporate art into your role as an educator?

Houdek works with teachers to think about what kinds of projects they want to do in their classroom, and how they can teach it for different learning styles in accordance with the Reggio Emilia philosophy.

“If kids are really interested in rocks and worms we might bring dirt into the classroom and explore with dirt. Go outside and go to parks,” she said “If they’re doing memoirs, we might try to start exploring spoken word or we just kind of play around with different ways.”

What does teaching mean to you?

In her essay for her Teacher of the Year application, Houdek answered a version of this question.

“Teaching is not perfect or predictable. It is knowing that you will never arrive but caring enough to stay on the journey. It is a constant fight for optimism and hope in the face of limited resources and limited time,” Houdek wrote. “It is joy and courage. Curiosity and commitment. Teaching is listening to students, to families, to yourself. It is changing over time and knowing where you need to grow for the sake of our children. It is making mistakes and trying again.”

Houdek then carefully listed Ava and Eva, Javonte and Jerome, and 30 other student names and summed up why they all matter: “Teaching is not me, it is us.”

Making sure students feel valued, included, and respected

Brandon Denning, the 7-12 winner, is a math teacher at the Center for Inquiry School 84, where he serves on the school’s equity team. He gravitated toward education after studying business at Purdue University (or “the greatest school on earth,” as he calls it).

At CFI School 84, Denning has participated in the school’s racial equity team and was a spokesperson for the district’s staffing recruitment campaign known as “Proving What’s Possible.”

Why was it important for you to join the school’s equity team?

Denning, who is one-quarter Japanese, said he grew up with a lot of interesting questions from his peers that could sometimes be seen as microaggressions.

“I wanted to be a part of the solution moving forward,” he said.

As part of the team, Denning presented a teacher equity reflection rubric, which allows teachers to consider whether they are making their lessons inclusive and accessible to students of all backgrounds.

“It’s basically a way to reflect on your teaching practice, both in the way your classroom is set up and your actual instruction,” he said.

Why did you participate in the district’s recruitment campaign?

When administrators approached Denning about being part of the district’s “Proving What’s Possible” recruitment campaign, the thought of trying to recruit and retain high-quality teachers greatly appealed to him.

“Our kids deserve it,” he said. “That’s the bottom line of all of this. Students in IPS, just like students in any other district, deserve to have quality education.”

Dening said if his simple message could attract even one educator, then he was happy to put that message out there.

“If we can bring in talented individuals, then the sky’s the limit for our kids,” he said.

What does teaching mean to you?

To Denning, being an educator also means being a guiding hand to students even outside the classroom.

“There’s a lot of tough things in the world, and life can be really hard for kids in this day and age in a lot of ways,” Denning said. “So any positive impact that I could have in the classroom or in extracurricular activities is something that I wanted to be a part of.”

Helping students feel valued and respected as individuals in a time when it’s really hard to feel those things — especially with social media — is important, Denning said.

“If I could do that, that means I could have an impact I could leave behind,” he said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

This IPS teacher infuses her English lessons with virtual travel and Shakespearean playlists

2023-05-16T13:50:58+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

Nikia Garland takes her students all over the world.

An English and AP Language and Composition teacher at Arsenal Tech High School, she uses Google Lit Trips to take students virtually to Sweden and Norway while reading “Beowulf.” And during her lessons on George Orwell’s “1984,” Garland tasks her classes with color-coding countries according to the level of government surveillance.

“I strive to teach students how to think critically using real-world examples. I want students to take responsibility for their learning,” she said. “I like to provide intriguing lessons that cause my students to want to know more about what I am teaching.”

That means she adapts Shakespeare to a teenager’s palate by occasionally assigning students to create a playlist of 15 songs, each accompanied by a paragraph that explains how the song connects to “Macbeth’s” plot and themes.

“I layer my teaching, sort of like a blooming onion,” she said.

Always looking to enhance teaching and learning, Garland has applied for a number of grants. One funded a field trip earlier this year to the Candles Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Terre Haute, an experience that paired with “The Book Thief,” a novel set during the Holocaust. Another grant allowed Garland to study oral traditions in Africa with a visit to Kenya and Ghana — an experience that she later reflected on as “returning home to the Motherland.”

Now, she’s one of 50 educators to be selected as a Grosvenor Teaching Fellow, which will bring her to the fjords and Arctic Svalbard of Norway aboard the National Geographic Endurance expedition ship. She’s hoping the trip will inform her curriculum in a way that inspires her students to become environmental stewards.

Garland previously taught ballet at the former Nicholson Performing Arts Academy at School 70, and she studied at the Jordan College Academy of Dance at Butler University. She’s also a proud Broad Ripple High School alumna. (“Rockets for life!” she said.)

She spoke recently with Chalkbeat about her latest fellowship, the value of teaching environmental and community stewardship, and the most memorable class of her 24-year teaching career.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How do you plan to use the experience from the Norway fellowship in your everyday English teachings?

I believe the fellowship will give me more tools to continue building geographic awareness.

I would like to start locally within their own communities. I haven’t yet decided what this will look like, but I have reached out to a few agencies — The Nature Conservancy and Indy Parks — to partner with me on this initiative.

I also want to do something community-based as well, possibly about the impact of gentrification and redlining in their neighborhoods. I want to center whatever I do around them. I want to know what they are curious about and start there.

Why is it important for you to teach your students to become environmental stewards?

The city of Indianapolis is only a small piece in the global puzzle, but everything we do or don’t do to take care of the planet has a deep impact worldwide. Continuing to disregard issues such as global warming and pollution is dangerous to humanity. It reminds me of a book I’ve taught by Octavia Butler, “The Parable of the Sower.” I also teach “The Space Traders,” a short story by Derrick Bell.

I believe we can do small things that, if done consistently, turn into great acts. I hope to inspire them to become more engaged with their immediate communities. Texts such as the ones I mentioned help kids understand why caring for the environment is important. I also want to provide them with the tools and knowledge necessary to live eco-friendly and sustainable lives.

What is one interaction with a student that has changed how you view the profession of teaching?

It would be impossible to name just one student. I have a collective — the Arlington High School class of 2007.

I must begin by saying that most of them did not like me initially. I have always been a strict teacher with high expectations and rigorous content. However, I was able to loop with that particular class of students for three years.

The three years I spent with them allowed me to get to know my students on a deeper level and vice versa. I became invested and grew to truly love them. And the love, loyalty, and respect they showed me was unmatched.

For example, my husband and mother both died in the same year. This was after they had graduated. But so many of them came back to give me flowers and comfort me. So many that my principal had to tell the secretary to waive the no-visitor policy during the day and allow them all in. One of my students from that class had lost contact with me, so she Googled me one day and saw that I was now a breast cancer survivor. She found me on Twitter and sent me $100 so I could buy myself some flowers. I could really go on and on.

There’s an urban saying about such relationships, “locked in.” We are bonded — through celebrations such as weddings, births, and college graduations and even in trials such as death and incarceration. I consider them family, and my life has been infinitely blessed simply because I was allowed to be their teacher. I am the lucky one. They are the loves of my teaching life.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

That’s a tough question because I have so many. But I really enjoy teaching poetry. I love the complexity of some poems, the critical thinking and reading required to comprehend the content, the way it engages students, and the ability to use it as a springboard for longer writing assignments. It also brings out student creativity. We have a lot of rich, provocative discussions and assignments when I teach poetry.

Tell me about your own experience with school as a child and how it affects your work today.

I loved school. I am a product of IPS, K-12, and I had some stellar educators. As a result, it has motivated me to give my students the same kind of education I received. It was rich, diverse, interesting, rigorous, and relevant.

What is one piece of advice you’d give to college students pursuing an education career?

Understand that teaching is both an art and a science, and you cannot have one without the other. Science is the pedagogy. Art is the creativity used to engage students. Be fluent in both.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

This North Philadelphia paraeducator is ‘teaching without restrictions’

2023-05-05T13:55:57+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat’s free monthly newsletter How I Teach to get inspiration, news, and advice for — and from — educators.

Leah Wood was tired of Burger King “playing” with the idea of making her a manager, so when an acquaintance told her the Philadelphia school district was hiring paraprofessionals, she thought she’d give it a try — even though she “absolutely hated” school growing up.

Now, she’s nearing 16 years in the classroom and is in love with her job as a special education assistant at Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences in North Philadelphia. She’s also the president of Para Power Philly, an organizing group that provides resources and support to paraeducators in the city.

“I hope that people understand that paraprofessionals are essential. We are not second-class citizens,” Wood said. “We are really important and we love our jobs.”

Over the years, Wood has shepherded 275 “babies,” as she calls her students, through middle school. She’s helped them tackle difficult reading assignments, craft intricate dioramas, grapple with bullying, and find a safe space to express themselves.

Each one of those 275 students, she said, has individual needs that Wood had to learn to navigate with respect and compassion.

“Just like how Burger King has people that were your regulars, I have kids that are my regulars,” Wood said. “The one thing that stuck with me from Burger King was you always listen, apologize, satisfy and thank … it shows a level of respect when you’re talking to people, because you’re giving them a chance to express what the problem is.”

Wood talked to Chalkbeat about shifting the conversation about paraprofessionals, pushing students to achieve what they thought was impossible, and the self-care power of knitting.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What’s your favorite part about your job? What is something that’s kept you doing it for as long as you have?

It’s when people think that they can’t do something and I’m able to break it down and they realize that they can do it, and that they know the answer. That is my favorite moment. When they’re like ‘Ms. Leah, I can do it!’ I say, ‘There you go. I told you you could do that.’ When they think they can’t get it and they’re fussing and fighting you and it just clicks in their head. That’s the best.

This year the school district is reading “Heroes, Gods and Monsters” for the sixth, seventh and eighth graders, but we don’t get those books because they say our kids are so far behind they need corrective reading and math. I had to go find the books and I had my students read the books together or read a couple stories out of the book. We also just finished reading “Percy Jackson.” I don’t play with my kids. I don’t believe in ‘I can’t.’

What do you think is a common misconception about paraeducators? What’s something that you wish people knew?

A lot of times people think we’re glorified babysitters and that we don’t really work and that we’re not educated, that we don’t try and just sit around and do nothing and be on our phones all day.

We work hard to educate these kids. We are assisting our teachers. We’re not just sitting there playing with blocks. We’re trying to get them to be able to go out into the world, to be able to read, write, and count. Some of us actually lift kids, especially students with multiple disabilities, we’re lifting these children who are like 100-150 pounds.

What does it mean to you to be a paraprofessional?

I call it teaching without the restrictions. I don’t have those restrictions of standards or a need to follow certain pacing. ‘What if this is on the PSSA [exam]?’ I don’t have to worry about that. For example, with my reading group, I noticed that our kids did not get science and social studies. They’re already doing corrective reading, so I thought ‘I can do something with them.’ I went out and I found a program at the school district about climate change. So we learned about climate change. It ties in because it’s science, yes, but you’ve got to read to do it.

The students love it because it’s different. A lot of them don’t like the corrective reading. They say the stories sound stupid, they’re crazy, they’re boring, they’re out of touch. And that’s understandable. So I’ll go find something that relates to their life then.

What’s your favorite way to get students engaged in their learning?

Combining reading and art, because I’m kind of crafty. No matter what we’re reading, there’s a piece of drawing or collage involved — if I could teach them to sew I would. We’ll do a diorama of stories we read and then ask them to tell me the summary of the story. We’re learning about the water cycle so I say ‘create me a video or write me a song about the water cycle.’ I’m putting it all together.

What’s something happening in the North Philly community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

Right now, it’s the bullying. Our kids are not bullied a lot, but some of them are bullied on the bus. They’re learning about bullying from other students, and they sometimes try to bully each other, which is wild because there’s not that many kids in the classroom.

But they’re also recognizing that our classroom is a safe space. There are many times that kids that have been bullied in a general education classroom will come to our room and they’ll just sit because they know they won’t get picked on. They know they’re always welcome.

I think it’s gotten worse since the pandemic. These children right now are just like, ‘I don’t care. Since I’m hurt. Everybody’s going to hurt.’ It’s not all of them, but it’s enough of them where it’s having an impact like a ripple. I just wonder where we went wrong as adults. What did we miss?

Since the pandemic, you’ve got a lot of trauma. You’ve seen people dying, you’ve got family members that died. You’re like ‘there’s no food or money.’ So you don’t care.

How do you grapple with that? How do you teach students to care?

It all starts small, with them as individuals. I say ‘if you don’t like yourself, you’re not gonna like anybody else.’

You spend your days trying to help others, how do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I read obsessively. I read a lot of urban fiction and urban romance novels. Right now,I’m finishing up “Not Paved for Us: Black Educators and Public School Reform in Philadelphia” by Camika Royal and next up is “Unearthing Joy” by Gholdy Muhammad.

I also taught myself to knit and you will always see me with a ball of yarn and two needles. I knitted a sweater for my teacher’s daughter, and I made it like a rainbow. It was so cute.

Carly Sitrin is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Philadelphia. Contact Carly at csitrin@chalkbeat.org.

Students hated the no-hat policy. This Colorado superintendent heard them out.

2023-04-28T22:51:48+00:00

Hats had become a battleground in the Harrison school district in Colorado Springs. Teachers tried to enforce the no-hat policy, but students pushed back.

Eventually, the dress code debate surfaced in one of the meetings Superintendent Wendy Birhanzel holds throughout the year with student advisory groups at every district middle and high school. Students told her they don’t find hats distracting in class and see the accessories as a form of personal expression — something the district normally supports, they said.

Birhanzel subsequently shared the students’ concerns with various staff groups and everyone agreed: The hat ban needed to go. Such mutually agreeable outcomes are one of the things Birhanzel loves about the student feedback sessions.

“These meetings are not only one of my favorite parts of the job, they remind me of the power of voice,” she said.

Birhanzel, who was named the 2023 Colorado Superintendent of the Year by the Colorado Association of School Executives, also talked to Chalkbeat about the district’s efforts to reduce out-of-school suspensions, a silver lining that came out of COVID, and her frustration with state education funding.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What was your first education job and what sparked your interest in the field?

I started my tenure in education as a first grade teacher in South Central Los Angeles. During this time, inequities in education became very apparent. I taught in an overcrowded school that looked more like a prison than an elementary school. We had barbed wire around our playground, which was strictly concrete and no grass. I also saw classes staffed with multiple substitutes and ongoing turnover of staff. This is when I realized my purpose was to ensure all students regardless of background are provided a high quality education to allow them to be whatever they desire.

What is an effort you’ve spearheaded in your district that you’re particularly proud of?

One effort that I am proud to have been a part of is our Dakota Promise Scholarship. I do not believe that any family’s financial situation should be a barrier to them achieving their goals including college or certificate programs. However, for many of our students that has been the case. They can get accepted to amazing programs but can’t attend due to financial barriers. Working closely with Dr. Lance Bolton, president of Pikes Peak State College and an amazing donor, we developed a program to help.

Graduates from any of our district high schools can attend two years at Pikes Peak State College at no cost, with tuition, fees, books, and academic support covered. Students can earn an associate degree, credits to transfer to a 4-year school, or an industry certificate. In addition, they are provided coaches who help them persist through school and find jobs aligned to their field. Since the program launched in 2020, 225 students have received the scholarships.

Under your leadership, discipline referrals have dropped 47% and out-of-school suspensions have dropped 38% in three years. What changes led to this?

The simple answer is mindset. However, to make it happen takes a lot of conversation and support. When students struggle with math or reading, we don’t send them home and think they will come back proficient. Students who exhibit challenging behaviors are no different.

Data has shown us that suspending students doesn’t change behavior, but working through the behavior does. As a district, we have changed our perspective on suspensions. We are looking at alternatives that hold students accountable in a different way and actually change future behavior.

We continue to train staff on the power of relationships. We know relationships matter for students, and teachers work on relationships from day one. We also have restorative practices in all schools. Many of these conversations with students are led by their peers as they determine the impact of their behavior and what they need to do to right the wrong.

We have added Student Success Centers in our high school counseling offices where students can de-escalate after certain code-of-conduct infractions. This is also a supportive place to connect with a caring adult and develop skills to engage in learning.

Tell us about an interaction with a student (or group of students) who made a particular impression on you.

I meet with student advisory groups at every middle and high school multiple times a year. I am so amazed each time I meet with our students by their insightful and honest feedback.

I met with a middle school group about school and district rules – they don’t like the no cell phone rule. We discussed how it can take away from learning and they agreed but said there should be times they can use phones such as lunch or breaks. I asked the group to propose a new policy and present it to their school administrators. Their phone policy started this week, with students rolling it out and having a chance to prove they can handle it.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

COVID was especially hard for our low-income families, who were struggling with basic needs. During this time, we set up a food bank at one of our high schools and delivered groceries to our families, providing supplies such as diapers, body wash, and food.

Learning and school were the least of their needs at this time as they were losing jobs, housing, and any sense of normalcy. As a district we stepped in with community partners to help them through this crisis. It reminded me and our staff that students can learn when their basic needs are met. The positive from this experience is that our families and community trust our school district, and we have built stronger relationships by showing up when times are tough.

What issue in the education policy realm is having a big impact on your district right now? How are you addressing it?

Unfortunately, Colorado has one of the lowest funded education systems in the nation. On top of that, the state has not fully funded education since 2009. That means our current students have never attended a fully funded school. This sends a sad message about priorities to our students and staff.

In a district like ours — where more than half of students qualify for free or discounted school meals — we cannot ask our families to fundraise, to write a check, or to host a gala in order to make up the difference. To counter this lack of funding, we strategically seek grants to add programming that our students need. In addition, our community passed a $180 million bond in 2018 that allowed us to rebuild a school, add on to two schools, and renovate every other school.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

“The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work” by Shawn Achor

What’s the best advice about educational leadership that you ever received?

Remember your why. It can be easy to get caught up in the stress of day-to-day tasks, the political pressures, and the criticism. However, you need to stay focused on your why to help ensure every day is meaningful regardless of outside distractors. This is why being in classrooms or with students is my favorite part of the job.

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

Math can be intimidating. Here’s how the National Teacher of the Year shares stories to reach students.

2023-04-19T22:25:15+00:00

Six years ago, teacher Rebecka Peterson started spending a lot of extra time sitting and listening to her students.

Peterson, who teaches math at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was named the National Teacher of the Year on Wednesday, starts off the school year by sharing personal successes and struggles with her students. That includes what it was like to grow up as an immigrant of Swedish-Iranian descent who moved around a lot as a kid and got teased when she was learning to speak English.

Then she meets with each of her students over the course of several weeks, inviting them to tell her about whatever they’d like for at least 15 minutes. Peterson credits the exercise with helping more students pass her calculus class.

“I learned to show up, to receive whatever they entrusted to me,” Peterson wrote in her Teacher of the Year application. “Their stories brought me to my knees — nearly every student had undergone some form of adversity or trauma, often more monumental than anyone realized.”

Like many math teachers, Peterson knows what it’s like to fill in gaps for her students who missed out on instruction during the pandemic. But COVID teaching has stuck around in other ways for her, too.

When many of her calculus students were learning virtually in fall of 2020, Peterson created over 100 video lessons that allowed students to watch her solve problems, then stop to answer problems on their own. Before she went on sabbatical this year, Peterson was still assigning her students those videos to watch at home so they could spend more time in class working on problems together.

“I do math with them, not at them,” she wrote.

After news of her award broke, Chalkbeat spoke with Peterson about why math gets a “bad rap,” how she checks in on her students’ mental health, and why knowing more about her students helps her be a more patient teacher.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

I wanted to start by asking you about what it means to be honored as a high school math teacher. Math has been getting so much attention in the news right now as being something a lot of kids are struggling with. How might you add to the conversation, especially at a time when the country is paying close attention to how high schoolers are doing in math?

Math can get kind of a bad rap sometimes. For me, and every mathematician I know, mathematics is so beautiful. When we really get into the rhythm of it, we’re transported. But I think, oftentimes, there is so much content to teach, and our kids don’t get to feel that. That’s a conversation that I think we need to be having, about making sure that our teachers have the time and space to be able to showcase what math really is all about — which is creativity and collaboration and problem-solving.

The Gates Foundation, for example, did this study that showed a lot of folks think that math needs to be more relevant and tied to what students can see in the real world. [The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a supporter of Chalkbeat.] As a calculus teacher, do you feel like you need to make your math more relevant for your students?

The beautiful thing about calculus is it is so ubiquitous. We use it to figure out the average value of a Bitcoin over the last month, or model population growth, or if I’m drinking a cup of coffee right now, with my caffeine tolerance, when will my body allow me to fall asleep? I’m very lucky in that calc is already so applicable.

But I’m all for creating more pathways for our students to be able to see that application earlier on. We’ve had this track of Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, since I think 1892. It’s time to explore some more math pathways for our students so that they truly all feel like they are mathematicians. Because that is what I believe to my core — that every person is a math person.

You teach at a large urban high school, and many of your students come from low-income backgrounds. In your own math classrooms, how has the pandemic affected what you need to do for them and what they may be struggling with?

Kids have changed since the pandemic. There is this fascinating study out of Stanford. It suggests that perhaps we are now teaching an entire generation of students whose brains have been rewired a bit. And I think that we can’t ignore that.

For me, it’s really important that I connect to my students, that my students feel connected to me, and they feel connected to each other. That looks like teaching my students breathing techniques so they have that in their toolkit when they start to feel dysregulated. Doing gratitude journaling, helping them be the author of their own stories, and doing mental health check-ins — these small daily acts we do as teachers to open space for our students to be vulnerable allows them to know that we’re on their side and that we have been through a lot.

One of your teaching approaches is that you often ask students to share more about their backgrounds with you so that you can create that connection. Can you tell me more about why that’s been an effective tool for you in math?

With math, it can be a very intimidating subject for students. I have to push them pretty hard to do some really quite rigorous mathematics. If I am going to be able to do that, then they have to trust me. They have to know that I am on their side, that I’m not going to ask them to do something that they can’t eventually accomplish. That starts with being real and being vulnerable with them.

The first day of school, I share stories — both joys and sorrows — of my life. I think every single high schooler, at some point, has felt like an outsider. For me, it’s important to share those moments where I felt like an outsider, so that they understand that I know what that’s like, and I don’t want them to ever feel that in our space.

Then I just welcome them to come share their story. They’re invited to sign up for 15-minute time slots — before school, after school, during lunch — to tell me whatever they want. We talk about their family, their pets, their jobs, their clubs, their background with math and with school. Especially post-pandemic, those are heavy weeks. It’s a lot to sit with over 100 stories one-on-one. And it takes about 10 weeks to sit with every student, but once those 10 weeks are over, there is just this palpable change in the classroom.

Can you say more about that?

When I learn their story, I’m softened, and it empowers me to elevate their voice, and it empowers me to work even harder on their behalf because I know where they’re coming from. I think it makes me more patient. I come to the understanding that oftentimes a behavior that I’m not in love with in the moment is because there is a deeper story going on.

When you share things about yourself, what do students most connect with?

I think what really resonates is that I’m an immigrant, I’m the daughter of medical missionaries, so I moved a lot growing up. And not just to another state, we moved continent to continent. Moving that much, you feel like an outsider looking in. A lot of my students are immigrants, they are first-generation Americans, but even those that aren’t, they know what it’s like to be an outsider.

Every high schooler knows what it’s like to feel like they have to perform, they have to act, they have to earn their spot. That’s how I felt, oftentimes, growing up. And that’s exactly how I do not want them to feel in my classroom.

Kalyn Belsha is a national education reporter based in Chicago. Contact her at kbelsha@chalkbeat.org.

This Detroit teacher’s mission: Bring back school libraries

2023-04-17T17:33:46+00:00

Josie Silver didn’t hand-select her classroom at Detroit’s Palmer Park Preparatory Academy, but she found it awfully coincidental that the room used to be the school’s library.

Nearly two years ago, at her former elementary school in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, Silver used grant funding from the nonprofit First Book to supply her second grade classroom with books. Since then, she’s actively been wrestling with how to instill an early love of reading in her students. Her goal for the near future: Create a fully functioning library at Palmer Park, where she teaches first through third graders.

“The absence of libraries is an atrocity,” Silver said.

“I cannot believe how many schools — not just in Detroit, but in Michigan — do not have functional libraries. I do see them as like an artery of the school.”

As an early elementary teacher, Silver regularly considers how to meet the academic and personal needs of her students as the district works to support children who may have fallen several grades behind in reading during the pandemic.

Last fall, Silver was named a Michigan Collaborative Teacher Leader. Each year, the program, co-led by the Education Trust-Midwest and Teach Plus, picks 20 educators across the state to meet with lawmakers, share their classroom expertise, and learn more about statewide education policies.

Josie Silver is a first through third grade teacher at Palmer Park Preparatory Academy in Detroit.

Silver spoke with Chalkbeat about work-life balance, graduate school, embracing phonics in the classroom, and adjusting to teaching in a Montessori program at Palmer Park.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I actually have a bachelor of science in environmental studies. The way the teaching licensure program works was that at the elementary level you could add a licensure to any major. I would tell people in all my teaching classes, ‘Well, I’m never actually going to be a classroom teacher. I’m going to do outdoor education stuff or something.’ And then, once I was actually in the classroom, it was like, ‘I really like this’.

Were you set on doing early education?

I would say that I feel really confident and comfortable in the early [elementary grades]. I think there’s something about younger students that is really earnest. They’re very excited to learn. And if you pump them up, they are 100% with you. Being able to teach students at a time in their life when they’re generally really excited about reading, excited about math, excited about, honestly, pretty much everything — you can help them meet challenges ... and you can also help them develop their own identity

You previously taught at Durfee Elementary-Middle School before moving to Palmer Park Preparatory Academy this school year to work in their Montessori program. What brought about the shift in schools?

I taught for three years in the city. And then I went back to grad school for two years at [University of Michigan]. So last year was my fourth year teaching but my first year teaching in the pandemic. Last year was one of the first years teaching second grade that I felt like I was not able to meet all of those really different needs of my students using whole-group instruction.

That was really, really hard, and it felt like I was doing a disservice to my students who maybe were significantly behind grade level. They were totally capable, but they just hadn’t been to school during the pandemic, and that’s why they were behind. What really interested me about the Montessori program was not only the amount of student independence and choice but that each learner is on their own individual learning path. Yes, they may be working on similar activities, but it is so much easier to give each student what they need, at their level, to really build a foundation before trying to jump them ahead five steps that they’re not quite ready for.

How do you feel about the challenge for educators like yourself to make up for reading deficiencies students may be coming into your classroom with?

Especially last year, there are times when you just have to step back and recognize that there are deep systemic issues that I’m not going to be able to solve within my classroom. But I’m going to do as much as I can for the student. While they’re in my care, l am their advocate. I can empathize with things that are going on at home with their family — maybe financial instability or difficulties with transportation or things like that.

I also recognize that I really need to impress and stress how important going to school is and the work that students do there, not only because they’re young and they’re learning but also because it has long-term ramifications for their life. I think one thing that I did way more last year, or at least tried to do last year, was to be in touch with parents and give parents updates on their student’s progress all the time.

I feel like one way to feel like you’re building a stronger community, which would lead to higher academic outputs, is through building strong relationships with families who may have not always had a good relationship with school themselves.

I wonder sometimes for teachers that going the extra mile with families, how do you find a balance?

After teaching for three years, I was in grad school for two years, and that felt like a really nice break. And one thing that I noticed was how much freer I felt. I didn’t realize I’ve been carrying around the weight of worrying about a lot of my students all the time and thinking about them and what they’re going to do. I think there’s a social-emotional weight that teachers carry that is often invisible, and we don’t realize that we’re always holding onto — that definitely creates burnout.

What was the impetus behind going back to school?

I felt like I had some experience teaching but didn’t always have time to dig into research and didn’t have time to reflect on my practice. Going back to school really gave me that time.

The reality is you’ve got stolen moments in a coffee room with your colleagues, or you get a few [professional development] days a year. And during those days, you’re like, ‘Man, I wish I could go do stuff in my room.’ And so, for me, I needed to almost just disconnect from the classroom, and that was the easiest way for me to be thoughtful in my reflection.

What were some of the biggest misconceptions that you brought into teaching?

I definitely had never truly taught phonics until last year. I wasn’t really trained on how to teach phonics in my school program. So I think this past year — really digging into all of the articles coming out about the science of reading and how people are restructuring phonics — that’s been a huge difference.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom (or your school)?

My [third grade] students had been in kindergarten when they were first pulled out of school. When we went on our first field trip, a lot of them had never been on a school bus, and they were so excited. They had never had a picture day. I remember doing an activity around Martin Luther King Jr. Day last year about the dreams people have for the world. But several of them in my classroom were, like, ‘I dream that COVID is gone.’ And they were drawing people without masks. Because to them, COVID was such a significant portion of their life thus far.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

I think that people stressing to me that I can’t carry all the baggage a student comes with in my classroom, but I can teach them strategies and make school the safest place it can be for learning and living. I can try to check in with resources, but I can’t carry food insecurity, housing insecurity, too many siblings living in the same house, and things like that. I can focus on giving them as much care and attention as I can at school so that they can thrive academically.

Are there certain areas where you hope to leave an impact?

I would really like to be a part of creating a functional library at our school again. I know I can’t make funding for a librarian appear, but I am working to figure out how we can use both students and maybe volunteers so the burden isn’t imposed on staff.

It’s crazy to me that we look at literacy rates around the city, and we talk about curriculum, and I think those are important, but what about libraries? I think that they’re hugely important within schools, and I would really like to be a part of building ours back. I know several DPSCD schools that have done that in the past couple of years. Hopefully, that becomes a larger trend.

Ethan Bakuli is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering Detroit Public Schools Community District. Contact Ethan at ebakuli@chalkbeat.org.

Meet the principal of NYC’s first district school exclusively for students who struggle to read

2023-04-12T22:28:04+00:00

In September, New York City’s education department plans to open the city’s first traditional public school exclusively devoted to students with dyslexia and other reading issues.

The new school, called South Bronx Literacy Academy, is the culmination of years of advocacy from a handful of parent advocates who watched their own children flounder without adequate reading instruction and argued the city does not have a systematic approach to reading instruction.

Their goal was to coax the city to build classrooms similar to what’s offered at private programs, like The Windward School, which specialize in intensive literacy instruction but are often out of reach for families without the time or resources to secure private tuition reimbursement from the city.

Parents Jeannine Kiely, Ruth Genn, Emily Hellstrom, Akeela Azcuy (left to right) helped push the city to launch a school geared toward students who struggle with reading.

The group helped persuade the city to launch a pilot program this school year to test out a version of the model in an existing public school, P.S. 161. And they even started their own nonprofit, the Literacy Academy Collective, which has helped support the effort.

Now, pending likely approval from the city’s Panel for Educational Policy on April 19, the city is planning to transform the pilot program into a fully-fledged school (a charter school on Staten Island has a similar mission).

Chalkbeat recently caught up with South Bronx Literacy Academy’s inaugural principal, Bethany Poolman, to learn more about her vision, how the school plans to serve students who are behind in reading, and why the city wants to create a school specifically for students with literacy challenges.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell us just a little bit about yourself. How did you get interested in leading a school geared toward serving students with reading challenges?

Yeah, so I’ve been with the DOE for 18 years. I taught in District 9 in the Bronx for 10 years at a middle school [as a] special education teacher. I had a lot of students who really struggled to read who were really behind grade level. I was Wilson trained [a more structured approach to literacy instruction], I applied for an outside grant at one point. I received like $15,000 from a company and I started a breakfast club program. And I was essentially doing structured literacy practices before they were termed structured literacy.

Bethany Poolman

I had kids coming in before school doing these [Orton-Gillingham] practices [a structured approach to literacy instruction], looking at breaking apart words, word cards, pseudo word reading and things like nonsense words. I really was interested in helping kids that were unable to read or really far behind grade level to catch up to become proficient readers.

And then fast forward. I was an assistant principal in the South Bronx in District 7 for seven years. I had the opportunity to learn and grow the admin side of the work. And when this opportunity presented itself in District 7, that I know and love, it was just an awesome opportunity.

Tell me a little bit about this particular school’s design. What makes it different from a traditional elementary school? I know, for instance it’s starting with students in second and third grade.

What we’re doing is we’re taking what in other schools are tier two and tier three intervention practices. When I say that, I’m talking about students who [struggle] get pulled out or get put into small groups and they receive additional supports, additional services to help them close the gap. And we’re taking those practices that are in other schools often in tier two and tier three, and we are making them part of our tier one model. So tier one being instruction that everybody receives.

So, in terms of foundational reading skills and what we know works in terms of the science of reading, we are ensuring that kids have at least 90 minutes a day of foundational skills as their tier one literacy instruction.

In addition to that we’re also bringing social emotional skills and strategies and executive functioning strategies — thinking about things like time management, organization, prioritization, skills that children need in order to access the information in order to tap into their learning, and so we’re bringing those as well to tier one.

In terms of how you achieve that more intensive kind of small group model for all students — what does that take?

There are some points we’re still working out with the Department of Ed, but all of our classrooms are ICT [Integrated Co-Teaching] classrooms. So all classrooms will have two teachers. Budgeting modifications are still being worked out. But we’re looking to have speech and language pathologists and occupational therapists next year. Instead of our speech and language pathologist working in isolation down the hall in their office pulling children out, they’ll be pushing in as the integrated language teacher within the classroom.

Is there a specific curriculum you all plan to use for reading instruction?

I think we’re still working with the Department of Ed to make final decisions on our curriculum. We are partnered with the Literacy Academy Collective and The Windward School and they are using PAF [a curriculum also known as Preventing Academic Failure]. So we are planning to continue our work with PAF, which is an Orton-Gillingham based program.

What’s the goal of launching a school specifically designed for students who struggle with reading? Is it mostly just about the 60 to 80 students who are projected to enroll next year or is there a broader goal here in terms of sharing practices with other schools?

The truth is that all kids deserve to learn to read. We do believe that is a civil right and so we want to ensure that our children are given the tools to be successful and to become proficient readers. I think there are many initiatives that are being performed by the Department of Ed right now to address that.

And I think, you know, there’s a lot of great things happening across the whole city. I think we are unique because we are the first standalone district public school [devoted to students who are struggling readers]. We are really a school that is designed for students who have been struggling and have been struggling for a while, right. So kids that may have been in an intervention pull out model, and just need more, and who need more intense support. We’re working in partnership with everything that’s already happening across the DOE, and we’re just serving a specific population that may need more.

To be admitted to South Bronx Literacy Academy, “a student must either present formal documentation of dyslexia, or demonstrate a pattern of reading challenges consistent with dyslexia through an assessment process conducted by the DOE.” Given that it can be time consuming and expensive to get a dyslexia diagnosis, and many parents of young children may not know that their children are struggling readers, how will you ensure that the school won’t end up serving families who have resources and know how to navigate those systems?

The Department of Ed specifically placed this school in the Bronx, right in the South Bronx in District 7. It’s an effort to ensure that students [who] may not have access to all the same resources as other students get first dibs, if you will, at this opportunity.

We don’t expect many students to have that formal diagnosis. We are creating an additional resource for students that need additional support that’s not District 75 [a specialized group of schools that serve students with more complex disabilities].

Given that second and third grade aren’t super common entry points, how are you imagining students getting funneled to the school?

Parents will choose this option. No one is funneling children anywhere. Parents choose if this is an appropriate place where they would like to apply for their child to be first and foremost. We are trying to make sure that we spread the word and I think it will take time. I think families will trust us more once we’re established, and we have a proven track record of success. We are trying to spread the word and make sure both internally in the DOE and externally with families that we’re an option for them.

Will the school have specific set asides for students with disabilities or low-income families or anything like that?

So priority is given to students residing in the Bronx. So anyone within the city can apply but priority is given to any student with again, we’re an ICT-based model. So all of our classrooms are inclusion, co-taught classrooms, so we will have seats for both students with IEPs and students without IEPs [individualized education program for students with disabilities].

Our class size is 18, so we [have] smaller class sizes to also ensure reading supports. And so, if our class size is 18, we can have no more than 11 [general education] students and no more than seven special education students. But we are looking to serve the families that want to support their children. [An education department spokesperson said 40% of the school’s students will have disabilities, but there are not specific targets for other student groups.]

A major premise of special education is that students with learning challenges should be in classrooms with typically developing students as much as possible, but it also seems like a premise of this school is that it is intended to be the case that 100% of the students there have reading challenges. I’m wondering how you’re thinking about inclusion in that context and why the school wasn’t set up to be more of a mix of students with reading challenges and students without reading challenges?

It’s important to understand it’s an iterative process. We have the pilot work this year. We’ve been really pleased with some of the progress monitoring growth that’s coming out of the pilot, It’s a new endeavor — we want to get back to the basics and back to some solid reading instruction for kids that need that.

Part of the hope is that by addressing some of these issues sooner — by pulling in the [general education], and giving them more intensive reading supports, we don’t need to mislabel children. We don’t need to say the only process, the only avenue, is for this child to get an IEP and to, you know, receive this traditional set of services. We can provide support and help them reach proficiency.

Is the goal to grow beyond second and third graders?

At scale, the school will be serving students in second to eighth grade. So we’ll start with second and third and then we’ll grow year over year and expand up to eighth grade. Schools like Windward they’re pretty clear: that they take students in, they’re putting out a fire, right? They teach them how to read and then they reenter them back into community or independent schools as quickly as possible.

I’m curious how you’re going about finding teachers and what kind of training you’re expecting your teachers to have?

The Literacy Academy Collective have been amazing partners in this work, and we didn’t really get to talk about that, but they, you know, they’re a nonprofit founded by parents of students with dyslexia. They really understand this teacher training piece. And so they have been working in partnership with DOE to ensure that over the summer, teachers work alongside Windward teachers and receive at least the initial training and support that’s required to get started in this.

Is it those teachers who are doing the pilot now who are going to be teachers at the [new] school?

It’s a new school, so everyone needs to apply. It has yet to be posted, so when it’s officially posted, any licensed teacher can apply.

Anything else you want to share?

I’m really excited for this work. I’m grateful that the DOE has given me this opportunity. I’m grateful that the [Literacy Academy Collective] is here, in partnership with the work, and I think we’re just gonna — bleep it out I don’t know — we’re gonna make a really kick ass school. It’s gonna be a great place for kids.

Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org.

This Newark high school teacher found the secret to teaching lies in empathy and compassion

2023-03-16T20:30:50+00:00

As a young girl living in Guyana, Nubia Lumumba used to recruit kids in her neighborhood for her makeshift school in her backyard.

For the past eight years, she has had a classroom of her own, and the Newark educator brings to it a deep level of empathy and compassion for her students.

“I try to find time to have meaningful one-on-one conversations with students about their dreams and struggles so that I can connect with them on a personal level and offer them support and encouragement,” said Lumumba, who, until resigning this month, taught high school English at Newark School of Global Studies.

She spoke recently with Chalkbeat about supporting her students who have faced racist harassment, advocating for a more welcoming learning environment, and inspiring the next generation of young leaders to live authentically and unapologetically.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I knew that I wanted to become a teacher when I was in elementary school. I was fascinated with discovery and learning, and I wanted others to get the same thrill I got from learning new things. When summer rolled around and we were on break, I would summon a few kids in my neighborhood to come to my makeshift school in my backyard. I remember collecting the discarded pieces of white chalk that had become two stubby for my teachers to grasp, and using these bits to write out vocabulary words that I wanted my “students” to practice spelling and using in a sentence.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I love teaching students how to offer analysis on something that we have read or viewed. A single lesson on analysis allows students to practice multiple skills. They are required to read closely, draw inferences by synthesizing background knowledge with new information, and effectively communicate nuanced ideas in written or verbal form. Analyzing is an essential skill that many students struggle with, even at the college level.

I usually introduce this skill by having them examine a complex image where multiple meanings can be explored. At first, students are concerned about being right or wrong when they offer analysis, and I have to explain to them that it’s not about being right or wrong, but how well they can support their ideas with evidence and reasoning. With some practice, students are then able to apply what they learn about analyzing images to actual text.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

The division between Black and Brown people and weariness about the “other” within the community has had a direct impact on our school and has seeped into my classroom. Division amongst Black and Brown people serves no purpose but to uphold white supremacy.

For at least two years, Black students at my school have complained about being bullied by non-Black peers. Black students have been called all types of racial slurs, and their complaints were dismissed by adults who have a legal and moral responsibility to protect all children regardless of their skin color. I was sad to see some of my Black students transfer out of the school because they didn’t feel safe and valued. All students and staff should be made to feel safe, protected, and welcomed in the school that they attend/serve.

How do you approach news events in your classroom?

I think that it is critical to incorporate news events in the classroom as part of students’ overall learning because a well-informed citizenry will likely uphold democracy and support social justice efforts. Sometimes the news events we discuss in the classroom can be as heavy as politics or as trivial as which team should have won the 2022 World Cup, Argentina or France? Most of my students felt that the French team should have won. Over the course of four weeks, their focus was intently set on who would claim the golden trophy, and I practically had to pry their phones away from them. Allowing students to discuss topics that are of great interest to them, such as the World Cup, enables them to practice essential skills such as analyzing information, evaluating evidence, and constructing arguments.

Other times, the news event can be something that may not spark deep discussion but allows students to see concrete examples of how skills and concepts that they learn in my English class are applied in the real world. For example, when Queen Elizabeth passed, the Washington Post published an article about her in which I found a particularly beautiful example of figurative language that I wanted my students to identify: “The queen spent the autumn of her life coming to terms with family scandals but also with a media hunger for them unknown when she was a young queen.” Students were able to identify the metaphor in this excerpt and discussed how the effective use of figurative language can enhance one’s writing and captivate the reader.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

Growing up in a developing country, we had limited resources to aid us in our learning. Our schools were run in a militaristic manner, our lessons were teacher-centered, and we were seldom given opportunities to have discussions with our peers during class and to collaborate with them.

Now that I have been blessed with the opportunity to become a teacher, I try to implement the good that I have learnt from my own experience with school, because it wasn’t all bad, and what I know are best practices for teaching in a modern classroom. I incorporate learning aids into my lessons that will suit the various learning styles and needs of my students. I employ a more democratic style of teaching and learning where students get to be part of the decision-making process as it pertains to classroom rules, assignment choices, deadlines, and whom they wish to collaborate with.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

The best advice that I have received was from one of my education professors at Montclair State University, Dr. Vincent Walencik, and from my former co-teacher, Alfredo Montas. The first day that I had classes with Walencik, he said that the secret to good teaching was that you had to, “Get the kids here,” at which point he touched his heart, “before you can get them here,” and then he touched his head. From that bit of advice, I garnered that I needed to establish a sound rapport with each of my students in order to motivate them to learn.

Montas’ advice fit perfectly with my professor’s because he told me to, “just be yourself with the kids, and they’ll love you.” I try to put these two pieces of advice into practice by allowing students to see me as my authentic self, not just the poised professional that I can be. My students get to see me in all my goofy glory when I tell corny English jokes, execute terrible versions of the latest TikTok dance craze that my students are so fond of, and on a really good day, I may even give students a sneak peek of my rap game. Most students respond well to me trying to cultivate a good student-teacher relationship; however, there are always a few who remain reserved. In this case, I do not force a deeper connection, but I ensure that all students are aware that I am there for them whenever they need me.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

I can’t recall exactly when and where I read this, but learning that all children come to school wearing an “invisible backpack.” The premise is that childhood trauma affects students’ ability to come to the classroom prepared to learn. Their thoughts and emotions surrounding the difficulties they face in their personal lives cannot be turned off like a light switch once they enter the classroom. We, educators, have to understand this and be responsive to our students’ needs whether they choose to share their specific struggles with us or not.

Consequently, I have developed a deeper level of empathy and compassion for my students. I have learnt to listen more actively to my students instead of rushing to offer them strategies on how to solve their problems. The “invisible backpack” that our students carry are often heavy and overflowing; it is our job as educators to lighten the load for them in whatever manner we can. Moreover, I encourage autonomy in my students so that they can develop strategies of their own to cope with the issues they are having. I assure them that I am willing to support them as much as I possibly can.

How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I especially love doing outdoor activities, which gives me a chance to channel the healing properties of nature. I engage in bike riding every so often and depending on the time of year, I’ll go for a hike after work and especially on the weekends. I am actually certified to lead hikes with the Appalachian Mountain Club, and I have been leading adult and youth hikes since 2017 with a local group named HIKEOLUTION, which was founded by my friend, Keyana Jones. Some of the things I do at home to take care of myself are trying new vegetarian recipes, reading various genres of literature, and binge-watching apocalypse shows and movies. Lastly, my children and I have three cats, and we find great joy in playing with them which is very therapeutic after a long stressful day. As naughty as they are, those cats always manage to put a smile on our faces.

Jessie Gomez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org

This Bronx art teacher shows students how to harness social media to build job skills

2023-03-14T12:05:00+00:00

Metropolitan Soundview High School had no art program when Cheriece White took a job there 10 years ago.

So she created her own.

The art and technology teacher initially designed a curriculum around digital storytelling and then transformed it into a multimedia art curriculum that included iMovie, storyboarding, illustration, children’s books, and front-end web design. The students gravitated to the web design part, wanting to know more about designing websites for their own business ideas. That prompted White to shift again, developing a curriculum on social media design and content creation.

“With how social media, graphic design, and technology are growing into every aspect of normal living, it is super important to have students practice these skills for their own benefit,” she said. “They are going to engage in social media and technology anyway, so why not teach them how to make money from it through design?”

White not only sees visual arts and graphic art as “great emotional outlets for kids this age to express themselves in a healthier and positive way.” She also wants her art course to provide a “tangible” way for them to become young entrepreneurs.

She wants her students to be college- and career-ready, as well as “small business ready.”

She’s hopeful that it’s working. Former students have gone on to create a cupcake company, a dog-walking business, a baseball clinic, and an Etsy digital download business. A group of current students who already have their own clothing brand recently told her how their social media following increased significantly after applying some techniques they learned in class.

White was the Bronx’s grand prize winner of the 2022 FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence, which honors educators who inspire creativity and passion. For winning the prestigious award, White’s school received $10,000, which she used to buy easels, paint, brushes, canvases, pallets, and markers for her monthly “paint and snack sessions” with students. She ordered some technology, including software licenses and Apple Pencils for drawing digital illustrations.

She also received $25,000 in unrestricted funds. White, who had a baby shortly after winning the award, used some of the prize money to invest in her son’s 529 college savings account and also plans to use some of it to further her own education in the growing field that she’s trailblazing.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

My little brother, 12 at the time, is the one that changed my career path [from media marketing] to what it is today. He asked me why I looked so sad. I told him all I wanted to do was graphic art and prove how important it was to learn these skills with how the use of computers was growing. But it was 2009, companies were closing, and there were no jobs. He said then why don’t you become an art teacher?

I explained that the type of art that I wanted to teach was not offered. He said, at 12, “Well, why don’t you become the teacher you never had and create the type of art you want to teach? Prove them wrong and show them the world needs your art.” I went back to school, received my master’s in K-12 art education, and started my hunt for a school that believed in my vision and would give me a chance to execute the curriculum that I wanted to build.

How do you fuse art and technology, and why? Why do you think these skills are so important for students to learn right now?

In my class, it’s important to introduce the foundations of visual arts, like elements of design, principles of design, and color theory, with graphic design platforms that lead to content creation to launch small businesses. Students are extremely engaged with social media but don’t know how powerful of a tool it can be if used to represent a brand or service.

While learning about color theory, students learn about color psychology and how that affects marketing design. While learning composition and layout, they are practicing their mathematic skills by measuring margins, bleeds, and pixel-to-inches conversions. While designing a logo, students also practice project-based learning and design thinking. The combinations are endless, and the result is a student that is well-rounded in all aspects of visual art, technology, and marketing design.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

My favorite project-based lesson that I love to teach is logo design and branding. Students find a way to impress me by creating these beautiful logos that would match their target audience. Seeing all these beautiful portfolios come together for different businesses that they can actually do in real life just warms my heart.

I also recently coupled with a STEM teacher to make a STEAM unit and do a Shark Tank lesson together. This is a lot of fun because the students then take all of their designs from my art class and their inventions from their STEM class and start to pitch judges, like our principals and guidance counselors. The students take the challenge head-on and produce amazing interactive slide decks. This year, the winners will receive an iPad.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom or your school?

I teach in a very low-income area, and many students definitely have the burden of that on their shoulders. When it comes to having the correct finances for things for school or school trips, some students just can’t participate because they don’t have the funds. Also, there is a lot of violence outside of our walls that we like to shield them from or show them that there’s a better outlet to release your anger or stress.

Some students have to work jobs in order to provide for their families, and certain students still may be in shelters but are embarrassed to let us know that they may need some help. And some students may not have enough money for their next meal, so they stay after school so they can have the free lunch and after-school lunch for dinner. This truly breaks my heart and is one of the main motivators in why I started my curriculum: To show them that they could start a business without any money and pull themselves out of a situation as long as they have the skills necessary to do so.

Cheriece White, on far right (in gray shirt), stands with the cheerleading squad she co-founded, the James Monroe Eagles.

Tell us briefly about the cheerleading squad you helped found and how they got to go to Nationals.

I and two other coaches started the first-ever cheerleading team at James Monroe Campus. We called ourselves the James Monroe Eagles. This was by far the proudest moment in my career as an educator. Our team was spectacular and won first place in our division at regionals. This won us a bid to go to Nationals at Disney World in Orlando.

However, the cost to participate was way too much for our kids’ families. So I put together a video of our kids asking for help to go, made a GoFundMe for them, and within 72 hours, we raised over $30,000! New York City news outlets came to wish us luck, and we invited the community to wish us farewell and good luck. Some students had never been on a plane before, let alone to Walt Disney World. To see the kids be in shock looking at a palm tree or feeling the warmth in February in a tropical climate brought tears to all of our eyes. We won seventh in the nation, but that whole experience made all of us feel like we were in the first place.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

How one middle school teacher grew his students’ math scores despite pandemic challenges

2023-03-14T12:00:00+00:00

As a senior at Indianapolis’ Ben Davis High School, Jacob Gregory enrolled in an Exploratory Teaching program. He thought of it as an easy way to leave school for a few hours, but it ended up sparking “an unknown interest in teaching,” he said.

Today, the sixth grade math and science teacher at McKinley Elementary School is a quiet rock star. The school’s sixth grade growth scores in math are at nearly 58%, meaning more than half of the students met their individual growth targets on the state’s ILEARN test.

That kind of growth is well above the state average, and it’s one reason why McKinley Elementary had among the highest improvement rates in state test scores last year.

Throughout the pandemic, Gregory held his students to high expectations, whether they were learning in person or virtually.

“I never looked for ‘gaps’ or ‘learning loss.’ I never changed my teaching style or ‘geared it down’ just because we were sitting behind 12-inch screens,” he said. “I knew I could deliver quality instruction to my virtual and in-person students; it was just a matter of how I was going to pull it off virtually.”

In an interview with Chalkbeat, Gregory shared his insights on the challenges of middle school math, his advice for his younger self, and how he uses basketball to get kids excited to learn.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How do you engage middle schoolers or get them excited about math?

I stress the importance of every little thing we do in our classroom — every lesson, every assignment, every test — understanding that we are all building toward our end goals and being fully prepared for the next school year. We really build a “rally cry” and celebrate the successes of everyone. It’s that buy-in that drives each sixth grader to want to do their best in math. Without calling it “competition,” they want to not only meet their goals but to do as well, if not better, than their peers.

When one of Jacob Gregory’s students realized they would both be at the same wrestling event, he created this sign. “Instead of taking a sign for his favorite wrestler, he took the sign you see,” Gregory said. “Always been special to me.”

Your principal has noted your math growth scores. How did you achieve that?

I cannot pinpoint one thing that would be the root of our growth. I’ve always wanted to meet each student exactly where they are academically and build on that. I’ve said it often: Everyone starts a marathon at the same spot, but not everyone runs at the same pace or finishes at the same time. Just like in our class, we all must get to the finish line somehow.

I’ve immersed myself in our Eureka Math program and have been able to become an expert (with still plenty to learn) in where it begins and where it wants our students to finish.

We use a program called Plickers every morning for our spiral review. It is five questions I’ve constructed that allow us to both review previous content and continue to work on current classroom content. I think sixth grade math students have so much to learn over the course of 180 days it becomes very difficult for them to remember what they learned in August to answer a standardized test question in April. Our Plickers allows us to never forget our “old friends” and keep them fresh throughout the year.

You lead an NBA Math Hoops club — can you tell me more about that?

NBA Math Hoops is our math club. It’s a board game and mobile app curriculum that allows students to learn fundamental math skills through basketball using current NBA and WNBA players. Math Hoops improves important math and social-emotional skills.

We recently had the opportunity to take some of our Math Hoops MVPs to a Pacers game and had a great experience. We will be heading to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 15 with our sixth grade to play NBA Math Hoops LIVE with the STEM nonprofit Learn Fresh and Pacers/Fever special guests.

What best describes your teaching method?

Everything has structure, a place, and a purpose in my classroom. There is no wasted motion or opportunities for learning. My students could tell any guest exactly how my class is run and in what order we do things.

What was the hardest moment on the job for you in all of your career – and how did you overcome it? What advice would you give to other teachers facing challenges?

Not finishing our 2020 school year. Period. Nothing else. That group of students I had was very special and will always be dear to my heart because we never got to the finish line together. I feel COVID took something special away from us.

I was once told in a curriculum training that it was “one day, one lesson,” which sounds bad when you think about “What if a student didn’t learn in that lesson?” or “What if there is something we didn’t get to?” But I started to think about that as a whole, and no matter how bad you think that day and that lesson went, there’s always tomorrow and that next lesson.

What part of your job is most difficult?

Keeping my job at my job. I have a tough time detaching from work. My wife gets to hear all the stories, all the successes, the failures, and the struggles.

It has taken 17 years, and I’m sure I still can’t quite grasp it, for me to understand that these are children who are often dealing with adult-type issues. A lot of time, their biggest concern that day is not how to divide fractions or find the surface area of a rectangular prism.

If you could go back in time to your first year of teaching, what would you tell yourself then, knowing what you know now?

“Back To The Future” is my all-time favorite movie, so don’t tempt me with getting in a DeLorean and going 88 miles per hour. I would tell myself: Don’t sweat the little things; there will be strikes and gutters, ups and downs. At the end of the day, if a student learned one new thing, you did your job.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

This Colorado music teacher wants students with disabilities in the spotlight, not on the sidelines

2023-02-21T23:40:44+00:00

One day, when teacher Chad Lemons was observing a high school band practice, a group of students with disabilities stopped by for a few minutes. He realized that was their only exposure to music class.

The moment inspired Lemons, who now teaches music at Mead Elementary School in northern Colorado and previously worked as the band director at Mead High School, to start an inclusive drum group that brings together high school students with intellectual disabilities and typical students who serve as mentors.

It was more than a music class though. Lemons made sure the new Unified Percussion Ensemble got to perform, too — at football games, concerts, and in the community.

“For many students and musicians, [performing] is what makes all of the practicing and rehearsing worthwhile,” he said.

Lemons talked to Chalkbeat about his vision for inclusive music education, his martial arts-based method for teaching the ukulele, and the cherished compliment he got from a student’s grandmother.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

My parents and several of my family members were teachers, so I grew up wanting to be anything but a teacher. I loved being in band in middle school and high school, so I joined the marching band at Colorado State University. I entered college with an interest in communications but found myself spending all of my free time in the music building and looking to add extra music classes. By the end of my first semester of college, I realized I wanted to get into music education and continue to make music an important part of my life.

How did your own school experience influence your approach to teaching?

My band directors were incredible mentors, and I am motivated to do the same with my students. My mentors saw more in me than I ever saw in myself. I try to do the same for my students and let them know what I see in them and how much I believe in them.

Tell us about the unified percussion ensemble you created at Mead High School.

It’s a percussion ensemble for students with intellectual disabilities. The class consists of beginning percussion students from the Exceptional Learning program, and current music students who are peer mentors. In our first year, there were about six students and four mentor students.

When I speak about my journey to increase inclusion in the music classroom, I always mention what I saw missing: the opportunity to perform. The unified ensemble has performed with the Mead High School marching band, jazz band, jazz choir, as well as Guerrilla Fanfare, a local professional New Orleans-style brass band.

I also mention the importance of inclusion, not new exclusion. That’s why I paired the Unified Percussion Ensemble with other musicians for a truly inclusive performance, not simply the unified ensemble performing by themselves.

Regarding the music and choreography, I have designed most of these components myself and am drafting a resource book that outlines everything I’ve found to be successful. This includes seated yoga, creative and safe ways to improve core body strength, and games and lessons that develop coordination, reaction timing, and musicianship.

What are some of your favorite musicians or songs? How do you share them with students?

I love drummer Stanton Moore, so I’ve used a lot of his music in my classroom. While teaching middle school, we analyzed several of his songs. While teaching high school, the jazz band broke into small, student-led groups to learn one of his songs by ear. It was a great opportunity for students to discover new ways to utilize their musical strengths. I’m teaching elementary music this year, and I’ve enjoyed teaching a new Musician of the Month to highlight unique and talented musicians, including singer Mandy Harvey, jazz artist Esperanza Spalding, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, and violinist Lindsey Stirling.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach. Where did the idea come from?

I am really enjoying seeing my second and third graders develop their musicianship in my Uke Jitsu unit. Many of the students are motivated by advancing through the belt levels similar to recorder karate — a method used in many elementary schools to teach recorder. The belt levels are checkpoints with assessments, and each level introduces new notes, rhythms, and musical concepts. Everything around us is designed for instant gratification, and learning an instrument takes patience and perseverance. Through micro-success, more students are committed to the challenge of learning to play ukulele.

I will have 600 students participating in Uke Jitsu this semester, so the belt colors are posted on one of my classroom walls. Each belt has a rope hanging down, and students receive a clothespin to decorate. As they pass a belt-level test, they move their clothespin from one rope to the next.

What is something happening in the community that impacts your students?

The town of Mead and surrounding areas are growing rapidly, and the elementary school is likely to exceed 1,000 students next year. We are maximizing the number of students who have opportunities to sing in the community, participate in our drum club, and work with the middle and high school musicians.

We just launched our drum club for third, fourth, and fifth graders. We had 135 fourth and fifth graders perform the national anthem at a Mead High School football game last semester. We partnered with middle and high school groups to perform at our annual fall festival, and the seventh grade girls choir recorded our new school song.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

I’ll never forget a grandmother who attended one of our jazz band performances at a local restaurant. She was thrilled with the music, but her words about how much the kids engaged and connected with me were the most powerful.

Clint Pulver, author of “I Love It Here,” reminds us that titles such as teacher or principal are given, but to be a mentor, the mentee must choose the mentor and let them into their heart. Students, better than any other, can tell when a teacher is being sincere and truly invested in the learning and the students.

It warms my heart to have students and families describe me as someone who earns student respect and connects with students individually to make my classroom a home and a welcoming place for all.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

I have a 3-year-old son and a 10-month-old daughter, so I’m reading a lot of children’s books these days! “This is Hard But You Can Do It” by Brittny Rogers is one of my favorites. I’m using my commute as a chance to keep up with podcasts. Two I’m loving right now are “Vrain Waves,” as well as the “Vinh and Ali Show.”

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

This preschool teacher has bottomless apron pockets (and other superpowers)

2023-02-16T00:18:50+00:00

Spend an hour with Cheriese Gipson, and you can’t help but get a sense of what she’s like as a preschool teacher.

She starts to explain a favorite lesson about mittens and animals, then pauses, disappears off the Zoom screen, then pops back up with a puppet on her hand to continue the discussion.

After lunch, one of the 4-year-olds returning to Gipson’s classroom pokes her head onto the screen, wanting a hug and a look at whom Gipson is talking to. Speaking in Spanish, Gipson explains that she needs a few more minutes to wrap up the interview.

Asked how her name is spelled, Gipson declares that the public needs to know about letter links, which help preschoolers recognize how individual letters make the same sound in different words. It’s one of her favorite teaching tools. The “g” in Gipson is also used in “gladiolus,” her favorite flower.

“If I’m going to (represent) early education ... you’ve got to at least put letter links ... in there somewhere,” Gipson said.

Teachers like Gipson — experienced, committed to working with preschoolers, and bilingual to boot — are in short supply in Michigan. A yawning pay gap between preschool teachers and their K-3 counterparts has undermined hiring efforts for the Great Start Readiness Program, Michigan’s free, state-funded preschool, threatening Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s ambitious plans to make the program available to every 4-year-old in the state.

In a new budget proposal, Whitmer called for more GSRP funding and a $50 million investment in early educator recruitment and training. If she needed someone to pitch prospective teachers on preschool, she could do a lot worse than Cheriese Gipson.

After teaching other grades, Gipson returned to preschool.

“I like that beginner element,” she said. “I like the groundwork of creating the first school experience.”

Gipson has taught at the Cecil Early Childhood Education Center on the west side of Detroit for seven years. Her classroom is funded by GSRP and the federal Head Start Program. She studied education at Marygrove College in Detroit and received a master’s degree in early childhood education from Oakland University.

Chalkbeat recently spoke with Gipson about her favorite lessons to teach — and the most important ones she’s learned.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Cheriese Gipson

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I think probably at some point in grade school. I thought about being a [medical] practitioner, but I did not like the blood. When I was in high school, I was an exchange student. I got the chance to volunteer in a teaching setting, and I loved it.

Can you talk about how that exchange program impacted your work today?

It was in Central America [Honduras] through an organization called AFS. You spend a year in another country not only being a student but also being a part of the community. You live with someone, and you experience a variety of different things within those countries.

Originally, I didn’t speak the language. But once I was able to communicate more, I could navigate more, and I met people that owned a bilingual school, and I volunteered there.

(Gipson is bilingual in Spanish, a skill she uses every day to communicate with students from Spanish-speaking families.)

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received about teaching, and how have you put it into practice?

Be afraid, and do it anyway. When you start teaching, everything is brand new, every school year is brand new.

Whether it’s the beginning of the week or the beginning of the year, everything has newness to it.

We’ve had a variety of children with disabilities, and the majority have never been in any other school setting before coming to us. We’re some of the first observers and assessment people besides doctors and families who are telling parents what we can help with and what they can do.

Sometimes we go through a lengthy paperwork process to get children [support] and ultimately find the best fit location for them, whether it’s Starfish or somewhere else.

You love the children to the point that you don’t want them to go, but sometimes your classroom is not the best place for them.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

So recently, we did a story — hold on, let me get a glove, and I’ll show you exactly. (Gipson steps off the screen and reappears holding a mitten.)

Our children love listening to stories, but they love more than anything that they get to participate in.

This week, we did an interactive story called “The Mitten” [by Jan Brett]. It’s about a little boy and his grandmother. She made mittens for him, and she said, “Don’t lose your mittens.” (He does lose a mitten, and forest animals use it for shelter.)

We actually created all of the animals in the story and recreated the story for the children. We want them to be able to do the beginning, the middle, and the end of a story. But we also wanted them to have basic skills like cutting paper and being able to do a sequence. And everybody had their own mittens.

We never thought they would enjoy it so much and talk about it throughout the week. Everyone was talking about gloves and mittens because everyone had them in the classroom.

What’s an object in your classroom you can’t live without?

My apron. I have children that give me things every single day, whether it’s toys, something they found, or something they want me to fix.

The children know that I always wear an apron. Some that people have created for me or that I’ve made for myself, or even the aprons that Starfish provides for us.

But it always has at least two or three pockets, and the pockets are always full of something. And children are always adding to that.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I’ve always been a student. I enjoyed school. I felt like it was not only giving me different experiences but also giving me opportunities.

When I’m not working in the summer, I’m always learning something new.

I bring in some of the skill sets I learn to the classroom, whether it’s a musical instrument or things about how to stretch a story like the mitten, or ways to improve the space we’re in.

Koby Levin is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering K-12 schools and early childhood education. Contact Koby at klevin@chalkbeat.org.

‘The person that I needed’: How one Florida counselor guides girls in her home community

2023-02-09T18:00:00+00:00

Sharayne Douglas never expected to become a therapist. Today, she works with teenage girls and their families in South Florida through the Pace Center for Girls — a nonprofit that provides free academic support, counseling, and other services to girls who have experienced trauma, some of whom have struggled with school, social interactions, or had previous involvement in the juvenile justice system.

Douglas’ work takes her to six different schools, where she works closely with students to provide highly individualized support. Her efforts come at a critical time, as the pandemic has intensified mental health challenges among young people — particularly girls.

Counseling wasn’t Douglas’ original plan. As an undergraduate student, she wanted to teach. But the same week she was rejected from a teaching program, she was recruited to a graduate school program that led her to become a counselor.

“I’m a person that believes in fate,” she said. “In my program, I began learning the art of therapy. I came to understand the need for people that looked like me — people from similar backgrounds who have had similar experiences to me — to be able to do this work.”

Though her graduate studies took her away from her home state, Douglas, who has a master’s degree in clinical psychology, has since returned to the community that raised her. And as a former camp counselor, she had long seen the importance of providing younger kids with a trusted mentor who isn’t a parent. Working with kids was a natural fit.

“It’s very cool to be a part of their support system in that way,” she said. “I always knew I wanted to focus on teens and children, and it just worked itself out.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How does your work intersect with schools in supporting the girls you work with?

I like to consider myself a part of the village that is raising these girls. They get familiar with seeing me at their school and at their home. Sometimes at Pace we have the liberty of picking our girls up and going to restaurants, grabbing food, or doing different activities. So they don’t just experience me in one setting, and because they know I’m fluid in how we meet and where we meet, I’m able to be an advocate for them, especially when it comes to school programs.

It really is a support that goes beyond just mental health treatment.

How has the pandemic affected your students and the issues they face?

I saw a big increase in risky internet behavior — not knowing if they’re talking to the right people — and an increase in cyberbullying.

A lot of the work that I’ve done as it pertains to the aftermath of COVID is really helping them understand what qualifies as a healthy relationship and what qualifies as a healthy friendship. In that space, a lot of girls were grabbing for companionship whether it be healthy or not.

I’ve also emphasized being okay with being alone, and what that looks like for them. We were forced to have alone time during the pandemic, but a lot of people were uncomfortable with that. So teaching them where these uncomfortable feelings come from and how we can make time by ourselves a little bit more productive.

What feels different about this school year compared to the last one?

There’s more of an emphasis on mental health challenges, period. It’s something that schools can’t really ignore anymore. A lot of the schools that I go to have their own forms of education set in place, and a lot of my students already know different coping techniques, such as deep breathing.

We’ve had an influx of referrals from different schools and community agencies because they’re understanding that more students could benefit from that one-on-one time.

What advice or strategies do you give students as they’re coping with difficult mental health challenges?

It varies depending on the student. I always like to say that I’m giving them things to put in their toolkits. That can look like going on YouTube and looking at different meditation regimens, different stretching they can do, and ways to distract themselves from intrusive thoughts.

A lot of it starts with psychoeducation — knowing that this is what anxiety is, this is what depression is. These are things that you already know you’re experiencing, but it’s actually been studied, and these are the ways that people are able to combat these different symptoms.

I also give my girls different creative activities. I’m not an art therapist per se, but we definitely have different art prompts. Some girls who don’t really like to draw or express themselves in that way, we do writing exercises. I’ve even had some of my girls create their own dances when they’re feeling anxious in the moment. So I try to utilize their interests and strengths and have them form their own coping techniques based on what makes them feel better.

How did your experiences in school influence the way you approach your work?

I always just try to be the person that I needed as a child.

One of the first schools I ever worked at was my actual elementary school. I remember having a student in fourth grade, and she looked like me when I was in fourth grade. She was getting bullied, and I got bullied in elementary school. A lot of kids that age don’t realize that things will pass; they have a very skewed view of what time is. So I was teaching her affirmations, giving her that hope that things will get better, and being that example, too.

In the therapeutic world, that’s when self-disclosure is helpful to tell them, “Hey, I was literally in your space some odd years ago, and I got past it.” It’s honoring what they’re going through but knowing they can get past it as well.

I’ve had the opportunity to work in my elementary school, my middle school, and my high school because I am from this community. I’m so honored to be able to bring my full self. I get to use the lingo that our girls use, and they understand it. We listen to the same type of music and the same artists. They see me as a real person that is going to help them and teach them, but we have fun as well.

It’s rewarding work in that way.

Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering national issues. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org.

Meet the Chicago educator who is a finalist for Illinois Teacher of the Year

2023-02-03T19:04:39+00:00

A gaggle of fifth graders – members of a rock band at Franklin Fine Arts Center – buzzed with energy as they walked into a second floor classroom holding a large hand-drawn banner. Its message: “Congratulations, Mrs. Gray!”

Magnus Gray, a first grader at the Near North Side School, followed shortly after with a handwritten note on an 8x10 sheet of paper: “Congratulations Mommy.”

The moment late last week brought veteran music teacher Anne Gray to tears, she later recounted to Chalkbeat.

The Chicago Public Schools teacher of more than two decades was among 13 finalists for Illinois Teacher of the Year announced on Thursday. Every year, the State Board of Education awards educators across the state who are making lasting impacts on their school communities.

“I’m in shock,” Gray told Chalkbeat. “I’m just touched, and honored, and grateful. I’m excited for my students and the program to be recognized.”

Franklin Fine Arts Center music teacher Anne Gray was among the 13 finalists for Illinois Teacher of the Year.

Gray joins other educators across the state recognized for their dedication to teaching including Madeline Woods of United Community School District No. 304; Briana Morales of East St. Louis School District 189; Eugene Calingacion of Freeport School District 145; and Amber Jirsa of Batavia PSD 101.

The state also honored nearly 500 educators for their contributions to education across the state.

Gray is still processing the honor, but said it felt validating, especially after the past few years marked by pandemic disruptions.

For the last 18 years, Gray has taught music classes to kindergarten to eighth grade students at Franklin Fine Arts Center, a magnet school on Chicago’s North Side. During that time, she’s expanded her lessons beyond traditional choir classes, teaching students how to play ukuleles and guitars, and currently overseeing five different rock bands at Franklin.

Gray believes all students have musical abilities and that her role is to spark their interests, according to a press release. She realized early on that her students weren’t interested in European classics, so she took summer classes to learn how to teach blues, samba, jazz, and rock.

Gray’s love for music and dedication to her students caught the attention of colleagues who nominated her.

Every student deserves a teacher like Gray, drama teacher Betsy Williams said in a press statement: “Someone who will teach them the skills to find their own talents and then cheer from the audience while they share that talent with the world.”

The Franklin family was extremely proud of Gray and her commitment to developing young artists and teaching literacy through music, Principal Liz Wontor-Leach said.

“It’s no surprise to us that Mrs. Gray is receiving this,” Wontor-Leach said. “We’ve always known she’s amazing.”

Over the years, Wontor-Leach said, Gray has helped put together events and concerts. She also works to make sure there aren’t scheduling conflicts and all fine arts have time during the day and “all kids have access,” she added.

The school also had a few “conferences” with the Department of Fine Arts and gave feedback at a district level. It’s cool to see her interacting and influencing positive change outside of Franklin, Wontor-Leach said.

“Her impact goes beyond Franklin,” she said.

Students in Anne Gray’s fourth grade ukulele class pair up to practice a chord progression at Franklin Fine Arts Center on Chicago’s North Side.

Gray believes the Teacher of the Year honor is further proof that consistent art programming is important for students’ social and emotional learning and is needed in every school.

“I hope some principals can see what can be done if music teachers have regular access to their students,” she said.

Inside Gray’s second floor classroom Thursday, she pulled baritone ukuleles mounted on the wall and tuned them before handing them one by one to her fourth grade students.

She then invited students to warm up for a few minutes before guiding them through the hand placements.

“Make sure you’re in the third fret,” Gray said in a sing-song voice. “Looking good! Very nice hand distinction.”

Students strummed a G chord as she walked around, before asking them to transition to an E minor chord. “Make sure your elbow is a little bit in — a nice curve, a nice C-shape,” she said.

Music teacher Anne Gray helps her student with hand placement on a ukulele before the class practices together.

Her students watched as she steered them through the chord progression, before they tried playing Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are.”

Gray selected a contemporary song that students know because they’ll easily pick up the chords, she said. But she often surveys students to see what songs they like.

“Do we feel good going right away into eight strums?” she asked the fourth graders seated in a row of chairs with ukuleles in hand.

“Yes,” the students said.

“OK,” she responded, holding a ukulele and ready to play along with her students. “Let’s try it.”

Samantha Smylie contributed to this report.

Mauricio Peña is a reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering K-12 schools. Contact Mauricio at mpena@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana’s Milken educator demystifies ‘new math’ and shows students ‘fractions aren’t scary’

2023-01-19T17:29:53+00:00

Fourth grade math teacher Angela Fowler knew well that “new math” frustrated some of her students’ families.

They were confused by the new method of teaching, one that bears little resemblance to how they were taught the subject decades earlier.

Her solution was to host a math night for parents and guardians at Grassy Creek Elementary in Johnson County. There, she gave them the tools and vocabulary they needed to help their children with math concepts at home.

This kind of engagement recently earned Fowler the prestigious Milken Educator Award, which recognizes the accomplishments and potential of early- to mid-career teachers nationwide.

The $25,000 award highlighted Fowler’s work in improving students’ mastery of math skills through small-group instruction and after-school tutoring. It also recognized her extracurricular efforts, such as leading professional development sessions for her colleagues and organizing the schools’ Girls On the Run Club — a program that emphasizes physical activity and self-confidence for girls.

Angela Fowler accepts her award from officials from her school district, the Indiana Department of Education, and the Milken Family Foundation.

Fowler recently spoke to Chalkbeat Indiana about the teachers who inspired her, how she finds “magic in collaboration,” and why she loves to demystify fractions for her students.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

First of all, teaching is in my blood! My mother, aunts, uncle, and sister were or are teachers. As a kid, I can only remember wanting to be a teacher. Also, during my own education, I had many phenomenal teachers who helped mold me into the person I am today. These teachers were present in my life by teaching me academics inside the classroom, but were also there outside of the classroom as athletic and academic coaches. I was inspired by these teachers, and I want to be a transforming teacher to as many students as possible just like they were for me!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

Some of the best advice I have received is that as an educator, you can’t do it all by yourself. In one classroom of 25 students, the diversity of students is so great in regards to academic skills, traumatic experiences, maturity, social skills, abilities, medical needs, culture, language, socioeconomic status, family dynamic, etc. that it is truly impossible to get every child what they need every day on your own. This can be a very defeating feeling, and I am sure that it leads many to change professions. Once you realize that you can’t do it all by yourself, you begin to work with colleagues, and that is where the magic of collaboration lives. You must lean on others and work with others to serve students to the best of our ability each day.

Tell us about the Girls on the Run club and the math night you host.

I had heard of the organization, Girls on the Run, before at other schools and then came to be good friends with some people on the board of the program. After talking with them more about the program, I knew that the students at my school needed this amazing opportunity! I had noticed a decrease in many important life skills in students after the years that the pandemic affected education as we knew it. This program allowed for these life skills to be focused on along with physical activity. It has truly been so wonderful to bring this program to Grassy Creek girls!

Having a math night for parents and guardians is something that I started up this year at my school. I noticed that as my math instruction has changed to a more conceptual approach, parents and guardians were struggling to relate and help their children expand their math knowledge at home using the same vocabulary and techniques to understand the math. There seems to be a lack of understanding with parents and families with the “new math” they are hearing their students talk about, and I wanted to do something to mitigate as much frustration and negative perception of this approach to math as possible. Many parents and guardians do not understand why we have moved to a more conceptual approach, and that is only because they were not taught in this manner and have not been shown the benefits. This night was truly created to help inform parents. We are planning to make this an annual event.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

Over the years I have come to love teaching about fractions. I think that I have grown to love it so much because for many people, the word, “fractions” makes them cringe. I want to be the teacher that demystifies fractions for kids and helps fractions come to life. Fractions aren’t scary at all, and I want kids to come to know and truly understand the concept.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I was very blessed to receive an education from many wonderful teachers growing up. These teachers were not only figures in the classroom, but they were actively involved in the school community as well. School was a positive place for me where I felt supported and loved. This led me to have a great perception of school. I want to be one of those supportive teachers who students want to come to school to see and learn from. I want to be a positive role model in their life and foster strong relationships with students. That is what I center my work on.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

New York’s PE teacher of the year has a big YouTube following for kid fitness videos

2023-01-17T15:01:00+00:00

The short YouTube videos of kid-focused exercise routines and games that Thomas Gelardi would film in his basement after his family went to sleep took off after COVID hit. Within a year, his channel, PhysEdZone, had more than 10,000 subscribers.

Today, Gelardi, who teaches physical education at P.S. 173 in Fresh Meadows, Queens, has more than 20,000 subscribers, and his videos have been viewed more than 4.5 million times.

The inspiration for PhysEdZone came one pre-pandemic day when a school bake sale being held in the gym forced Gelardi to teach in a classroom. The room had a smartboard, so Gelardi searched the internet for follow-along dance videos. Watching the glee on his students’ faces pushed Gelardi to film his own easy-to-follow dance or fitness videos using his iPad and tripod.

“I thought, how fun would it be to dance along with your PE teacher? Just like that the PhysEdZone YouTube channel was created,” said Gelardi, a 16-year veteran teacher who recently won the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 2022 PE teacher of the year award. “As I played the videos, students got a kick out of seeing me on the screen, they were laughing, smiling, and exercising at the same time. It was incredible and motivating.”

He already had about 25 videos on his channel when the pandemic closed schools. He had planned to assign them to students as homework and share them with his colleagues looking for brain breaks for their students. Then COVID hit, and he saw the videos as a way to help his students — and others — find fun ways to stay physically active while learning from home full time.

He knew that many kids wouldn’t have a lot of space or equipment, so he designed challenges to be easily accessible. His goal was to keep kids moving at a time when so many children were more sedentary.

The percentage of obese Americans between the ages of 2 and 19 jumped during the pandemic to 22%, up from 19% before the pandemic, according to a study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looking at data from 2018 through 2020.

“I am genuinely concerned about the amount of exercise and movement children are getting in general,” Gelardi said. “Only a very small number of children get the recommended 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous aerobic activity daily.”

But, he added, “When students see that you love teaching, it’s contagious, and their love for learning grows. Something as simple as exercising with my students, excites them to exercise more.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I was studying exercise science at Manhattan College, playing soccer for their team, while working at a children’s gymnastics studio on the side, running classes and hosting parties. During my time at the gymnastics studio, parents complimented me on how much fun their child had in my class, how their child looks forward to coming and seeing me every week, and how much their child was learning.

As much as it honored me to hear this, I knew this had a lot to do with the fact that I am a big kid at heart. Children feed off my playful energy. I have been told on several occasions that children gravitate toward me when I am around.

So upon graduation, being the typical confused college graduate, I spoke to my Manhattan College career counselor Dr. Shawn Ladda. We discussed my job at the time, and that is when the lightbulb went off, and Dr. Ladda said elementary physical education! You can combine your passion and your talent for your career!

Tell me more about the inspiration for your YouTube channel and how it became so popular.

I decided to share these videos with other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to offer new activities to fellow teachers who were in the same boat, trying to navigate this new norm of [remote] teaching.

Since we needed to bring PE to our students’ homes, I knew they may not have the equipment and space that we have in our schools. Some may have a basketball and not a soccer ball or some may have a big living room while others may have a small one. So with this in mind, I brainstormed and created standards based on at-home “PE minute-to-win-it” challenges using homemade equipment and using my basement space to show how these activities can be performed in small spaces. In doing so, this made the activities accessible to all.

Each challenge combines cardiovascular fitness exercises with gross motor skill development. As I began to share these videos on my channel, PE teachers from across the country were using them for their students. I went from just teaching my students at PS 173 to teaching children around the world.

What’s your most popular video and why do you think it resonated with so many people?

My most popular video is a Fitness/Dance workout to the Kidz Pop song called “Dance Monkey” with over 286,000 views. My students love the song. We worked together to create the dance steps and exercise movements.

When I shared the video with my students, they kept asking to replay it again over and over. Having them collaborate with me on it, I think, gives them a special connection to the song and video. Being that they loved it so much, I knew it was going to be a hit when I shared it with the world. The key is to keep the movements simple and dance with a ton of energy and enthusiasm.

I also saw that you’re on TikTok. What’s your experience on that platform been like?

After seeing how I was able to assist fellow PE teachers during COVID on YouTube, I found that I can use TikTok to inspire future PE professionals as well as first-year PE teachers.

Due to the pandemic, many young professionals didn’t receive in-person student teaching [and] mentoring experiences because everything was virtual. There is a big void that I felt I could help fill. On TikTok, I share an abundance of information — from PE games, PE hacks, to advice on time and behavior management.

The most important part of each video is my delivery of the content. I explain and demonstrate each activity as if I were teaching it to my students. In doing so, teachers can understand how to explain and demo it to their own classes.

Are you concerned about the amount of exercise and movement your students get?

I know for myself and fellow PE teachers, when we ask students what they are doing after school, the most common answers are: going on the computer, doing homework, watching TV, and playing video games. Sports and exercise come last on their priority list, which makes teaching them the importance of physical activity a challenge. It is a challenge that I am up for.

I love exposing my students to as many different physical activities as I can in a school year. The more exposure, the more chance there is that a student can find passion in something. That passion can drive my students into a lifetime of healthy habits like eating right and exercise.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

COVID is still affecting my community and school. Many students are either out on quarantine or still participating in PE class with a mask on. Creating my YouTube channel with at-home challenges and dance/fitness workouts has been very helpful in getting my students to exercise at home and mask-free!

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

It was the teachers that treated me with kindness, compassion, and respect that I remembered. The ones who made learning enjoyable and fun.

When students see that you love teaching, love their company, and are having fun, it’s contagious, and their love for learning grows. Teachers are role models. My students want to be like me, and I take pride in that. I often ride my bike to school wearing my safety helmet to motivate students to do the same. It is a great position to be in.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

After Jan. 6, this Chicago social studies teacher dug into media literacy and misinformation

2023-01-06T02:17:34+00:00

On Jan. 6 two years ago, students in social studies teacher Anne-Michele Boyle’s virtual class urged her to turn on the news.

Boyle had been teaching at Whitney Young Magnet High School for 15 years. She’d created the school’s Global Citizenship class. But after watching the live footage of the U.S. Capitol insurrection in disbelief, Boyle found herself rethinking her approach to the class.

She scrapped her lesson plans for February and spent the entire month focused on media literacy. Among her goals: to help her juniors and seniors discern fact from fiction, identify credible sources of news, and spot misleading information. Before Jan. 6, 2021, she had devoted two days or less of her course to media literacy. Since then, she has dedicated a full five weeks to critically examining this era’s barrage of misinformation, comparing it to quality journalism and news posted on TikTok. Using Boyle’s lessons, her students have been able to talk family members and friends out of spreading conspiracy theories on- and offline.

This past fall, a first-of-its-kind Illinois law requiring all high schools to teach students about media literacy went into effect. Groups such as the Illinois Media Literacy Coalition — a collective of educators, librarians, academics, and others — rallied to help schools with the rollout of the law, which gives educators a lot of flexibility about what and how much to teach and includes no resources for professional development.

Chalkbeat spoke with Boyle about finding resources for teaching the topic and making it relevant to students.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How long have you taught your Global Citizenship course, and how much of it did you devote to media literacy before Jan. 6, 2021?

I developed the course Global Citizenship/Local Citizenship in 2017 because nothing like it existed at my school or other Chicago Public Schools. Now any school in my district can choose to offer it. Global Citizenship is a current events-focused course that challenges students to embrace their roles as global citizens and local citizens by exploring topics such as poverty, hunger, climate change, global health, fair labor, ethical consumption, media literacy, equity, sustainability, and responsibility. Throughout the year, students research, study, analyze, and assess how well we as a global community and local community are doing to reach the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Every unit features an expert speaker and a service-learning or justice-oriented activity. Prior to Jan. 6, 2021, I devoted one-and-a-half to two days teaching media literacy. Today, my students and I spend five weeks learning media literacy skills and exploring the role media plays in a strong democracy.

You got to watch the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol unfold with your students. What do you remember most vividly from that experience?

Yes, I was teaching remotely from my house. My three kids were learning a wall away from me in the kitchen and living room while I was virtually with my Global Citizenship students. It was toward the end of the class period, and I was in the midst of speaking to my students about something when students started dropping in the chat box that we all needed to open up some news sites. Then one of my students turned on her mic and said that “something big” was happening at the Capitol. Class ended briefly after that. I spent the rest of the day on my couch watching various news broadcasts and reading everything posted by The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

How did your approach to teaching media literacy change in response to the insurrection and its aftermath?

During the afternoon of January 6, 2021, as I watched with horror the live news coverage of the insurrection at the Capitol, I realized that the two measly days I used to spend teaching media literacy skills needed to be overhauled and greatly expanded. I scraped my lesson plans for February, cobbled together resources, and spent the whole month of February 2021 teaching media literacy skills.

The fact that 2,000 people stormed the Capitol to prevent a peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Biden because they believed in their heart of hearts that the election was stolen illustrated to me how fragile our democracy is, how dangerous misinformation can be, and the absolute need to make Americans more educated about consuming media.

How did your students engage with the more extensive media literacy unit you taught last year? What feedback did you get?

They were grateful to learn specific skills such as lateral reading and reverse image look-ups, but they also really enjoyed the fruitful dialogues that developed after exploring resources such as Reporters Without Borders. These conversations led to further discussions on the role of a free press, a media-literate public, free and fair elections, and, overall, what it means to have a strong democracy. These discussions were heartfelt and passionate, and they made me grateful for my career as a teacher.

What was a highlight of exploring media literacy more in-depth with your students last year?

We wrapped up our unit with a “Civically Engaged Media Literacy Service Learning Project.” Students reviewed everything that we had learned and created their own project to teach others. Some students created public art installations to inspire change in how people consume their news or educate on a media literacy issue. A number of students taught family members media literacy skills in fun, family party settings that resulted in real change. Students documented their work from the planning process, through the execution stage, to results and final assessments. Students presented it to our class to wrap up the unit. Many of the students that taught family members remarked on how the fun atmosphere and game-like nature of their teaching resulted in a number of older family members realizing that some of their reposts on Facebook perhaps weren’t actually true. The non-confrontational approach resulted in real change, including less misinformation spreading in the future.

Starting this year, a new law in Illinois requires schools to teach media literacy. Did that law influence how you and your school approach the subject? What’s your best advice for educators who are tackling a media literacy unit for the first time?

I love that this new law went into effect and am proud of the state of Illinois for passing this law. I was already teaching media literacy, so it has not impacted how I approach teaching it.

My advice to fellow educators: Use the resources that are already available. An incredible benefit of teaching in 2023 is the vast array of free, quality resources. The News Literacy Project is a great resource. Their Checkology lessons are easy to use, engaging and succinct. As a teacher, you can pick and choose what you utilize. The Stanford History Education Group also provides a treasure trove of resources to help you teach media literacy. The Pulitzer Center is my go-to resource for all issues that I am teaching, including media literacy. Also, I am happy to share all of the lessons and activities that I have created.

You won a fellowship through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program to support your efforts to improve media literacy. How is that fellowship helping you reach that goal?

As part of the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, I was required to develop a unit from start to finish. This was an easy decision for me to make. I spent September through December of 2021 creating, developing, and editing my media literacy unit plan. My Fulbright instructor provided me with regular feedback. As part of our Fulbright coursework, my cohort members and I were required to peer grade our unit plans as well, further improving our unit plan development. The unit went swimmingly last year, and I couldn’t be more excited to teach it in 2023.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Constellation cookies and milkweed for monarchs: This Colorado teacher connects science to everyday life

2023-01-02T17:00:00+00:00

Decorating cookies with constellations, talking with scientists on biweekly video calls, and visiting a local nursery to select plants for an outdoor classroom.

These are just a few of the activities Stacy Wolff does with students as a science resource teacher at Flagstaff Academy, a charter school in Longmont. Part of her goal is to create memorable hands-on science lessons that engage kids the way churning butter, studying pond life, and practicing bird calls enriched her own school experience.

Wolff’s lessons don’t unfold during class time alone though. Five years ago, she helped form a club called the Green Team after students came to her with concerns about Flagstaff’s recycling program. Since then, she said, the group “has transformed our school,” revamping the recycling program and launching an effort to reduce food waste in the lunchroom, among other things.

Wolff was one of two teachers recently named an Outstanding Environmental Educator by the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. She talked to Chalkbeat about how she teaches students about planetary orbits, what question launched the school’s “Marsketeers” club, and why she changed her approach to science fair projects.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

There wasn’t as much of a moment when I decided to become a teacher, but a movement over time. My love of animals, nature, and science took hold when I was a young girl so it seemed to be a logical next step to obtain a degree in wildlife conservation.

After graduation, I alternated between avian research, science education, and outdoor education positions. While I loved all of my work, I wanted to focus on science education: inspiring students to become lifelong learners, better understand the natural world, engage in their community, and get excited about science.

How did your own school experience influence your approach to teaching?

My most memorable experiences in school were hands-on and inquiry based. I remember learning about phase changes of matter by making butter from scratch in second grade, doing a pond study in the forest adjacent to my middle school, and going on field trips for geology and ecology class in high school. In college, I learned the most — and had the most fun — from labs and field research. I fondly remember listening to tapes of bird calls in the library and then the satisfaction of identifying them in the wild.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach. Where did the idea come from?

My favorite astronomy lesson was developed by Mike Zawaski and Cherilynn Morrow. In the Kinesthetic Astronomy lesson, students create a scale model of the Earth and sun, and learn about the motions of the Earth in relation to the sun. Students take on the role of being Earth, and once students learn how to rotate and orbit around a model sun, they can then learn to answer many astronomy questions using their bodies. They can discover answers to questions like, “Why does the full moon rise at sunset?” “Why do we see different stars at different times of year?” and “Why does the sun rise in the east and set in the west?”

You helped create a food rescue table in the cafeteria. How does it work?

The food rescue table was created to reduce food waste and address food insecurity in our school community. Our Green Team students and staff advisers worked with district lunch personnel to be certain we are following USDA guidelines and collaborated with our paraprofessionals to decide how to best collect food during lunch periods..

If a student finishes their lunch, they can ask permission to visit the food rescue table and if there is food or drink available, that student can take it. At the end of the lunch period, students add certain leftovers from the school lunch to the table. These foods include whole fruit and unopened items like milk, yogurt, cheese sticks, cookies and juice. Our amazing district lunch staff checks the temperature in a cooler throughout the day. At the end of the last lunch period, the bins get placed on a shelf so that students can access leftovers for snacks that afternoon and the following morning.

Tell us about the Green Team and the Marsketeers Club at your school.

Five years ago, three students asked to meet after noticing recycling was not being disposed of properly. They wanted to create a solution to this problem so we formed The Green Team. This student-led group has transformed our school. Through guidance from our district’s school wellness coordinator and Eco-Cycle, plus grants from the Colorado Department of Education and our Parent-Teacher Organization, we created the food rescue table, revamped our recycling program, and built an outdoor classroom.

The Marsketeers Club began after a fifth grade student asked me during our astronomy unit why he couldn’t view Mars at that time. I asked the student how he might figure it out. After brainstorming a number of possibilities he decided to ask a scientist. After that conversation, we created the Marsketeers Club to help students learn about Mars, the search for life, and how scientists learn to ask good questions. Each biweekly Zoom meeting is facilitated by myself and Dr. Mike Zawaski, a scientist with the Mars 2020 mission and Texas A&M University. We begin each meeting with a presentation by Dr. Zawaski or another scientist friend of his. We focus on recent Mars discoveries or other exciting Earth and space science missions, and then the 15 to 20 students ask questions.

What is something happening in the community that impacts your students?

Something that is always happening in the community is change. Kids frequently come to me with stories of new discoveries and questions about their world. One of our big topics in second grade is monarch butterflies and their journey through Colorado. Students have made the connection that every action can have a positive or negative impact and that there can be many perspectives to any given situation, such as the decision to use pesticides. Our students have begun to realize they can conserve monarch butterflies by planting milkweed seeds and other flowering plants for all the life stages of the monarch, and this, in turn, will help create a balanced ecosystem for our human and non-human communities.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

When I began my teaching career at Flagstaff Academy, students in third through fifth grade participated in a science, technology, engineering and math fair. I inherited the traditional way of facilitating the program in which students chose a topic and completed their project at home. After my first year of teaching, I realized that this approach created stress for students and their families. I surveyed my students and created a focus group of parents and our principal, confirming my prediction that students did not feel prepared to conduct an entire experiment themselves and that many parents did a lot of the work.

As a result, I revamped the STEM fair to include classroom activities where students planned and potentially began their experiments. I provided guidance, used graphic organizers, and a timeline of milestones. From this, students had the background to do more of the work themselves, get input from their peers, and the confidence to successfully complete their project.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

“Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard,” by Douglas Tallamy, and “A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds,” by Scott Weidensaul.

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

Meet 10 inspiring educators from Chalkbeat’s 2022 coverage

2022-12-28T14:55:00+00:00

Over the past year, Chalkbeat has shared stories from dozens of teachers, principals, and educators sharing what motivates them and what it’s like to be an educator in America today.

One teacher pushes her students not to despair, but to act in the face of climate change. Another discussed the importance of showing up to school after a student’s death. And a principal talked about what it was like to inspire former students to become teachers — she recruited four of them to work at her school.

These are just a few of the thousands of educators making a difference in U.S. schools. After you’ve met these 10, we invite you to read more from our pages.

She shows students how to fight climate change locally

New York City teacher Sarah Slack’s award-winning career as a science educator began with a desire to share accurate information about the world with students, such as the fact that Pluto has not, thus far, exploded.

Over 14 years in middle school classrooms, Slack has learned to draw on students’ passion for their communities. To teach about the climate crisis, she shows students that they don’t have to save the whole world right away. They can begin by working to save their neighborhoods.

She helps her students gain media literacy

Tara Cocanower wants her world studies students to have a diverse diet of news media and cite evidence for their opinions about current events. And she wants all of it discussed in a respectful way.

The 2023 Indiana Teacher of the Year, whose approach to teaching is inspired by her grandmother Phyllis’ emphasis on humility, is also a voracious reader whose historical interests stretch from ancient Egypt to World War I. And she doesn’t want her lessons to be confined to her classroom walls.

“I love hearing that what I’m teaching overflows from the classroom to the dinner tables, couches, and patios of my students,” she said.

A principal’s ex-students can’t stay away

Marla Travis, the principal of West Philadelphia High School, calls four of her teachers “my children.” They’re not literally her offspring, but she’s got a good reason for using that phrase: Jean-Claude Forte, Yaseemah Foster, Robert Green, and Brittney Smith all used to be students of hers at a different Philadelphia high school.

While they took different paths into the teaching profession, all four talked about Travis’ influence and what it’s like to work for her now. And two of them said they are studying to become principals one day.

He fell in love with teaching while incarcerated

Ryan M. Moser was less than thrilled he entered the Florida Department of Corrections and a classification officer assigned him the role of teaching assistant. But he became dedicated to the work, helped fellow inmates earn their GEDs, and learned to become a mentor in the process.

Moser, who says he “hated school” as a student, also learned about prison bureaucracies and the inequities he and his peers faced. Eventually, his cynicism transformed into pride in his students’ curiosity and successes.

She wants more students to read Native authors

When it comes to depictions of Indigenous peoples and nations that today’s adults might remember fondly from childhood books, Dr. Debbie Reese has some basic advice: Let go of them.

Reese has written extensively about the harm that such stereotypical presentations — from “Little House on the Prairie” to university mascots — can do. She’s also advocated for students and teachers to read more books by Native authors.

He inspires students of color to new heights

Colorado science teacher Eddie Taylor came to teaching the same way he came to summit Mount Everest: through serendipity.

Taylor sees other parallels between the teaching profession and the world of outdoor sports, such as a lack of diversity. Taylor, who is Black, said he thinks that just like his (ultimately successful) quest to climb the world’s highest mountain, his lessons and his presence in the classroom inspire his students, including students of color.

“Sometimes that kid’s just going to connect with that person a little better,” he says.

His healing music earned a Grammy nomination

When the pandemic shut down schools in 2020, Chicago music teacher Trevor Nicholas drew on his childhood experience and composed songs for his students. His belief in the “healing power of music” ultimately led to a Grammy nomination for his work.

Nicholas has also helped raise more than $300,000 in grants, donations, and free music lessons for Chicago Public Schools students. “As a teacher, I give my students space to work individually, to jam out, and have some fun,” he says.

Tennessee teacher faced grief and found hope

During his career in Memphis schools, veteran math teacher Adrian Hampton has many fond memories, like the time he and his students met President Barack Obama at commencement. But one day before a scheduled interview with Chalkbeat, one of his students, Damien Smith, Jr., was shot and killed. At the time, police said 23 children in Memphis had died by homicide during the 2021-22 school year.

An emotional Hampton discussed how he and others deal with gun violence’s impact on schools, why he showed up to work instead of taking the day off after his student’s death, and what gives him hope.

Why one teacher tells students to ‘trust your pen’

English teacher Talena Lachelle Queen infuses poetry into her writing lessons in Paterson, New Jersey, to help students learn about their creativity. And her favorite lesson is what she calls the “science of writing,” in which she creates parallels between math instruction and essay writing so that students can better understand how to express themselves powerfully.

Queen, who previously worked in broadcast journalism and ran a preschool and day care before becoming a teacher, also says that praise even for seemingly trivial things is a big help. “Love creates sincere feelings of safety. It prompts scholars to confide in me and want to get higher grades because they know they are valuable,” she says.

A mother’s journey inspires an adult education career

Christian Young’s mother dropped out of school when she was 17. Yet she didn’t give up on education, and went on to get her GED, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and finally her doctorate.

That experience inspires Young’s work in Michigan, where in March he was named the Adult Educator of the Year by the Michigan Reading Association. Most of his students are parents, and he empowers them to get involved in their children’s schools to share their important perspectives as adult learners.

Teachers are leaders. Each one of us makes an impact in the classroom and society.

2022-12-22T14:00:00+00:00

Dr. Kem Smith reflects on the first six months of her advice column.

In graduate school, I was taught that teachers are leaders.

We are leaders because we can influence society from our classrooms, and use our voices in our school buildings, districts, and the community to effect change.

I believe strongly in that sentiment because I enjoy the autonomy of teaching and the impact we can make.

When I became a teacher, I was discouraged because I knew I could be the best teacher-leader on the planet and those who could change the trajectory of my career would never know about my capabilities unless I volunteered to serve on unpaid committees and took on curriculum writing projects.

Every activity that leads a teacher to promotion pulls her away from what she loves to do most: teach.

I have recently applied for several leadership positions in my district and surrounding communities. I have been passed over every time. I’m told it’s because I don’t have enough leadership experience.

I was also told, after working in the same district for 17 years, that no one knows who I am or what I do for students. I can’t lie about how discouraging these experiences have been. I know I am a leader. I have been part of a support system for thousands of students.

Writing this column has helped me to see that being a “teacher leader” is more than a buzzword. It has shown me that my knowledge matters. There is nothing wrong with teachers and teaching. But there is a larger issue around how we are treated, and the structure of a job that consumes your life without validating the work you do.

This column has been my validation.

Looking back over the last six months since “After the Bell” launched…

The hardest question to address was the one from Needing New Standards. The learning loss teachers and students are experiencing has no easy fix. We cannot keep teaching as if the last three years haven’t happened.

District and school-level leadership have to understand student needs (emotional, developmental, and physical), and build relationships to get students the support they need. Time and swift action are the only remedies. So far, I feel we have been unsuccessful.

When it feels like we teachers are failing children, it can make us want to walk away from the profession. No one wants to let children down.

My favorite question was submitted by Curious for Conversation. More needs to be said about classrooms being safer places for all humans, especially those who historically have been marginalized.

Bias can inhibit a teacher’s ability to effectively carry out our mission to educate. The cultural awareness conversation has to begin with ourselves before we can approach students.

When Five Jobs In One wrote in, I was surprised by how honestly I was able to answer. Experience has taught me that the general public wants to hear how much we love our jobs specifically because we are responsible for their children’s education. I’ll find myself in conversations with friends and acquaintances who say, “I couldn’t do what you do but at least you get summers off.”

It’s not all sweet tea and summer vacation days. The daily life of a teacher can feel like post-tsunami survival.

What’s next for teachers is clouded with uncertainty.

There are teachers who are committed to public education and those who are ticking down until retirement. Experts see how education can be done better; however, teachers, students, and parents often feel they don’t have a voice. School leadership sends us surveys and asks for feedback, but the problems feel bigger than building and district-level. The problems seem nationwide.

I see a continued push toward technology.

Teachers will need to know more than their subjects. They have to become tech experts.

Software companies are making moves to address the teacher shortage with online tutoring and live reading, writing, and math help. Online and virtual learning has opened avenues for teachers who want the freedom to choose their schedules. There will be a shift from traditional in-person education to web-based learning. No one knows yet if these changes will be good or bad.

Regardless of what’s next for our industry, the work continues right now. The stretch toward the holiday break makes me feel both excited and rushed. About 10% of my students will graduate in January. I have more content to cover than time to cover it.

I want teachers to know there is still hope for people who want to find success in this career. The challenges they face have answers. I won’t betray their trust or belittle them when they have a question. As teachers, we can be honest and open with each other. We can talk one teacher to another.

Thank you for reading, listening, asking questions, and being a part of the “After the Bell” community these past six months. “After the Bell” will be taking a small break.

Dr. Kem Smith is Chalkbeat’s first advice columnist. She is a full-time 12th-grade English teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. If you have a rebuttal or additional comments you’d like to share, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

How do I set up a comfortable classroom to meet students’ needs as well as my own?

2022-12-15T14:00:00+00:00

Two teachers seek help in setting up their classrooms.

I really want my students to feel comfortable and safe in my classroom. Do you have any ideas for how to decorate to convey that message? I teach middle school. — Cozy Classroom

Cozy Classroom,

Welcome to the part of teaching that requires you to have a thorough understanding of interior design with a touch of Feng Shui.

Middle grade students change from minute to minute. At 9 a.m., they’re nostalgic for the good old days of elementary school. By 9:05 a.m., they want to be in high school so they can “do whatever they want.” Your classroom should reflect ways to foster their independence while supporting your rules and procedures.

Take care of required items first:

Bathroom procedures - Do you have a sign-out sheet, or electronic or print passes? Do you require permission or can they just leave?
Classroom supplies - Do students know how to get pencils, paper, highlighters, scissors, and extra chargers?
Cell phone storage and chargers
Books and classroom libraries
Period products
First aid supplies
Games and puzzles (especially Monopoly, Jenga, Uno, Phase 10, and Taboo).

A great thing to have for your classroom is alternative seating. When I taught middle school, I scoured thrift stores and marketplaces for couches and chairs. I invested in rugs and pillows. I created classroom centers and allowed students, as an incentive, to work on assignments in these designated areas.

When decorating wall spaces and boards, it’s important to strike a balance between district-required bulletins and posters and items that show your personality as a teacher.

Don’t be afraid to hang art and curtains. My classroom looks like an art museum since painting is my hobby. It’s a great conversation starter because students want to know who’s the artist and the inspiration behind my work. Search “classroom decor” on YouTube for inspiration.

Cozy Classroom, create a space where you won’t have to stop instruction to help a student locate the tools they need to be successful.

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

What are some of your must-have items to keep in a classroom or personal bag? Not school supplies, more like “I’m a human who spends 8-10 hours a day here” supplies. — Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins,

Here are the items I can’t live without:

Coat closet. Where I live, we experience all four seasons. Sometimes in one week. Our HVAC system can’t keep up with the climate changes. One of my pet peeves is that many high school classrooms don’t come with coat closets. Life has taught me to prepare a place to keep many changes of clothes. At work, I have a sweater and a place to hang my coats and jackets.

Comfortable shoes. Teachers everywhere need to be prepared with shoes that allow them to stand on their feet for extended periods of time. I wear tennis shoes daily because we have vinyl composition tile over concrete floors that can put a strain on your back and knees. Students may tease you about wearing tennis shoes, but your overall long-term health is important.

Lotion. You will become a hero on cold days if you have plenty of lotion. Students will come from miles around to slather on moisturizing lotion. You’ll find that your supplies dwindle quickly, so tuck away a bottle for yourself.

Essential oil diffuser. We aren’t allowed to burn candles or other scented items. I understand the fire hazard. The problem I have with this rule is I always have crowded classrooms with students who are still learning personal hygiene. I recommend every teacher use a fragrance source. My personal preference, which also seems to be the safest, is oils for diffusers.

Healthy snacks. The snack machine in the teachers’ lounge is not your friend; pack your own favorites.

A lockbox. My school was built in the 1970s. There is an open-concept design which was supposed to allow for cooperative work between classes. An unfortunate outcome with this flexible workspace is that it eliminates privacy and security. If your building’s design does not include a locked facility for your personal items, bring your own.

A planner. Online planners are nice but there’s nothing like an old-school teacher planning book. These books really help you visualize your plans and keep you on track.

Finally, purchase a journal. It’s a treat to go back and read over your thoughts from year-to-year as you grow as an educator.

Dr. Kem Smith is Chalkbeat’s first advice columnist. She is a full-time 12th-grade English teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. Submit your question to Dr. Kem via this submission form, and subscribe to How I Teach to receive her column in your inbox.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Cozy Classroom or Mary Poppins, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

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Let go of your favorites: This educator urges critical thought about how books depict Native peoples

2022-12-14T21:04:41+00:00

Long before Dr. Debbie Reese earned her teaching degree at the University of New Mexico, she developed a love for educating others.

“I was one of those people who liked school so much when I was a kid that I would go home and make my siblings be my students,” said Reese, tribally enrolled at Nambé Owingeh and the founder of American Indians in Children’s Literature. “When I was in high school, I would ditch school, basically, and go to the Head Start and help the teachers there.”

A former classroom educator and university professor, Reese has written extensively about depictions of Native peoples in children’s books and co-edits a blog on the topic. In 2018, the American Library Association selected her to deliver the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture, which recognizes career contributions to children’s literature.

Reese spoke with Chalkbeat about her experiences as an educator, what sparked her interest in children’s books, and why it’s critical that schools do a better job educating their students about the more than 500 federally recognized Native nations in the United States.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did your experiences in education influence your approach to teaching?

I didn’t have any teachers who were critical of content in the ways that I am, so it’s not something I got from any of them. That awareness came as an adult when I started being in certain spaces that were completely ignorant of who we are and seeing that ignorance was based on romantic and stereotypical ideas that came from children’s books and mascots.

An awareness of how powerful stereotyping is became crystalized for me in my 30s when I started graduate school at the University of Illinois, where I got my Ph.D. That school had a mascot, which I was told about before I went there, and I thought, “Pfft, those don’t mean much.” But I got there and like, holy crap, people there really believed that was a good image of Native people. I went to the University of Illinois to study family literacy. This love of the mascot led me to think, “OK, so what’s going on in children’s storytelling that is feeding the love of this stereotypical mascot?”

I started paging through children’s books and seeing the ones that my daughter was finding at school and others that are just out there. I saw lots of it. Things like Grizzly Bob dressed up just like that mascot in “The Berenstain Bears Go to Camp.” I saw Clifford the Big Red Dog dressed up like an Indian as an option for his Halloween costume in “Clifford’s Halloween.” So I started to see just how much of that was out there.

When people [in Illinois] learned that I was part of that community, I would get invitations to come to this or that place. They wanted me to come and dance, and I would tell them, “No, we dance for spiritual purposes or at certain times of the year. I don’t dance for performance.” They would say, “Well, can you come and tell us a story,” and I would say, “No, I’m not a storyteller. I’m an educator. I’d be glad to come and talk to you about my own Pueblo Indian culture, history, all of that.” They didn’t want that. It was like, “Oh, well thank you, but no.”

What advice would you give teachers who want to do a better job of incorporating Native books into the classroom?

You must let go of your childhood favorites because the nostalgic embrace that you have for them is getting in the way of being able to do a better job. So many people feel like, “Oh, but ‘Little House on the Prairie.’” What I have found is that people will try to do both. They will try to use a problematic book and a book by a Native person, but then books by Native people aren’t seen as real, because the Native image doesn’t match the stereotype in that nostalgic book.

Dr. Debbie Reese, a former classroom educator and university professor, is the founder of American Indians in Children’s Literature.

What happens when Native stories aren’t told in the classroom? What impact does that have on Native students, who may feel that they are not being represented?

Or being misrepresented — I think that’s what we have most of all, because of those award-winning classic children’s books that get used in classrooms. Like “Arrow to the Sun.” It’s supposed to be a Pueblo Indian story, but it’s not. It’s a white fiction written by a white writer, who created what some think is pretty art, and that gets used in school classrooms to teach about Pueblo people, and it doesn’t.

So if you’re a Pueblo kid, and your teacher is reading that book to you, then you know that a kiva is not a scary place where you fight bees and all kinds of monsters, it’s a place of education. For that period of time, you’re listening to a teacher teach a book that has information in it that you know is wrong. So what do they do with that? I don’t think any little kid is actually able to articulate that or process it.

The data shows that Native kids don’t perform on testing as well as non-Native kids; that our kids drop out of school at higher rates than others; that Native people have higher suicide rates than others. I think this is all kind of a drip, drip, drip thing that our kids — or any kids whose people are misrepresented — deal with all the time. We don’t have very many counters to that.

These new books that are coming out do counter that, but teachers have to embrace them.

What happens when non-Native students only learn about Native Nations and peoples from books that perpetuate stereotypes?

They shouldn’t be using those books at all because they’re wrong, and these are educational spaces where parents are trusting a teacher to do right by their kids — whether that’s a Native kid or not. So Native kids are sitting there having to deal with this nonsense, and a non-Native kid is absorbing and regurgitating that information. For the non-Native kids who grow up to become book editors or maybe senators in the United States halls of power, they’re making decisions based on misinformation they got from childhood.

The ramifications for the harm done by these books are way greater than we know.

Do you have any favorite authors or books that you recommend to students or teachers?

I’m not going to answer that question because there are too many and I want teachers to explore all of them. I’m really pushing for teachers to understand how badly we were all educated about who Native peoples are, and so that means you really have to get to know many writers and what tribe they are from.

When you’re thinking about a Native writer — now here I’m going to say Eric Gansworth — when you’re using a book by Eric Gansworth, you can say, “Eric is a member of the Onondaga Nation. Here is Eric’s website.” Or I could do that same thing with any of the books — with Cynthia Leitich Smith, with Sharice [Davids], who has her biography out recently.

The key point is getting to know the author’s name and that author’s nation. And using the word “is” instead of “was.” Every time you’re talking about that author and that book, because teachers by default, everybody goes to “we were,” past tense. That has to fall by the wayside too. It has to be present tense. We can do that with Native books by Native writers.

Is there anything we haven’t talked about yet that you want to add?

People like to defend certain books, like “Little House on the Prairie,” by saying, “Well that’s what they thought back then,” implying that everybody was ignorant and racist at that time and everybody thought the same. That’s just not true. That’s an empty defense of a problematic book. For sure, during the time that series was set, and the time that it was published, not everybody thought that. Native people didn’t think they were savages.

The other thing is, I’m not doing any public speaking hardly at all because of COVID, but almost always, somebody in the audience will say, “Well, why can’t non-Native writers write these books? You’re trying to censor.” No, I’m not trying to censor. I’m trying to help you understand that Native people bring insights to this body of work that non-Native people don’t have access to. I get tired of that question. I get tired of people saying, “Well, why can’t a white writer do this?” Because the fact is, white writers do. They do it all the time. They continue to do it, and the books that they did 30 years ago continue to be used in classrooms today.

It’s not that they can’t. It’s a question of where we are in terms of today’s society, what we’re thinking about, what is appropriate, and what is best.

And what is best is Native books by Native writers.

Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering national issues. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org.

This Newark social worker’s early struggle with anxiety led her to help other students

2022-12-14T20:54:34+00:00

As a teenager, Sheyla Riaz faced depression and anxiety. But it wasn’t until a writing assignment for an English class that she was able to share her struggles — and that moment changed her life.

Riaz’s teacher connected her with a school counselor and that opened doors to other helpful resources in school and her community, she said. This experience inspired her to pursue a career as a school social worker. Today, she’s the social work director for KIPP NJ schools.

“We spend a good chunk of our lives in a school setting, and so it is imperative that schools be equipped and resourced to support not just with math and English language arts, but with everything else that comes with being a kid and teenager,” Riaz told Chalkbeat.

She counts herself lucky, she added, to have had access to school-based and community mental health resources as a child. Now, she advocates for supporting students across Newark’s 14 KIPP charter schools, where she manages mental health programming.

Riaz recently spoke to Chalkbeat about her work overseeing 32 school social workers, how her team confronts the stigma around mental health, and the advice she gives to students coping with difficult times.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What led you to the field of social work?

From a young age, I was a helper and learned the value of listening to others when it came to figuring out what to help with. My mother would share stories about her upbringing, and I would sit there for hours just listening to these experiences and taking in her learnings and wisdom. It was fascinating. The drive toward the mental health field really took shape in middle and high school when I experienced my own struggles with depression and anxiety. I was fortunate to be surrounded by a supportive village that connected me with social workers and resources that helped me overcome those difficult times. Now, I get to be part of supportive villages that are helping kids and families overcome their difficult times.

What does a typical day look like for you? What do you look forward to the most?

My days are filled with team and community meetings, data review, progress monitoring, and program planning — very different from the days of direct work with students but just as rewarding. I meet with social workers across our 14 K-12 schools, and we talk through items such as implementation, efficacy, and progress of student support plans. We assess data to determine the most appropriate counseling interventions, we celebrate wins, we check in on community and self-care, we manage crises, we plan for school-wide events centering mental health, and the list goes on. Connecting with a social worker or community partner and experiencing their joy when sharing about something amazing that a student accomplished is always the highlight of my day. Good and happy news always fills the tank!

Sheyla Riaz, the director of social work at KIPP NJ, working from her home office as she leads a team of 32 social workers in a virtual professional development session.

Among those you help, what issues have you seen emerge during the pandemic?

We were noticing spikes in depression, anxiety, drug use, and gang involvement pre-pandemic but those numbers have jumped significantly in the last two years. There are so many stressors impacting our families that stem from systems of oppression, and these play out in the classroom. Our young people are experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, and trauma; and when there is isolation, brought by the pandemic, and limited resources, brought by inadequate systems, they sometimes turn to things like self-medication or getting involved in dangerous situations. Now that our schools are fully open, we are bringing kids back in with urgency and connecting them and their families to resources and supports that will alleviate some of those stressors. We are focused on building relationships and offering healing spaces so that kids can be kids again.

How does your team confront the stigma around mental health with the families in your schools?

You know, I am so proud of this generation of kids because they are incredible and open and forward-thinking. They are the ones that push for mental health advocacy, and they join us in talking about mental health to parents and older generations! We all have mental health, and that is the constant message: We do not shy away from talking about the whole person. When we have a parent meeting, for example, we are talking about academics and social and emotional learning. When we have team meetings, we encourage each other to notice and name feelings. When we start the school day, we encourage students to check in with themselves and identify how they are showing up in the classroom. We confront the stigma by normalizing mental health in every interaction and with every stakeholder.

What advice have you offered students as they cope with difficult times, whether it be grief or trauma?

I wouldn’t necessarily call it advice but rather an encouraged offering of a safe and welcoming space to talk about their feelings, to talk about their worries, to talk about the things that scare them, and to simply say the things that ruminate in their minds — to say them out loud in a space that will not judge and in a space that is sturdy enough to hold these big feelings so that students do not need to carry them alone. I encourage students to connect with the helpers, with their families, with their peers, and with their community.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I shared earlier about my own mental health struggles — home and school support was key in my growth and ability to overcome those. I remember writing about my struggles in an English project; that was the catalyst to getting connected to the school counselor who then connected me to the community resources that helped me learn and apply the coping skills I needed at that moment. We spend a good chunk of our lives in a school setting, so it is imperative that schools be equipped and resourced to support not just with math and English language arts, but with everything else that comes with being a kid and teenager. I was lucky to have access to that support. Today I push to ensure that every student in my district has access to that same support.

You spend your days trying to help others. How do you wind down after a stressful day?

This pandemic has pushed me to really take note of how I take care of myself. These days, winding down is turning off the work computer, silencing email notifications, yoga, and being fully present with my two kids. Perhaps we are playing a game of UNO — or perhaps they are playing a game of UNO, while I nap. Ha! Hashtag, winning.

Catherine Carrera is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Newark, covering the city’s K-12 schools with a focus on English language learners. Contact Catherine at ccarrera@chalkbeat.org.

This Detroit art teacher loved animation as a kid. Now he’s inspiring his students with it.

2022-12-14T05:00:05+00:00

Illya Tolbert loved art so much growing up that he and his brother Yul would often race around their Detroit home searching for something — anything — they could draw on.

When he wasn’t finding inspiration at home, he was finding it in the classroom, learning from the art teachers who became his favorite instructors in Detroit Public Schools.

“There are lessons that I learned from my art teacher, back in the seventh grade that I’m now teaching, which I think is kind of cool,” said Tolbert. That teacher was Mary Kay Shelton, and the lessons Tolbert adapted for his own classrooms at Bates Academy include learning concepts such as linear perspective and optical illusions.

Over the course of an art teaching career that has spanned 26 years, Tolbert — Michigan’s middle school Art Educator of the Year for 2022 — has sought to inspire students with art forms such as painting, weaving, and animation.

“Me and my brother loved animation,” he said. “We used to make these little flip books at home and the process of making things move, to get that illusion of movement, it just intrigues me. I love it.”

Tolbert has decorated the walls of his classroom with his students’ pieces, but you would have to search to find his own artwork. He says he only has one piece hanging.

“Maybe it’s modesty. I don’t know,” Tolbert said. “I would rather show [the work of] a former student or a famous artist.”

Chalkbeat recently caught up with Tolbert to talk about art, his career, and the popular YouTube videos he created for his students during COVID closures.

The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

My art teachers were always like my favorite teachers. And I always considered going into art teaching. I had a bachelor’s of fine arts degree from Wayne State University, and I was out of school for a year or so when I said, ‘Let’s go back and do the thing I always wanted to do — become a teacher.’

What was drawing you to teach art?

I’ve always loved art. Me and my brother, we always drew cartoons. We made our own characters. As a kid, nothing was more fun than sitting down and drawing. I always remember what I learned in art when I went to Detroit Public Schools, and I feel like I could have learned so much more. I knew that my teachers in Detroit didn’t have all the materials and things, and I just always wanted to be able to give kids what I wanted as a student.

What is something you always wanted to learn in art classes as a student?

Animation. I teach animation now, and my classes are … obsessed with cartoons. I can teach it now because it’s so much easier. The technology is so much easier to teach now than it was back when I was a kid. I also like teaching painting. I feel like we didn’t paint enough when I was in school. And now, I probably paint every day in my classroom. Painting is what I do as an artist. I’ve just felt that kids in Detroit should have exposure to other things like that in art.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I’m going to go with weaving. Every year I teach weaving on a cardboard loom. When I say we’re weaving, the class will applaud. The kids are happy. “We’re weaving!” When I first started teaching it, I was like, ‘Why is this so popular?’ I didn’t think the kids would like it that much. I also enjoy it. I learned weaving in school at Wayne State in a fibers class. It was stitching and sewing, and that was okay. But weaving, I just loved weaving, I was drawn to it. I think somewhere in my ancestry, one of my ancestors in Africa must have been a weaver.

How do you inspire your students?

I very rarely show them my own personal art, but I will show them what other students have done. My walls are covered with former students’ artwork. A lot of times they give you their work, and sometimes they just leave it, and I end up keeping it. When they discover I put their artwork on the wall, they get so excited. [The artwork] is a good way to show students what can be done. I like to have it intermixed — like, I have a Van Gogh that’s right next to one of my student’s art. I have an example of work done by Monet next to my student’s art. Just to show, hey, there’s this famous artist, and here’s an artist who used to go here.

You have a busy job, and this is a stressful time. How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I like to paint. I like to spend time with my wife. And I do enjoy playing computer games. Not so much your video system games, but strategy games, like SimCity, where you’re building a civilization — those kinds of games that take hours to play.

Tell me about the YouTube channel you created to help students learn remotely.

The way that I teach art is I always stay in front of the class and do the project with them.— especially elementary level, but even middle school. I’ll do it with them to show them step-by-step how it’s done. Or, with middle school, I’ll just sit there and do the project and say, ‘OK, now you do it.’ This was hard to do virtually. So I started making these movies. And they worked out really well to show them step-by-step how to do various projects. I mean, they were so popular, the kids would go straight to the video before I even started talking. I’d be like, ‘Wait, let me at least talk about it first.’

Pandemic learning loss has affected students. Should we push to lower standards?

2022-12-08T14:00:00+00:00

There’s been a significant gap in learning caused by the pandemic and my high school math students are discouraged when our class-level standards are over their heads or out of reach.

I read your column on motivating students, but I think the issue is deeper. There is a mismatch between what the state standards require of students and what the average 2022-23 student looks like as a result of the pandemic.

Do you think there’s any appetite at the state or federal level to update standards and reflect these changes in our students? Do you have any advice for teachers like me whose classes are limited by out-of-date standards? — Needing New Standards

Dear Needing New Standards,

My short answer is NO WAY will anyone consider revising standards.

The overhaul of academic standards used across America was a massive undertaking from 2008 to 2010.

The Council of Chief State School Officers, National Governors Association, National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, and a nonprofit education reform group called Achieve worked tirelessly for 18 months to create the Common Core standards.

My long answer is the COVID-19 pandemic upended education in America. Learning loss is an unfortunate byproduct of the disruption.

Students have been directly impacted by the loss of in-person instruction. As educators, it is imperative for us to keep expectations in place. In time, students can catch up from lost learning due to school disruptions. Gains are possible, as proven by elementary students.

Our teacher instincts tell us that we need to meet students where they are to alleviate the stress we teachers feel pushing them towards unrealistic expectations set by standards we don’t necessarily agree with.

The opposite is often true. Meeting students where they are creates a deficit model and leads to lowered expectations. To discourage this debilitating cycle of underachievement, educators need to expose students to grade-level content.

Time and rigorous instruction can help. Following a 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, researchers found that after a 14-week shutdown of schools most impacted, there was an average of 1.5 years of learning loss. Four years later, a significant number of students caught up to grade-level expectations.

Researchers attributed their academic turnaround to Pakistan’s government intervention and contributions from organizations like World Vision which sponsored catch-up classes.

But what about U.S. students?

To answer that question, we cannot ignore the intensive needs of the community. Pakistani children whose mothers were more educated did not fall behind. The missing component is examining how to support the communities that have been most affected.

While we may not have the funding to provide free catch-up classes to families, we can provide support using existing resources.

We have seen plans by individual countries to make significant investments in school programs.

The UK offered a coronavirus catch-up premium for schools to create a national tutoring program, a tuition fund, and a language intervention fund.
In France, the government created an educational continuity program to address the education needs of children and families.
Here in the United States, three rounds of federal COVID relief funding provided a significant investment to help catch up on lost learning.

School districts have used COVID relief money to provide an acceleration, not remediation approach. We, the teachers, have the power to lead the way to support students who have returned to the classroom.

If funding is still available in your district, consider resources from the U.S. Department of Education. A post-pandemic benefit is student access to devices has significantly improved. Are there standards that can be practiced and reviewed at home?

My school is using an incentive program called Imagine Math to reward students who complete math lessons independently. When they pass the recommended number of lessons, students are eligible for gift cards, roller skating, and zoo field trips. Not all students buy into this idea, but for those who take advantage the benefits are great. We believe that it’s worth the try.

Needing New Standards, as an educational professional, every day with students is a day when we can look for opportunities to expand learning.

Currently, 10% of my students will graduate at semester end. With block scheduling, I only have about 11 classes left with them. I have to examine all the ways to expand on what they know while preparing them for their next level of education. If I had spent this semester remediating what the students did not learn, I expect I would feel guilty about not having covered 12th grade standards.

If possible, connect with previous grade-level teachers to define content-specific gaps.

Pre-pandemic, when our 12th-grade team wrote the curriculum, we met with ninth-11th grade teachers. Then, we thought specifically about what employers and higher education institutions were seeking and how we were aligning with ACT/SAT testing. We aligned all of the work with the calendar and standardized testing dates.

I find it difficult to eliminate any of what we worked so hard to create. My goal is to ensure that my students receive as much if not more direct instruction than pre-pandemic students.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Needing New Standards, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

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Her students were babies during lockdown. Here’s how that’s changed her approach.

2022-12-07T11:00:00+00:00

This story is featured in Chalkbeat’s 2022 Philadelphia Early Childhood Education Guide on efforts to improve outcomes for the city’s youngest learners. To keep up with early childhood education and Philadelphia’s public schools, sign up for our free weekly newsletter here.

For many parents, this year has marked a return to “normal” — with COVID restrictions largely lifted and workplaces open once again.

The transition has been harder for young children. Today’s preschoolers were babies and toddlers during the pandemic lockdowns, and some missed out on early opportunities to be around educators and peers.

“For many of my students, this is their first time in a school or care setting, or even leaving their house” for extended periods of time, said Lyssa Horvath, a lead pre-K teacher at Belmont Academy Charter School in Philadelphia.

To meet students’ needs, Horvath has adjusted her approach. “In addition to the language, math, physical, social, and emotional development that I typically do in my classroom, I’m engaged in a lot more confidence boosting and encouragement than in years before,” she said.

This is Horvath’s first year at Belmont Academy, but she has taught preschool for more than a decade. She’s also a policy fellow with Teach Plus Pennsylvania, a mentor teacher, and a preschool curriculum developer. Horvath spoke recently with Chalkbeat Philadelphia about teaching preschoolers to share, common misconceptions about early learners, and how young children use behavior to communicate their needs.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Why did you decide to become a preschool teacher?

I didn’t choose preschool, preschool chose me. I thought I wanted to be a middle school English Language Arts teacher, and that is what my original certification is in. However, my first job was a summer position at Merritt Academy in Virginia, teaching across age levels. When September approached, I was asked if I wanted to stay on as a lead teacher in a pre-K 3 classroom, which I happily accepted. After one year, I knew early childhood education was the place for me. Guiding so much important brain, social, and emotional development is a huge responsibility, and I get to do it with curiosity, joy, and laughter every day.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I love lessons that focus on social and emotional skills, helping children manage emotions, establish relationships, set goals, and make responsible decisions. One of my favorite lessons to do around the December holidays centers on the story about sharing, “Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister. After reading the book, I give each child a sheet of shiny fish stickers and ask what we should do with them. A choir of voices usually responds with “share them!” We take a few minutes to stand up and put our stickers on our friends, laughing and giggling the whole time. As you can imagine, by the end of the lesson everyone is covered in their peer’s stickers.

I conclude the lesson by discussing how it feels to share and give something to someone else and how it felt to get the stickers. Children agree it feels just as good to give as it does to receive. Then the kids brainstorm and list other small acts of kindness they can give in the classroom or at home. The goal of the lesson is to teach children that generosity, like sharing a smile, a hug, a story, or a compliment, helps to develop positive relationships with peers and family members.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

In many ways, the communities we serve are rebooting, and there is a lot of disruption. Students are headed back to school, parents are back at work (many of my students’ parents have more than one job), schedules are changing, and cold viruses are spreading. Adults are returning to a familiar way of life, but this is unfamiliar for kids under five who have spent the majority of their lives in a pandemic environment.

In the classroom, this translates to insecurity and introversion. They struggle with how to move in a room full of other children, sharing, taking turns, or simply playing with others. On the flip side, these children have formed strong, secure attachments with their caregivers, which is translating to strong, secure attachments with their teachers and peers.

What advice would you give someone considering a career in early childhood education?

First, see if this is the right fit for you. Visit and observe all types of schools and all ages, birth to five. Learn about Maria Montessori, Emilia Reggio, and play-based schools. Visit a Head Start, charter, or traditional public school, or one of the academically focused centers. Early childhood education is incredibly rewarding, and also incredibly hard, so find what sparks your passion the most and know that the work you are choosing is incredibly important and worthwhile. Connect with the teacher advocacy groups in your area, Teach Plus, First Up, and Children First have all been incredible sources of professional development and building my teacher network. Being involved with these organizations has allowed me to meet teachers outside of my school and strengthen my own teaching practice.

What’s a common misconception about preschool and/or early learners?

A common misconception about preschool and early learners is that their learning looks like typical elementary school learning and that small children sit and receive instruction directly from the teacher. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Early learners’ brains are still developing, mapping, and making connections. They learn by active participation, trial and error, exploration, and investigation. They learn by doing and for young children doing is playing. This is why I’m working with Teach Plus, raising my voice as an early childhood educator to advocate for what is best for young learners.

I understand that you help develop other early learning centers develop their curriculums. Tell me about that work and what makes a strong preschool curriculum.

I had the opportunity to work for a nationwide early learning center as a curriculum developer. My main project was rewriting the phonics program for 4- and 5-year-olds to reflect current research and best practices.

To me, a good preschool curriculum meets students where they are, engages them in developmentally appropriate practices, makes space for students to practice and reinforce skills, and allows multiple ways to demonstrate mastery of skills. Good preschool curriculum is child-focused, allows children to make independent choices, and allows lots of time for play. Good preschool curriculum engages teachers as room facilitators, or composers — bringing out the best in each student — as opposed to technicians rushing through scripts.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

The best advice I’ve ever received is that behavior is communication. This changed the way I manage my classroom and see my students. What I used to see as misbehavior I now know is an unmet need of a child that I need to address, whether it is feeling secure, managing emotions, or responding to internal body cues. With this orientation, I understand my students better and help them understand their needs and how to best meet them.

How do I compete with cell phones for my students’ attention?

2022-12-01T14:00:00+00:00

I teach high school and my building doesn’t have a policy about phones. They say it’s “up to each teacher.” Any advice for what my classroom policy should be? The only schoolwide rule is that teachers are not allowed to take or collect student phones. — Can’t Compete with TikTok

Dear Can’t Compete with TikTok,

We have the exact dilemma in my high school.

Even without a building or district-level policy, our administration team considers student phone usage part of our teacher evaluations. If an administrator pops in for an observation, they count the number of students and list how many are distracted by their cell phones. I know because one of these surprise observations happened recently to me.

Cellular phone usage in schools has been a national debate for over a decade.

Educators are in a daily power struggle with students who are distracted by their phones. Taking back our classrooms from these devices has to be a community effort.

A district that expects teachers to discipline students about excessive cell phone use exacerbates the problem when they put the responsibility on the individual teacher rather than taking a district-wide stand.

Earlier this fall, I learned from experience how cellular devices have changed the way schools, teachers, and students operate.

While teaching my literature class, I could not hold my students’ attention. No matter how I tried to redirect my class, they kept turning to their classmates, talking, and pointing at their phones. I finally asked what was happening.

They were watching students livestream on social media as they escaped a school shooter. The scene was active and happening 25 minutes from our location in St. Louis.

The impacted children filmed their raw emotions for the world to experience. My students, 15 miles north of the tragedy, were fully engaged in the terror of the situation.

Needless to say, the school day was not business as usual.

English class was the least of their concerns. As their teacher leader, I felt it was my duty to address and alleviate their fears. I know that as a parent, I would not want my child to witness these scenes without my input.

I felt terrible about these students watching their peers in real time face a terrible tragedy.

Can’t Compete with TikTok, phones at school mean our students are more plugged in than ever. Sometimes they derail an entire day because of a critical event, and sometimes they can save lives like for the students who were able to alert each other and their families about the shooting in their school.

Regardless of how they impact our work as educators, they are here to stay. We have to ensure our students learn to manage their cell phone usage especially while in our classrooms.

I have co-workers who have invested in cellular phone locking cabinets. While teachers rave about the success of these boxes, your district has asked you to not collect phones.

I once had a phone stolen that I had taken from a student. I had an idea who took the phone, but I couldn’t prove it. The district had to replace her phone. Now, as a rule, I don’t touch student phones unless I am given explicit permission.

You have been with your students for about four months now. Even if you did not make your cell phone policy clear at the beginning of the year, it’s not too late to command their attention to keep them focused.

Here’s how I manage cell phone use in my classroom

At the beginning of each class, I welcome students with an attention getter. Most of the class will turn their phones over and look up for instructions. I make eye contact with all students. If I find I do not have everyone’s attention, I respectfully ask the entire class to put their phones away.
I praise three to four students who have taken care of their phones. For example, I will say, “Brandon, has put his phone away, he’s ready for instructions. Tracy, I see your eyes this way and phone turned over.” I choose students who are sitting close to distracted classmates. In my experience, that’s enough motivation for all students to pay attention.
I give detailed instructions to the students and let them know what their voice levels should be and what to do when they finish the task I have given them. Then, students will not have the, “I’m finished” excuse they believe allows them to scroll.
Throughout the task I use timers. I move around the room and positively support students with sticky notes or comments to let them know I recognize their efforts and I encourage them to stay focused.

Can’t Compete with TikTok, I oversimplified this process for the sake of explanation. It is a lot of work to practice this level of support for students in every class, especially when I have 33 students.

Be patient if the results do not happen as fast as you want. Remember that every day you are impacting lives. Consistency and consequences will lead to the outcomes you want. Slow and steady wins the race. When all else fails, recruit support with administration and families.

Everything you do is teaching students how to have a growth mindset. Instead of changing their behavior, leverage it.

My favorite classroom slogan is, “I teach scholars not scrollers.” Show them how important it is to make the right decisions and let their admiration for you and their future success be the primary driver in temporarily letting TikTok go.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Can’t Compete with TikTok, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

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My colleague doesn’t share curriculum changes. How do I approach them?

2022-11-17T14:00:00+00:00

I teach the same class as one of my colleagues. We’re meant to give the same assignments, quizzes, and assessments, but the other teacher keeps changing their curriculum without telling me. I only found out because one of my homeroom students, who has the other teacher, asked me for help with an assignment.

I know everyone has different teaching styles, but I think it’s important that students learn the same content. This other teacher has been teaching the class longer than I have. What should I do? — Out of the Loop

Out of the Loop,

To answer your question, we have to zoom out.

Historically, students learned in multi-grade, one-room schoolhouses. Theorists who led school reform in the early 20th century decided that educators who wanted to build student learning should not work in isolation.

In the early 1960s, the term professional learning community (PLC) first emerged among researchers and became popular during the 1980s and early 1990s. PLCs provide teachers with an opportunity to use collective efforts to achieve a clear, commonly shared purpose for student learning.

You are PLC-ready. Your partner may not be.

PLCs arrived in my school district in the early 2000s, after I’d been in the profession for five or six years. I remember that implementation of PLCs was difficult, and there was not a lot of teacher buy-in.

PLC requirements were closely connected to student testing and common formative assessments. Administrators used testing data to determine if students were learning and some bonuses were determined by these scores. Teachers resisted because they were not willing to churn out robots who could perform well on tests but not necessarily know the content.

There are teachers who believe that all students can learn, just not on the same day or in the same way.

Your philosophy differs from your co-worker. Which one of you is right?

In the times we are facing, teaching should not feel like an episode of Survivor. If someone is isolating and not sharing information, there is a reason.

The students are not suffering and they can still thrive with either approach. It seems like what’s actually not working is the relationship between you and your colleague. Ask yourself if there are ways to build trust.

How to break the ice

- Notice the positive. Teachers arrive to school early, stay late, bring work home, contact parents, grade papers, plan lessons, write curriculum, manage behaviors, provide social and emotional support, keep up with pop culture, redirect cell phone usage, buy materials, arrange for field trips and guest speakers, and manage whatever the principal requests on a daily basis.

Have you noticed your fellow teacher doing well at any of these tasks? Check in and acknowledge the teacher in genuine ways. Your consideration could go a long way even if it is as simple as a thank you card or a gold star sticker.

- Look for ways to help. I remember attending teacher development training at The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. I was blown away by Kim Bearden’s personal story of divorcing while being an educator and leader at this prestigious well-known school. She suffered in silence. Some days she suffered aloud. Her story reminds us we need each other to get through the toughest times in our lives.

We have all worked with a teacher who was overwhelmed. If you haven’t, you will.

Find out where and how you can provide support. You do not know what this other teacher is experiencing. There is an unfortunate trend of teachers judging other teachers when really there are areas where they may need assistance. Ask. If that teacher does not accept your offer, then do not continue to press. Let time work in your favor.

- Trust your colleague. I have one literature class where I have to adjust my lesson plans every time. We move at a slower pace and sometimes I change the lesson completely from the other classes. I am not doing that class a disservice. I am adjusting according to their needs. When testing time comes, they will be as prepared as the other classes because I intuitively know what they should be learning and how to remove the non-essential agenda items.

The other teacher has been teaching longer than you have. I have to assume that you learned about PLCs early in your career and adapted the concepts into your pedagogy. Your teaching partner may not have. They may be operating under PLC resistance, but trust that their students are getting the information to succeed in the class.

- Do not take it personally. Let’s imagine your fellow teacher is doing the bare minimum and is muddling through this year. The lack of effort can truly be disheartening at a time when there is so much work to be done.

Please do not allow those work habits to interfere with your personal and career goals. If you were to become derailed by a fellow teacher, the students will face the problem of two distracted and possibly disconnected teachers.

Out of the Loop, workplace dynamics can be challenging. Teaching is meant to be a career and not your life. Make sure you do not fall into the trap of alienating co-workers. Get back into the loop by building an environment of trust and academic professionalism.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Out of the Loop, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

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Teaching ‘world changers:’ Indiana’s 2023 Teacher of the Year applies history to today

2022-11-16T12:00:00+00:00

To Tara Cocanower, her students are “world changers.”

“I want them to know I see them as people who can make a difference in the world and be a change for good,” said Cocanower, a world history teacher at Bluffton High School. “What’s the point in learning about the world if you’re not going to be an active participant in it?”

Every day, Cocanower said her students cheer her on and support her like she does for them.

“They’ve changed my world for the better,” she said.

Drawn to education as a way to make an impact on her community, Cocanower has taught at Bluffton High in her hometown just south of Fort Wayne, for nine years. She teaches world history, AP world history, and principles of teaching.

In October, she was named the 2023 Indiana Teacher of the Year. Cocanower talked to Chalkbeat Indiana about how she brings the world and the community into her classroom, her statewide honor, and advice from Grandma Phyllis.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher? Did you always want to teach in your hometown?

I didn’t think about pursuing education as a career until my sophomore year of college. I interned for an awesome eighth grade history teacher and cadet taught for my former first grade teacher during my senior year of high school, but I only did that to fill time in my schedule. People always told me I’d be a good teacher, but I didn’t think teaching was prestigious enough, lucrative enough, etc. I wanted to go into law, pursue the foreign service, or a Ph.D. in History. In college, I had a professor who showed me that teaching could be a calling and a profession full of purpose. That changed my trajectory. When I finished my time in Romania after my Peace Corps service, I prayed about where I should go next. Ultimately, my grandparents played a major role in me returning to Bluffton. I want to live a legacy of service and matter to our community the way that they did.

Tara Cocanower, a world history teacher at Bluffton High School, is the 2023 Indiana Teacher of the Year.

Congratulations on being the state’s teacher of the year for 2023. What does that award mean to you? How do you hope to use it?

To me, this award is affirmation of who I try to be and how I teach/coach. I’m not even the best teacher that I know, but I’m a good one and I’m honored to be given an opportunity to represent the amazing educators we have in Indiana. I hope to use this platform to promote civics education and social studies literacy. I want to empower and support other history teachers, and all teachers really, during these divisive times. I’d also like to support education-based athletics; as a three-sport athlete in high school, a collegiate golfer, and as a coach of two sports (golf and track and field), I know the value extracurricular activities have both inside and outside the classroom.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

Honestly, I think it changes depending on the personality of individual classes. When I taught middle school I would have said lessons on the decolonization of Africa, refugee camps throughout the world, or ancient Egypt. Now, as a high school teacher, I really enjoy teaching World War I. It encompasses so many different narratives globally that I think are valuable today. I also love discussing the technology of the time period and implementing some edtech into our lessons such as Sphero, digital Breakout Edu activities, and problem-based learning.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

In Bluffton, we have an organization called Forgotten Children Worldwide, or FCW, which works to protect children from poverty and human trafficking around the world. It was started by a friend of mine, and I try to support it in any way I can. Currently, I’m partnering with them to develop an educational activity about India. The founder of FCW is going to be traveling around India in a tuk tuk [a three-wheel vehicle] and documenting it; and we are currently trying to create an accessible curriculum for teachers and other organizations. We also are blessed at Bluffton to have welcomed several exchange students as well as Ukrainians who have been displaced by the war in their country. Our worlds have been brought together, and there is no better resource for me as a world history teacher than perspectives from other countries.

How do you approach news events in your classroom?

Carefully. In my 13 years of teaching, it’s only gotten harder to navigate using current events, but I can’t shy away from them and still believe I’m serving students well.

I’d say I approach news events as a facilitator of information. News events bring about the best discussions, and reflecting on them reminds me of several times tears have been shed because our hearts were broken over tragedies in our nation and world. I try to diversify the media outlets students choose to gain information from, and we do a lot of work developing historical reading skills to prepare for researching. We try to corroborate different sources, and then I encourage them to form their personal opinions supported by evidence. They know they’re allowed to disagree with one another.

I work hard to model civil discourse through Socratic seminars, historical text analysis, etc. My opinion doesn’t really matter within the walls of my classroom, and it’s always a compliment when students aren’t able to easily identify my personal bias or point of view.

Finally, I always try to share ways students can get involved to make an impact or encourage them to take the conversation we started home to their families. It’s a privilege to partner with parents, and I love hearing that what I’m teaching overflows from the classroom to the dinner tables, couches, and patios of my students.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

The best advice I’ve ever received was from my Grandma Phyllis. As a kid, I could sometimes be a little proud and arrogant in showing off my accomplishments. Without fail, every time, she would tell me “I’ll tell you; you don’t tell me.” To me, that means that the reward was in doing it — not for the praise I gained for it. The Bible recounts this many times, but for me, Matthew 6:1-2 has always been what I think about.

I don’t teach for awards, money, or fame; I teach because kids matter and I believe that serving others is the greatest thing you can do with your time. Social media has only made things worse. Many of us share our highlight reels with the world and we base our identity and worth on how many likes we receive. As a high school teacher, I have a front-row seat to the damage this is doing to our youth.

I try to celebrate and affirm my students’ accomplishments as much as possible, but I encourage them to do whatever it is because it’s the right thing to do — not because they’ll be praised for it or get a trophy for it.

What are you reading right now?

“The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larson.

I want my students to know that I don’t know everything and to be a reader is a superpower. During the school year, I mostly read nonfiction that supports my lessons and challenges me to keep learning.

MJ Slaby is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Discipline and passion: How Colorado’s Teacher of Year makes magic

2022-11-14T17:00:00+00:00

Long before he was an award-winning middle school band director in Colorado, Jimmy Lee Day II was a Detroit middle-schooler who rarely attended after-school band practice because he didn’t have a ride home.

His teacher, Mrs. Knox, noticed and offered to drive him home after practices. She quickly became one in a long line of educators who helped Day live up to his potential. Now, Day, who teaches at East Middle School in Aurora, is working to have the same kind of impact on his own students.

The payoff is the performance.

“That is my heaven. All of my troubles and pains are nonexistent,” he said. “It is just me and my students making magic.”

Day, who was recently named Colorado’s 2023 Teacher of the Year, talked to Chalkbeat about his musical influences, his approach to rebuilding band programs, and the touching compliment he received from a student’s older sister.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Jimmy Day II

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

When I was studying music as an undergraduate at Tennessee State University, I took some courses that required practicums — we would go to a school and observe a teacher teach their class. These really ignited my passion for teaching instrumental music to middle school and high school students.

There were two incidents that made it clear that I was destined for teaching. One time, there was a middle school trombone student who was struggling with his music. The band director brought it to my attention, and I asked if I could assist the student since I was a low brass instrumentalist. I worked with the student one-on-one. It was clear that he was not identifying the correct positions on the instrument to play the notes correctly. Once I pointed that out to him, he instantly experienced success and was grateful for it.

Another time, I was allowed to run the class. I rehearsed with the students to get them prepared for their winter concert. The director mentioned to a coworker that the band sounded better after my time with them.

How did your own school experience influence your approach to teaching?

I put the same energy into my students that I got from my band teachers in middle school through college. I am originally from Detroit. The band director at my middle school, Mrs. Knox, saw my potential to be a great instrumentalist. She helped me attend after-school practice twice a week. My parents did not have a car and the school was far from where I stayed. As a result, I wasn’t able to attend practice most of the time. She offered to take me home when I wasn’t able to get a ride. At the time, I figured she was just being nice, but reflecting on it as an older person, I see that she saw me as an investment in her program, and she made sure to invest in me as well.

I went to Cass Technical High School. Cass Tech had one of the most highly respected music departments in Detroit. Two band directors I studied under there added to the foundation that was laid for me in middle school. Their names were Ms. Sharon Allen and Mr. Benjamin Pruitt. They taught me not only about being a good musician, they taught how to be a good person. They made sure I always gave my best, and when I didn’t, they would let me know with no hesitation.

My sophomore year, Ms. Allen put me on the podium to direct the band through the warm-up. I was very nervous and rough around the edges. Ms. Allen gave me great feedback and before you know it, I was volunteering a lot to lead the warm-up. During my tenure in the Cass Tech music department, I served as section leader in the symphonic band and marching band, student arranger in the marching band, and drum major in the marching band.

As an educator, I make sure that I always invest in my students as my teachers invested in me. My teachers taught me instrumental and leadership skills that afforded me the opportunity to get a scholarship to Tennessee State University so my parents did not have to pay. No telling what my life would be like if those individuals were not in my life.

The Colorado Department of Education noted your skill in rebuilding band programs. Can you describe what that looks like?

My go-to plan when rebuilding programs is teaching discipline. That is the foundation of every program. A band program with no discipline means that there is little to no learning taking place.

I teach discipline to the students by having non-negotiable rules, procedures, and expectations. When they are in the classroom or in public, they are taught to look and act a certain way. When they practice or perform, there is a certain way they are expected to sound.

I build the morale of the students by setting them up for success. I give them attainable goals. In addition, I give them independent practice time to have some productive struggle. Their appreciation grows once they can figure it out.

Who are some of your favorite musicians? How do you work them into your lessons?

My favorite musicians are Earth, Wind & Fire. Their energy and showmanship is what I enjoy and appreciate most. As a result, I teach my students stage etiquette and the importance of engaging the audience through actions as well as sound. The audience should feel every note and rhythm.

When we are preparing for a performance. I teach students how to move as a unit. When I step on the podium, the students automatically sit up in their seats. Once I have eye contact with them, I raise my baton and the students react by bringing the instruments to their mouths to begin playing. When the performance is over, the students stand and bow as a unit.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach.

My favorite lesson is when my students have learned their parts and we are focusing on the small details of the music. The students are very engaged, and the atmosphere is intense. You can see the pride on their faces as well as hear it in their playing.

I am always studying other ensembles on YouTube that have played the same songs that I am teaching my students. I study their interpretation and compare it to mine. Sometimes it gives me good ideas as to how to make the composition or arrangement more engaging.

What is something happening in the community that impacts your students?

Violence. There are times when we’re on lockdown because of what is happening in the community. Once, there was a shooting close to us which caused an extensive lockdown and caused students to become worried about their older siblings. All we can do as educators is be there for them, even let them shed a tear, and assure them that everything will be OK.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

During a recent parent-teacher conference, after I greeted the student, parents, and a much older sister, the sister said, “I heard you were really good with teaching kids how to play instruments!” That warmed my heart. Although I have always had a passion for what I do, that made me a little more passionate and intentional when teaching my students. That is a great reputation to have!

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

For this Brooklyn teacher, climate education can inspire students to help their communities

2022-11-11T23:23:14+00:00

Sarah Slack’s career as an award-winning eighth grade science teacher was sparked by a story about misinformation.

A student asked her friend, a New York City elementary school teacher, how Pluto blew up. Her friend, confused, dug around a bit, and discovered that his school’s science teacher, having heard on the news that Pluto was no longer a planet, told her students it had exploded. (Pluto is now considered a “dwarf planet” rather than a major planet; it didn’t, for the record, explode.)

“I thought, ‘Kids deserve access to better science information than that!’ And here I am,” said Slack, now in her 14th year in New York City public schools and a recent recipient of the prestigious Math for America Muller Award, in recognition of her influence on the profession.

Slack became a teacher through the New York City Teaching Fellows program after running a nature center in southern Massachusetts, and she has always kept climate education at the forefront of her work.

She’s on the city’s Climate Education Leadership Team, meeting regularly with a group of colleagues from across the school system dedicated to improving climate change education. (They are organizing “climate teach-ins” with guest speakers, hands-on activities, and field trips.) As a member of the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force, she joins other educators and members from local and national nonprofits to discuss teacher support as well as education policy changes at the state level.

For the past six years, Slack has been at I.S. 223 in Borough Park, Brooklyn. There, she’s tapped available resources as well as her own research experiences — including work she’s done in Antarctica and with NASA — to create a climate-focused STEM curriculum. The students do hands-on investigations, looking at temperature variation around the school and proposing changes to bolster resilience in the face of extreme heat events.

“What I’ve begun to see with my students is that, instead of making them feel they have to save the world, I can help them see how to save their own communities,” Slack said.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I always thought I would most enjoy teaching lessons connected to environmental issues, but I have developed a secret (and now I guess quite public) love for physics lessons.

It started when I borrowed a pair of ill-fitting rollerblades from my roommate, wobbled on them in the front of my class, and then asked a kid to chuck a heavy backpack at me. When I managed to catch it without falling, kids watched me slowly roll backwards and we were able to discuss Newton’s second law, conservation of momentum, and friction.

Students then design and conduct their own experiments that demonstrate one of Newton’s laws. It is collaborative, interactive, occasionally dangerous, and so much fun for both me and the kids. I love to watch them engaging in the work of scientists and engineers and learning from the process as much as from the end result of their experiment.

NASA! Antarctica! Amazing!! How did these research trips shape what you bring to the classroom?

One of my favorite parts about being a teacher is that there are so many opportunities to grow in both my practice and my knowledge of science, and I am constantly seeking out ways to bring new ideas, new energy, new skills, new joy into my classroom.

Being part of Math for America is one of those ways — I took a workshop led by Alexandra Horowitz, author of “Inside of a Dog,” and ended up using her research on dog cognition to inspire a lesson on genetics and heredity based on dog breed characteristics. I was able to bring my own two rescue mutts into the classroom and challenge students to make predictions about their breed composition.

I was fortunate to have the chance to work on a research team at NASA as part of the Climate Change Research Initiative. This provided me with access to cutting-edge climate science, subject matter experts, and support to design lessons that incorporate NASA resources into our classroom activities. I have often struggled with ways to make data more interesting to my students, and making that connection to NASA research provides a little bit of a hook to get them engaged.

Certainly, one of the coolest things (both literally and figuratively) that I’ve done was participate in a PolarTREC program that allowed me to spend two months on an icebreaker off the southwest coast of Antarctica as part of an expedition investigating factors affecting the melt rate of the Thwaites Glacier. I loved being a member of a team of scientists exploring such a remote part of the world, and devising ways to incorporate my experiences into my teaching.

I’m curious to hear about your students’ sense of agency when it comes to climate and the environment. It’s pretty grim to think about the direction our planet is heading. Do they also have hope that things will change and that they can be change agents?

I show students a visualization of month-to-month carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere from 2002 to the present (NASA’s Climate Time Machine) and use the data to color in three world maps: one that represents carbon dioxide levels in April of 2003; one that shows the data from April 2013; and lastly, a prediction of what atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will look like in April 2023, a challenge which created a spike in demand for red colored pencils in my classroom.

After showing this visualization to one class, a student with a stricken look on her face said with heartbreaking despair, “But Miss, what are we going to do?” Great question, and one that requires a much deeper exploration of the topic than just covering the basic facts of global warming causes and effects. How can we teach about this monumentally consequential topic without simultaneously instilling a sense of helplessness in the face of imminent disaster?

My classes have spent a lot of time this year measuring the temperature of different surfaces around our school — cement, pavement, dirt, and grass. Their data shows that pavement can be as much as 40 degrees hotter than grass on warm sunny days and close to 30 hotter than cement. This has triggered intense indignation about the paved school yard vs the adjacent cement administrator’s parking lot.

But following the whining and without prompting, my students began to think of solutions. What if we painted the pavement? What if we planted some trees? What if we replaced the asphalt with grass? Any or all of those things might make our community a little more resilient as extreme heat days increase in frequency in the coming years.

This recent NY Times article about the dearth of climate education in middle school made me think of your work and whether you feel like you have enough time and support to teach about climate change.

The article struck close to home. I’ve long been disappointed in the focus that the NGSS [Next Generation Science Standards] pays to climate science. I think there are a few things that could be done:

Changing the NGSS seems unrealistic, but finding ways to encourage the curriculum writers to build more lessons around climate change science doesn’t seem like an impossible solution.
Making sure that people don’t view climate education as exclusively a science teacher’s purview. There are plenty of ways to talk about climate in math, ELA, and social studies classes. Even art and music and drama teachers can find ways to connect their lessons to the climate crisis.
Increase the role of Sustainability Coordinators in schools and provide them with time in their schedules to support other teachers in improving the quality of climate education. If I had a few periods a week where I was able to push into other classrooms to help to lead a lesson or work on resource development, I could reach a much larger audience.

Even if we aren’t explicitly teaching our students about climate, we can help them develop the scientific thinking skills to critically assess the ways in which our planet is changing and recognize that climate deniers are not basing their claims on any real science.

My favorite Neil deGrasse Tyson quote is: “The good thing about science is that it is true whether or not you believe in it.”

How do I build relationships with students who are culturally different from me?

2022-11-10T14:00:00+00:00

I want to be a more culturally responsive teacher, but my background isn’t the same as many of my students. How do you initiate a conversation with a student to begin building a relationship regarding their cultural experiences? — Curious for Conversation

Curious for Conversation,

I once worked with a highly qualified, veteran teacher who growled at students she did not like. I know it seems unbelievable.

We had joint hall duty during passing time and while standing in our respective places, she would smile, wave, and speak kindly to the students who displayed conventional positive behavior in class.

To the students who she believed made her work harder, told jokes, or left their assigned seats during class, she made a grunting, animal-like noise and frowned at them. She would turn to me and say something negative about the student, sometimes describing them as “soon to be in prison.”

I still feel bad that my attempts to discourage her behavior never worked.

The teacher was white and the students she smiled at were often white. The students who received the growls were predominantly Black. As a Black teacher, I saw how differently she treated Black students. She was operating under implicit bias.

I wish that teacher would have asked me the same question you’ve submitted.

While your question does not specify race, 79% of American public school teachers are white. Black and brown children, who have been historically marginalized, need teachers who are willing to do the work to create more equitable classrooms.

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1967 Kerner Commission warned, “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.” We need to be able to discuss race.

Practice culturally responsive teaching through classroom leadership

A culturally responsive teacher understands that if a student’s socioeconomic status, gender, or race differs from their experience, that teacher is still the educational leader in the classroom and around the building.

Culturally responsive teaching requires us to face our biases and bridge the gap between our own lived experiences and that of our students.

Teaching through leadership means inspiring passion and motivation in students. Here’s how to get there:

- Become a student of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). Remember, no one owes another person an explanation of their culture. If you want to have these conversations with your students, you will need to start by reading books that address race and culture in our country. Some of these titles will feel risky. Push past that potential discomfort. The information contained in these works is enlightening.

When I read Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” I was astonished by her parallelism between the U.S. and Indian economic systems.

Bryan Stevenson’s book, “Just Mercy,” also a major film, highlights the American penal system problems with real stories of men, women, and children who he and the Equal Justice Initiative have defended. There is an adapted version for students that I read with my classes. After reading the book, many students leave with strong opinions on the death penalty.

- Focus on the future by inspiring a shared vision. When students attend schools where their culture isn’t reflected, they are less likely to engage in the classroom, which leads to further disconnect from academic success.

If your students are disengaged, instead of jumping into a conversation about cultural differences, start by finding common ground. Ask them about their goals and dreams, and how they hope to reach them.

When I was a middle school teacher, I discovered a career in filmmaking could be quite lucrative. I printed a screenplay and distributed it to students during class to gauge their interest. None of my 100-plus students had actually seen or held a script. So, I started a filmmakers club.

I had an open-door policy where all students were welcome. The club was so popular, I could not secure enough video cameras.

Consider starting an after-school club that inspires and unites disengaged, potentially marginalized students. You can help motivate them by encouraging them to collaborate toward their goals or help them set new ones based on new opportunities, like my filmmakers club.

Curious for Conversation, open the doors of opportunity for students who have a different background and watch engagement skyrocket.

- Model the way. If you want more conversation with students who have a different cultural background, create lesson plans that encourage discourse. Share your own cultural background and experience.

I have taught foreign exchange students. Some had limited English proficiency and chose to remain quiet in class. By incorporating my own personal narratives and anecdotes into my lesson plans, I’ve been able to engage these students who are so far from home.

- Focus on caring for and encouraging students. Teacher-leaders are often placed in positions of authority over their students. Use your wisdom and experience to find ways to identify the contributions of all your students to lead to long-term classroom and community success.

In my classroom I highlight student contributions by using this technique employed by HBCUs: First, I start the school year by helping students identify their strengths. I use Myers-Briggs to achieve this analysis. Then, I make it a point to memorize key facts about each student.

When I see them using their strengths, I make a point to acknowledge it. I will verbally applaud them, discreetly pass them a Post-it note, or add the feedback to an assignment. A phone call home to share good news with families really encourages student success..

If you show them you are keeping their best interests in mind, they will notice and be more willing to be led by you.

Curious for Conversation, cultural conversations don’t just happen. Students must feel comfortable enough to share their experiences with you. If you push too hard, they will resist and you will lose ground. Design a playbook that fills in your cultural blind spots and puts your students’ needs first to create a long-term bond.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Curious for Conversation, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

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I’m a first-year teacher. How do I become successful in the classroom?

2022-11-03T13:00:00+00:00

This is my first year as a teacher and I’m teaching sixth grade, so both my students and I are new to the school. I’m wondering if you have any advice for how to make students feel welcome in a new building? — I’m New Here

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear I’m New Here,

Congratulations and welcome to the classroom. You are about to learn the magic of classroom leadership.

You have a toolbox of strategies from your pre-teacher service work. Use them. You will need to try all of those strategies and see which ones work for you.

I teach 12th grade now, but when I was a middle school teacher, I was constantly thinking of ways to reach students. I felt like I spent more time managing behaviors than teaching. To fix the problem, I planned amazing lessons that would flop because the kids would either stare at me without paying attention or refuse to turn in assignments. I remember being so frustrated and ready to quit.

Today, during parent-teacher conferences, a parent approached me and asked, “Did you used to teach at Meramec Elementary School?” I could not believe my eyes because this woman looked exactly like a fifth grader from my first teaching assignment. She told me her name and I was transported back to 2001 when this 10-year-old wore two long braids and smiled all the time.

She shared great memories and told me how much I influenced her life. This now-adult told me my presence meant the world to her. I found her message heartwarming and timely because for me, it was hard to believe my first year of teaching was a good experience for her.

The truth is when you teach middle schoolers, you feel like you don’t make a difference. I learned from this former student that I was wrong. As a first-year middle school teacher, you can be successful and impact adolescents’ lives.

Here’s how to get through your first school year

Bad advice abounds, ignore it! When I graduated with my master’s degree in education, there was a popular book that urged teachers not to smile for the first days of school. We were advised not to smile because we needed to send a message that we meant business. The theory was if we wanted respect from students, we had to communicate that we were no-nonsense educators who wanted conformity.

That did not work for me at all. I started smiling on the first day and felt like a total failure. I continued to smile every day because I realized the stern approach does not work for me.

I finally asked myself what does work. The answer: authenticity. I needed to show up as me.

Think of the old Bible story of David and Goliath. David was a teenager who wore an adult soldier’s tin uniform. The strange armor and borrowed weapons ended up hurting more than helping him, so instead he threw a stone to slay the giant.

In the same way I continued to smile and David dropped that armor, don’t be afraid to lose whatever you were told or taught that isn’t working.

Don’t isolate yourself. Most of the time, you will be alone with 20-30 students. Though you might not feel it yet in the excitement of your first year, being in a classroom with students all day can be tiring.

If you’re like me, around the third or fourth hour of each day you might begin to question your decisions in the classroom and might even wonder if you have chosen the right career.

This is a daily occurrence. Having teacher friends reminds you this is normal and to see the bigger picture. We have a big task and teachers support each other.

In my first year, I made friends by eating lunch in the teacher’s lounge and planning lessons with grade-level teachers.

Decide what you value. Are you a teacher who values conformity over free thinking and expression?

Someone who values conformity might emphasize strict due dates, teacher-enforced rules and consequences, and lecture-style learning.

Someone who prefers free thinking in the classroom might tolerate late work policies, student-created rules, student choice teaching such as stations and differentiated instruction.

Whatever you value as a teacher should be represented in the physical and social environment of your classroom.

- Physical environment - Consider the systems you will use to communicate your values. If you lean toward a student-centered classroom, a system could be as simple as identifying space in your classroom where students can access basic supplies such as a pencil or Chromebook charger.

What are your non-traditional seating options? I follow on YouTube a middle school teacher, Joy Bazzle, who uses spin bikes for desks. She has standing desks and wobble boards. Her classroom has great energy.

Avoid items in your classroom that can cause bad feelings for students. My high school students have shared with me unfortunate memories of their names being on the board or the color being red on a classroom behavior chart at the end of the day. They recount times of missing recess or not attending popcorn parties. These punishments did not change their behaviors, the students said. They felt targeted.

Will your behavior management system convey feelings of superiority and exclusion?

- Social environment -How will you encourage students to interact? Consider equitable systems for calling on students to participate in discussions. Trust students by including more movement in tasks where students are only using paper and pencil.

In my own classroom, I use fishbowl strategies to encourage discussions and debates. An easy way to incorporate movement and encourage discussion is to take an anticipation guide and have students move across the room based on whether they agree or disagree.

Support students as individuals. As teachers, we’re trained to see who’s not doing what we asked or to prioritize finding mistakes. I have found that providing affirmation and validation are worth learning.

Spend more time finding and acknowledging the ways in which you and your students are growing to help change the narrative that schools are a place of discipline.

You could use your wall space to provide positive reinforcement and encouragement. If you set up your classroom as a place of cooperative education, it can create an opportunity for additional buy-in, especially from reluctant learners.

Build a community of learners. My No. 1 goal is to help children learn as much from each other as they do from me. I make it clear that everyone in class doesn’t have to be best friends. But as long as we are assembled together in a classroom, we will listen and hear one another, accept each others’ differences, and recognize strengths and how each student can contribute to the classroom environment.

Sixth grade teachers can also facilitate collaboration. My favorite go-to strategies as a middle school teacher were the annual poetry slam and the million dollar project. There are other ideas to deepen student collaboration.

I’m New Here, teacher programs attempt to imitate the complexities of your first year as a teacher but it is nearly impossible to know what every classroom and every student will be like when you take over your classroom.

Know that you will survive and what you learn this year will stick with you for a lifetime.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with I’m New Here, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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I want to be a teacher. What do I need to know for my first interviews?

2022-10-27T13:00:00+00:00

I’m graduating next year with my degree in elementary education and was wondering if you have any advice for teacher interviews? Thanks! — Newer Interviewer

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear Newer Interviewer,

We need more teachers. Only 4% of all undergraduate degrees conferred are in education, according to Pew Research Center numbers for 2019-20.

I remember my early teacher interviews. I wanted to prove I had learned all there was to know about teaching. I showed up in my black suit and matching portfolio in hand, ready to take on the world. Nerves took over and I forgot everything.

I kept trying, and in time, I overcame those nerves, and I eventually managed to find a teaching position.

In the years since then, I have sat on interview panels for fellow teachers, taught my high school students how to interview, and hosted annual mock interviews for all my classes. The good news is it does get easier.

Interviewing next spring following the last two-plus years might seem daunting, but I appreciate your continued belief in the power of education and meeting the requirements to become a certified teacher.

Roles in elementary education are unique because interviewers will emphasize wanting to know your teaching philosophy, your pedagogical approaches, and how you will connect with parents and families.

Here are my quick tips for preparing for your elementary school teacher interviews.

The basics

- Collect all of your pre-employment documents. You will need an updated resume, cover letter, recommendations, and official transcripts.

Recommendation letters are top priority for interviewers. Be sure to give your references a minimum of two weeks to write your letters. Also, prepare supplemental documents such as portfolios and writing samples.

- Attend job fairs. The extroverted introvert in me loves job fairs. As an attendee, you can interact with multiple school districts in one setting and distribute your resume while networking with hiring managers.

Don’t be afraid to ask those hiring managers what perks their districts offer new teachers, such as a budget to purchase supplies or parking spot for the teacher of the month.

- Be prepared to discuss examples of your work experience. Potential employers will want to know how you resolve real-world teaching problems. An interviewer might ask you, “If I walked into your classroom during one of your lessons, what would I expect to see?”

Brainstorm problems you faced during your practicum and student-teacher experiences and how you solved them. The solutions you came up with are what will interest your interviewers. Make sure you provide examples whenever you assert you have a skill or can complete a particular task.

In interviews in the past, I’ve shared how I used differentiated instruction to address multiple learning styles. I prepared examples of student work and explained why I chose to offer a variety of products instead of paper-and-pencil tasks to assess student learning.

- Practice. Interviews can consist of panels with four or more interviewers. Some people find panel interviews overwhelming.

The key is knowing that the interviewers will be reading from a paper and scoring based on your answers. Try to prepare answers to common elementary teacher interview questions so you’re not surprised by an interviewer. Having answers in advance will help you remain calm under the stress of interviews.

Always be prepared to answer questions about behavior management plans and family communication.

What you might not know yet

- Consider extending student memberships through your first year. If you joined a teacher organization such as the education honor society Kappa Delta Pi, find out if they will allow you to extend your student membership through your first year as a practitioner.

Teacher organizations offer a plethora of resources for teaching and can sometimes host job fairs during their annual conferences.

- Talk to current and recently hired elementary teachers. Ask your references or other connections about their own teacher interview experiences. What questions were they asked, what went well, what do they wish they had done differently?

As teachers, we are used to relying on each other, and it’s good to start building that support network now.

- Prepare your own set of questions. Remember that you also have power as the interviewee and you should prioritize a school or district where you can see yourself being successful, supported, and respected.

I encourage you to ask interviewers tough questions such as: “how will you help me connect with a mentor beyond my first year?” “What supports are available to assist with following Individualized Education Programs and 504 accommodations to help ensure student success?” and “What building level supports are available for communicating with families?”

Teaching interviews are like most other interviews — they take practice and confidence in your skills and experience. If an interview doesn’t go your way, assess what went wrong and keep it in mind for the next one.

Keep confident there will be a next one.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Newer Interviewer, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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It’s college application time. Here’s how to help students make their picks.

2022-10-20T13:00:00+00:00

As college application season begins, teacher and columnist Dr. Kem Smith offers advice for teachers helping students navigate this exciting and sometimes emotional time. She’ll return to answering your questions next week. You can submit them here.

There are nearly 6,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. Students entering universities have to narrow their choices to one.

This major life decision does not have to be overwhelming if students are prepared to select the right college. It’s important to remind students that academic programs are only one part of what schools offer. There are more criteria that separate colleges and universities.

As a teacher-parent who helped my children as well as thousands of high school seniors to make their college choices, I start by asking the students to consider what is most important and to rank the following categories from 1-5:

region/location
reputation
size: small, medium, large
financial aid/affordability
designation/type of school

For some students, financial aid is their number 1 consideration, while for others it might be least important.

Here’s how I help students navigate each category

If location is important, U.S. New and World Report College Edition divides and ranks universities into regions. When prospective students scroll through these lists, they can learn about tuition, fees, and school size; they also can read reviews, and see photos and links to the school’s website.

When my daughter was searching for a college, her top criteria was warm weather. She said she never wanted to experience the cold, ice, and snow of Midwest winters again. We began to consider towns in the South where she could be close to relatives. Her college decision became much easier after deciding on location.

If reputation is important, the U.S. News and World Report ranks 443 colleges and universities. Families can select multiple college listings and compare them.

School reputation can be based on academic prestige, sports, strong alumni network, or other factors. Family connections to the school can also impact student decisions.

If size is important to the students, find out why they are interested in a small, medium, or large college. Students may not recognize the importance of choosing an institution that matches their personality type. In my college experience, I learned that feeling out of place can lead to homesickness and a lack of connection to the school culture.

– Small colleges have fewer than 5,000 students. Students choose smaller colleges to be recognized and acknowledged as an individual.

As an introvert, I chose a smaller institution because I wanted to know my professors and for them to know me.

– Medium-sized institutions have between 5,000 and 15,000 students. The benefits of a mid-sized university are the wide range of course offerings, social opportunities, events, and increased financial aid support. I enjoyed my time in a medium-sized institution because of the football team.

– Large usually means more than 15,000 students. Larger institutions are known for their faculty research. There are multiple opportunities for students to engage in extracurricular activities such as fraternities and sororities, athletics, and on-campus entertainment like the arts and music.

If financial aid is important to students, begin by searching for institutions that meet 100% of financial aid needs. When a student completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the U.S. Department of Education determines if a family qualifies for federal grants, loans, or work-study funds. School expenses include tuition, room and board, various fees, and books. These expenses can add up.

Colleges that “meet full need” will offer admitted students enough financial aid to cover the difference between a college’s cost of attendance and a family’s ability to pay.

As early as junior high school, students should look into their state’s programs that support future college students. In Missouri, there is a program called A+ that provides scholarships to qualified students who attend public community college or vocational/technical school, or certain private in-state, two-year vocational/technical schools.

Community colleges offer an additional means of affordability and should not be overlooked during the college search.

If designation or type of school is important, then direct students through the background and history of these institutions. There are public and private schools (including religious schools), historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), minority-serving institutions, and predominantly white institutions.

I spend a lot of time discussing designation. A majority of the students I teach are reluctant to attend college. They are first-generation college students, who qualify for Pell Grants and have limited knowledge about higher education. Two years of virtual instruction left them disappointed with school.

As of 2020, there were 107 U.S. HBCUs. Black students who attend an HBCU are 33% more likely to graduate than their peers who attend a non-HBCU that is similar in size and designation. Additionally, HBCUs account for more degree completions among Black students.

United Negro College Fund (UNCF) provides information about the benefits of HBCUs for students of color and the need to continue to support these institutions. The primary goal of HBCUs has been to provide access and opportunity, according to UNCF.

While the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, some students are surprised that there are still thousands of predominantly white institutions in America. Predominately white institutions, or PWIs, refer to institutions of higher learning in which white students account for at least 50% of the enrollment. Regardless of historic enrollment decisions, these institutions accept all races and nationalities. Students who choose PWIs can experience racial diversity on campus.

Many students wonder how public and private schools differ. One of the biggest differences is funding. Public colleges are government-funded, while private schools rely more on tuition and endowments.

Get organized

Narrow the choices. Ideally, after students explore these initial topics, they will narrow their college choices to 3-5 institutions. From there, students can take an in-depth look at each institution.

I have them compare admission requirements, academics, enrollment size, expenses, activities, facilities, and post-graduation support through job placement services of each school.

I recommend that students who may be considering selective schools such as The Juilliard School, the U.S. Military Academy, or Vanderbilt University talk to their school counselors. Their selection list may differ, as well as deadline dates, and materials to submit. Remember, fee waivers are available if application fees are a financial burden.

Look into college fairs and tours. Finally, students should participate in college fairs whenever possible. Our high school employs college and career counselors, who plan and coordinate campus visits and bring recruiters to schools for students to meet.

Ideally, it’s best for students to conduct in-person tours of the school they are most interested in attending. However, most colleges also provide virtual tours.

Create a scholarship organizer. When students begin to apply for college, use sites like The Common App and The Common Black College App. Students can use these common apps to apply to multiple colleges at once, but they still have to pay individual application fees, unless they get a fee waiver. Their school counselors can help with fee waivers.

My students regularly seek funding opportunities so I created a scholarship organizer. I include:

a category for the scholarship they want to apply for
scholarship amount
time to apply (from urgent to four weeks out)
requirements/topics especially for essays
date submitted
whether they receive the scholarship

Have a plan. Ultimately, we want students to leave our classrooms with a clear idea of their post-secondary plans. Too many students graduate without a framework for their adult lives. It’s an undertaking to guide high schoolers through their college and career plans but these tips will help teachers make that transition smoother.

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This Detroit teacher carries her father’s legacy into the classroom

2022-10-18T22:50:59+00:00

Teaching wasn’t always Detroit native Janice Rowley’s career of choice.

“I worked very hard for a lot of years to not become a teacher,” Rowley, now an award-winning educator, recalled amusingly.

Her father, LeRoy, was the first African American man hired to teach instrumental music in Detroit Public Schools. A classically trained trombonist, LeRoy studied privately under notable symphony orchestra players and earned a master’s degree in musical education. With a career in the district spanning four decades, he left an undeniable legacy as both a music teacher, band director, and, eventually, tennis coach for a local high school team.

It’s that legacy, Rowley said, that grounds her approach to teaching.

Janice Rowley, an English teacher at Renaissance High School in the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

As an English teacher at Detroit’s Renaissance High School, she leans on the wisdom and experience of her father as she educates the next generation of leaders and scholars. Rowley was a college professor before transitioning to K-12 education, and she carries that academic rigor into her classroom, teaching International Baccalaureate English, African American Literature, and Senate, an elective course in which students discuss and debate current events.

In August, the National Council of Teachers of English awarded Rowley the 2022 High School Teacher of Excellence Award. She spoke recently with Chalkbeat about what it’s like to teach in an education landscape that has changed dramatically since her father began his career, how she’s evolved as an educator, and what it means to equip her students with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach and why?

I love teaching lessons that result in the proverbial ‘lights coming on’ while watching my students’ facial expressions and body gestures. Year after year, I ask my students what the African American population is in the city, state, and nation. Annually, the responses are the same – because many of these students are born and raised in Detroit, they have a false sense of what it even means to be in the minority. After allowing students to share what they think, I then share the facts, and they are floored every single time. It often results in students becoming more thoughtful or serious about their academic endeavors. They begin to realize that they are representing more than just themselves when they are working toward the mastery of any subject.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

When students come from communities that experience myriad challenges, many of them come to me with a lens focused on finding a shortcut or an alternative path. I devote a good deal of time to explaining to students the value of spending time walking straight down the middle or doing the hard work now rather than later. We talk about how a lack of skill-building in high school can impact the dreams and desires they have to attend and graduate from college. I talk to them about the difference between mediocrity and mastery and how each impacts the quality of one’s life. I let my students know that there is no substitute for hard work nor is there a substitute for honor, and each goes a very long way.

How do you approach news events in your classroom?

In my IB English class, my students have already read, discussed, and presented about George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant.” All of the students had to be introduced to the term and the historical meaning and implication of imperialism. Following the initial announcements of the death of the Queen, I asked my students to investigate the history of colonialism that the Queen oversaw. The discussion was both intense and interesting for both me and my students. News events allow me to bring to life some of the concepts and theories that students need to have deep knowledge and understanding about.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

Education has always played an integral role in my life. I have always been a voracious reader and writer. Since moving from the collegiate classroom to K-12, I have been immensely disappointed with the brokenness of our educational system in this country. Every level of this enterprise was facing myriad challenges even before this lingering global pandemic. Today, education should really be a priority from the highest levels of our government as lack of a quality education affects all of us all of the time.

As you settle into this coming school year, what are you most looking forward to?

I am looking forward to seeing how much my students grow from now until next year. I am looking forward to working with the Student Senate to improve their outcomes with both the student body and their level of competition at the local and state level.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

My father gave me the best advice all the time and it is a part of my pedagogy every day and all the time. Daddy used to always tell me to meet kids where they are so that I can take them where they need to be. He shared that sometimes I would have to get in the dirt, and there would be other times when I will feel like I am in a garden full of blooms. He made plain that there was a good deal of advantage in working with young people since – even in your darkest hour, the presence of the future is a constant reminder that this too shall pass, and that tomorrow will soon come.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

“Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy” by Gholdy Muhammad. The book is an amazing approach to meeting kids where they are to move them to where they need to be.

You have a busy job, and this is a stressful time. How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

As a former sprinter and hurdler, I continue to exercise, eat healthy, and I drink a lot of water. The older I get, the more I understand how important wellness of all types is to overall health.

Ethan Bakuli is a reporter for Chalkbeat Detroit covering Detroit Public Schools Community District. Contact Ethan at ebakuli@chalkbeat.org.

How did COVID change school nursing? An award-winning Illinois nurse weighs in.

2022-10-14T16:09:07+00:00

Jinsun Baek, a school nurse at Center Cass School District 66, is working hard this school year to balance returning to normalcy with protecting students and staff from the coronavirus.

Baek has been a nurse for almost a decade and has worked at her small suburban school district in Downers Grove for about five years. She and a team of two part-time nurses work across three school buildings that serve about 1,000 students in kindergarten to eighth grade.

This school year, Baek was named the ‘Nurse of the Year 2022’ by the Illinois Association of School Nurses for her work in the district. She felt really honored, and surprised, to be awarded the title. “When my colleague reached out to nominate me, I said ‘Sure!’ but I didn’t expect that I would get it,” she told Chalkbeat.

Baek spoke recently with Chalkbeat Chicago about choosing school nursing, how the coronavirus pandemic has changed the perception — and reality — of her job, and what she does now to protect students and staff from COVID-19.

Jinsun Baek, district nurse at Center Cass School District 66

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What led you to become a school nurse?

In college, I majored in biology. When I started to look into nursing, I knew that I wanted to be a public setting nurse, not a hospital nurse. During my time in college, I volunteered with a program called Peer Health Exchange where I worked as a health educator in Chicago public high schools. Volunteering made me open my eyes to the big gap between [well-resourced] schools and those that do not really have much resources.

Then I went to the University of Illinois at Chicago to obtain my degree in nursing and that program had a certification for school nursing. It was a perfect medium for me because I liked to work in a community, and I wanted to work with younger people.

What does a typical day look like for you?

As a district nurse, I’m in charge of making sure everyone with health needs has a health care plan that can be shared with their teachers or administrators to stay safe and healthy in school. So daily, it could be medication administration for diabetes or asthma, using bandages or ice packs to treat injuries, or calling 911 — that doesn’t happen too often.

When the pandemic shuttered school buildings in 2020 and it was difficult for school to reopen in 2020-21, how did that impact your job as a school nurse?

It wasn’t easy. As the only full-time health care professional in the building, I was the one who had to make sure that the district was up-to-date on the state, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and local health department public health guidelines. I attended a lot of webinars. I informed all the administrators on what to do. Also, I had to inform the part-time nurses about what’s going on. It was hard to keep up with the changes day to day.

During the 2020-21 school year, we were one of the few schools that reopened. We didn’t go for a full school day because we weren’t sure how to do lunch, so we would send students home for lunch and the rest of the day was virtual learning.

Last school year, students and staff across the state returned to classrooms. Were things back to normal?

It was harder last school year. While the COVID-19 rules weren’t rapidly changing and rules were loosening up, my part-time nurses and I received a lot of backlash from parents who felt like we were discriminating against their kids because they were unvaccinated. As vaccines became widely available, they became politicized. It became a little bit hard for me to push certain rules at that point.

How is this school year going as students are back in classrooms and the pandemic has settled down a bit?

Even though COVID is still here, we loosened up a lot. I think we all kinda are learning how to live with it now. It’s definitely a balance between having normalcy and making sure we are following certain guidelines or rules. Kids don’t need to wear masks in school buildings anymore, and we can bring back normal activities like movie nights.

Since the pandemic happened, do you think that people look at school nurses differently?

Before the pandemic, I feel like nobody thought of school nurses. When the pandemic hit and schools needed to be locked down, people started to rely on school nurses to disseminate state guidelines for quarantines and other COVID mitigations. While I feel like a lot more people are recognizing the importance of school nurses, there is still a lot more work to be done. While a lot of organizations recommend a school nurse in every building, a lot of school districts are not capable of adequate staffing.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

Trust yourself as a health care professional, advocate for yourself, and voice your concerns. That helped me be seen by my administrators, and they now value my opinion as well. It was definitely helpful advice.

You have a busy job, and this is a stressful time. How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I work in the suburbs but I live in the city of Chicago. My commute is around 45 minutes and when I’m having a bad day, I blast my music on the way home and sing along. Also, I try to give myself one hour to focus on myself each day, whether that is taking a bath, watching a TV show that I like, or going to the gym.

Samantha Smylie is the state education reporter for Chalkbeat Chicago, covering school districts across the state, legislation, special education, and the state board of education. Contact Samantha at ssmylie@chalkbeat.org.

We do so many jobs, it’s exhausting. When can teachers just teach?

2022-10-13T13:00:00+00:00

As I assemble the desks I just picked up from my district’s warehouse because I have more students this year, I wonder why no one told me that actual teaching is only a fraction of this job.

The job is both physically demanding and emotionally taxing.

I find myself scanning over things, trying to prioritize tasks, and missing out on useful training or professional development because I don’t have the time.

How can we give teachers the opportunity to actually teach? What do we do about extra, unpaid work? — Five Jobs in One

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear Five Jobs in One,

You’re right, this job is both physically demanding and emotionally taxing. Let me describe my last few days to you.

As I write this, about 11 teachers are absent and the school secretary is still trying to find teachers who will cover their classes, which have 30-plus students each. About four weeks ago, when school started, I requested a sub because I’ll be leaving town next week. They still haven’t found someone to cover for me.

Yesterday, a loaded gun was found on campus in the boy’s bathroom during school hours. Teachers received an email at about 6:30 p.m. — at the same time as the general public. Mind you, this was after a day full of fights between students.

Also yesterday, there were multiple teachers out, and we had two subs trying to cover four teachers. One substitute teacher walked out after the second class. She told another teacher she had never been so disrespected in her life. Other teachers were then asked to cover for the sub who left.

Tuesday, a student stole the wallet of the teacher whose classroom is attached to mine. Fortunately, the school was able to track the stolen wallet.

Wednesday, the air conditioning died at our sister high school in record-breaking, 90-degree fall weather. There were three student fights, and by noon, someone set off a smoke bomb in the bathroom.

The administration evacuated the building, but while everyone was outside, five additional fights broke out simultaneously. Teachers were injured. The school resource officers were outnumbered. Finally, someone arranged for buses and school was dismissed early.

I haven’t even mentioned the intermittent internet issues, overcrowded classrooms, COVID cases, high student absences, and learning loss where children have developed poor habits and now rebel against classroom instruction.

Five Jobs in One, I say all this because I’m exhausted, too, and there are no substitute teachers to allow us to take time off. I hear you, and many teachers across the country feel the same.

Here are five things we can both commit to trying this week:

Take a breath — because it feels like that’s all we can do right now. Give yourself one minute to catch your breath.
Remember what is in our circle of control.
Show up for ourselves by finding some form of exercise. The benefits of exercise are worth the effort it takes to motivate ourselves even when our days are stressful.
Resist the urge to veg out on the couch at the end of the day. Use evenings to participate in an activity you enjoy like a bowling league, or phone a friend to catch up.
Ask for help. It’s OK to reach out to a therapist. Join a larger education community like our After the Bell Facebook group.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Five Jobs in One, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

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How do I help fellow teachers who are ready to leave our profession?

2022-10-06T13:00:00+00:00

Following my first year as a teacher, I thought teaching wasn’t for me, and I quit. I left the profession for something completely different, but I didn’t feel fulfilled.

I came back and found a new school where I’ve taught for five years. I feel supported by the community, the district, the parents, the team, and my administration. I even hope to stay long enough to retire here.

Most teachers go into this profession with heart and love to build better communities and to give kids the strategies and tools to handle what will come their way, but as someone who left the profession for a time, I know we have a teacher shortage for a reason.

How can I support other teachers who are struggling right now? What are things I can do, as a teacher, to help with the teacher shortage? — Hungry to Help

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Hungry to Help,

Robert John Meehan said, “The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.” Teachers are built differently.

Like you, I also left the profession and came back after feeling unfulfilled. I’m glad we both returned to education.

You’re also right in your assessment that most teachers don’t feel as supported as you do now and many are leaving the profession. As teachers, we are handling America’s education challenges by implementing every management strategy we can employ.

Every day, I see teachers miraculously save each other, and many of us recognize the need to hold one another up.

The needs of teachers can vary from building to building, city to city, and state to state. The first step in helping teachers in your community who are on the verge of quitting sounds simple but isn’t done enough: Ask them what they need and listen to their answers.

Here is how my peers and I support each other

We are each other’s safe spaces. We vent without fear of retribution. One of us is always the voice of reason. When we go too far or start taking the job personally, we reel each other back in. The best part about our time together is everyone is welcome: new teachers and veteran teachers. We are race- and gender-inclusive.

We get to know each other as people outside of our profession. We talk about our kids and spouses. We discuss projects we have going outside of work. We also vary our meeting locations to support local restaurants and find respite from the school buildings where we work.

You can build this in your community or school by starting a social committee. Even if it’s a small group, plan one activity per term and invite teachers and staff — offer people a small prize or token of appreciation for attending (as with our students, candy or snacks can be a big motivator). Build momentum by surveying attendees about their interests. Extend a special greeting to new teachers and ensure they receive a more personal invitation.

What you can do now: Invite your colleagues to get together

Here’s a sample email you could send to foster a safe space among teachers at your school.

Subject Line: You’re invited to a Welcome Back gathering

Body:

Hello everyone,

If we haven’t met yet, I’m [YOUR NAME] and I’m excited to invite you to a Welcome Back gathering to ring in the new school year in the lounge on [DAY] at [TIME].

You will have the opportunity to enjoy light refreshments while connecting with colleagues. There will be small attendance prizes for those who can make it.

I’d like to extend a special invite to any new teachers this year — we veterans can answer any questions you might have about our school.

Looking forward to seeing you all in the lounge on [DAY].

P.S. I’d also like to get a “Welcome Committee” going at our school, to ensure there’s a consistent way for us to come together. If you’d like to join the committee, let me know!

We collaborate. All over America, school districts have closely monitored, time-bound mandates. In our building, we work together to meet our deadlines.

I began collaborating with colleagues when our department chairs conceived an intervention plan to allow teachers to push into each other’s classes. We found that having an extra certified adult in the room increased time on task and student engagement.

Our professional development plans, units of instruction, and responses to intervention are completed together in small groups. We read aloud and edit finished copies before sending them to principals.

I published my first fiction book because two amazing English teachers met me for dinner and volunteered to read every page. I would not have accomplished my dream of becoming an author without their support.

Hungry for Help, ask your colleagues what they need help with.

We lose sleep over problems in our classrooms and buildings. There are times when we must have gripe sessions. I have found, however, that our conversations are laced with solutions.

We talk to union representatives. When we recognize problems and brainstorm solutions, our elected union representatives are available to present our concerns to the board of education.

Last week, we were required without proper notification to complete and submit district-required paperwork. Our union representatives sprung into action, and we were granted a 30-day extension.

Review your policy handbook to know when to raise an issue with the union representative.

Hungry to Help, if you want to support your fellow teachers, consider becoming a building or district union representative. You could even work on the national level. Someone has to represent our voices.

We guest teach each other’s classes. The teacher shortage is a heavy burden. Not being able to go to doctor’s appointments or take off when you feel ill creates poor working conditions. When we need emergency assistance, we help each other as much as possible.

Last month, I covered another teacher’s class, and she bought me a bag of candy corn. I was so excited. I smile every time I think about her kindness.

Offer to guest teach or step into a peer’s classroom if you see your friend needs a break.

Teachers are human. We need kindness. We need each other. When you see a teacher struggling, ask them what they need, and try to help them work through their problem. Bring in others you trust as needed.

If we can commit to supporting each other, and finding solutions, it will create better relationships and better working conditions for us all.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Hungry to Help, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

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I’m not a licensed teacher. How do I do a good job when I have to sub?

2022-09-29T13:00:00+00:00

I am a non-licensed central office district employee. There are times over the past years when I have been required to substitute in schools.

What is the best way to establish relationships with the students and have a productive/low disruption day? — Short-term Bond

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Short-term Bond,

So many of our students have visceral reactions to teacher absences.

I have seen students, upon hearing of an absence, leap up with their hands in the air as if they were celebrating victory. I have also seen students drop their heads to their desks and wonder how they will make it through the day without this person they depend on.

Teachers are much more than adults in the classroom who disseminate information. We are a lifeline.

We are also human who sometimes desperately need to be absent and have reliable guest teachers who can step up and support our learners. Short-term Bond, I imagine the change in your daily schedule is more than a simple interruption.

Going into a classroom of diverse learners can be intimidating even for advanced practitioners. You are a valuable part of the team and your question about being comfortable in the classroom is one guest teachers face daily.

How to feel comfortable and build trust with students quickly

- Follow the lesson plans. Teachers have strict schedules. We have to follow our scope and sequence and there is often very little wiggle room. In many cases due to common formative assessments, teacher groups must be on the same page in the textbook on the same day. If you follow the lesson plan, it will help the teacher and the students maintain a sense of normalcy.

This won’t always be possible, but when you are given advance notice that you will be filling in for an absent teacher, request the lesson plans be sent to you or shared in a common space.

- Establish relationships with students. Look for long-term guest teacher spots or opportunities to return to classrooms you’ve spent time in. When you begin to recognize students and remember their names, it helps to establish your credibility. Learn something about their families, their hobbies, and their favorite things. Share your story with them. They will be interested in you.

With younger students, I like the idea of Would You Rather games. It can be as simple as would you rather eat peanut butter or hop on one foot? Would you rather eat ice cream or frog legs?
For middle-grade students, Heads up 7 up is always a winner. Use it near the end of class as a reward for on-task behaviors.
For high school students, 2 Truths and a Lie is a great game. Give students time to write two truths and one lie about themselves. The class has to guess which answer is the lie.

- Find out what the classroom consequences are for student misbehavior. Most teachers post their rules as well as what happens if rules are broken. For example, you should know if you’re able to message parents directly or whether the staff prefers you leave a note for the teacher.

- When you can, reward students. Find ways to reinforce appropriate behavior and reward those who are performing well. Stickers are a good option. I prefer Jolly Ranchers.

- Tap into your acting skills. I was once a long-term substitute teacher for a chemistry class (I am an English teacher). I learned more from YouTube than I ever thought possible. I also acted my way through each day imitating what I saw the professionals teach.

I wore ‘science’ clothes like a lab jacket and used goggles to make my hairstyle pop. I read the teacher’s notes and met with other instructors who provided me packets of information to absorb. The more you know about a subject, the better. The more you do not know, the more you have to act your way through.

Finally, remember, try not to alienate anyone and be welcoming — this is what students will remember most even if you’re only with them for one day.

Do your best to make that one day better.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Short-term Bond, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

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In this political climate, how can I teach the U.S.’s diverse history?

2022-09-22T13:00:00+00:00

In our current educational and political climate, millions of children are being deprived of their right to fully learn history, read diverse books, and even be themselves in school.

How can teachers push back against these laws and policies impacting our practice? — History Repeats

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear History Repeats,

I grew up in a segregated town.

In my elementary years, district lines were redrawn so the children in my neighborhood could integrate schools. Our integration was not met with violence, and many teachers embraced the brown children who showed up at their school.

The problem was the curriculum never changed to meet our needs.

My parents told me I could be whatever I dreamed, but I had few role models. The closest representation to Black success I had at school was the fictional character Jim from Huckleberry Finn, who ran away from slavery.

In fact, most of what I learned at school was that Black people were enslaved and would remain subservient to white people. This message drove playground and bus fights, and led to poor grades and parental outrage.

I still remember being in the school chorus while my friends eagerly sang the “Dixie” song, with the words, “I wish I was in Dixie,” about a formerly enslaved man who longed for the plantation of his youth. I appreciate that my mother voiced her concern to the principal and the following year we had a new choir teacher.

It took me a long time to reject the notion that I wasn’t good enough. Even while working on my doctorate, I struggled with imposter syndrome, or feelings of inadequacy in the academy.

My elementary school teachers wanted so badly to be good human beings, but their best efforts were not enough to undo what they had (or hadn’t) learned about Black people.

They were not equipped to understand Black culture.

I know the fate that was met by other children in my community who did not have strong parental support like I did. Some went to prison, others had battles with addictions.

History Repeats, I believe the first step in creating a better America starts with us. The future of the students we serve matters enough for us to address our own biases.

As educators, are we voluntarily reading books that deal with anti-racism and anti-discrimination across gender identities? Are we contributing to the invisibility marginalized students feel every time they walk into our classrooms and face rejection and unsafe environments like my peers felt growing up?

This movement to censor teachers comes as no surprise. Racism is often overlooked and slavery is downplayed in U.S. history textbooks.

Bias has been taught to generations of students who have become teachers. Georgia State University published education professor Chara Bohan’s interview on the “Lost Cause narrative,” and the Southern Poverty Law Center published a report on why schools aren’t adequately teaching the history of American slavery.

But, in 2022, teachers have plenty of resources available to address our biases.

- Learn your rights. The August 2022 edition of NEA Today (National Education Association) provides resources for educators who need to know their rights as it relates to racism, sexism, and historical prejudice.

- Provide your students the space to have a voice. Even if you are in a state where a gag order is in place, learn the topics in which your students are interested.

My students love field trips and in St. Louis we have a lot of options: The Black Rep, National Blues Museum, and Missouri History Museum.

I also bring in pictures from family vacations and share literature from the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). On field trips, I encourage students to ask questions and share their family experiences because it creates space for conversations we might not otherwise have.

- Stay current on recently published young adult books. When I choose books, I research characters and how they are portrayed. If you do not have the autonomy to add a diverse book to your core curriculum due to red tape or other issues, then add YA books to your classroom library. Cultivate a relationship with your school librarian to ensure the most requested books will be available.

During my career, I taught Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Underground Railroad. His fictionalized account of a runaway slave covers the Tuskegee Experiment, Harriet Jacobs and her seven years living in a cramped cellar, and the patrols that later became America’s police force.

Students have a choice in my classroom. I would never force a book on them, but I will make sure that if someone asks about a book that’s not on our curriculum, I point them toward what they are seeking. Hopefully, they can locate the book in our school’s library/media center.

- Work with other teachers. Early in 2022, thousands of teachers in Indiana unified and helped block the ‘divisive concepts’ bill that would have potentially censored classroom instruction about race and racism. These teachers demonstrated the power of organization and unity.

The National Council on Teachers of English (NCTE) provides the latest resources for teaching in the contemporary classroom.

The organization recently released its position statement on writing instruction in school: “Writing instruction and assessments also serve as gatekeeping devices when they are built around deficit notions surrounding students’ languages and literacies. Narrow definitions of and attitudes about writing and language too often perpetuate white, Eurocentric ideologies about what it means to write ‘well’ or ‘effectively’ (Chavez, 2021), upholding racist and linguistic barriers and inequities for students whose writing does not easily assimilate to dominant norms.”

I work in the same district that I integrated as a child.

The only reason I know about Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Nikki Giovanni, and so many more authors, inventors, and abolitionists is because I worked in the library during college.

As a newer teacher, do not be afraid to check in with your mentors. In many cases, they have a story to tell about how they overcame challenges with racism and discrimination.

When I see my students, I feel a deep connection to them and the community because I understand what it is like to be misunderstood. I know the pain of not seeing positive images of people who look like you. As educators we have to take a stand.

We can learn our rights. We can organize. We can push back against oppression. Let’s remain on the path to being better humans. Generations of children need us to stand up and acknowledge the difference between right and wrong.

In order to educate the children, we all have to educate ourselves.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with History Repeats, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org.

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It’s not ‘gym class’: Philadelphia PE instructor is serious about wellness

2022-09-21T12:00:00+00:00

Philadelphia High School for Girls’ physical education teacher Alicia Mannino knows that people think that her students get to play all day.

Sure, her class is a lot of fun — there’s music, there’s dancing — but it’s also so much more. “I have a curriculum, not just sports,” Mannino told Chalkbeat. “I teach movement skills, health, and wellness, not just games. And it’s Physical Education, not ‘gym class.’”

Mannino, who has taught for 13 years, believes physical education is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle — the birthplace of wellness and the best part of a student’s day. (A recent SHAPE America study showed that most high school students have a positive view of health and PE classes.)

This is Mannino’s first year at Girls High, in the Olney section of Philadelphia, but the Bucks County native taught previously at Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences and, before that, at Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School, a bilingual K-8 school in Hunting Park.

Growing up, Mannino was a triple-sport athlete by the time she was a senior in high school, winning first team All-Catholic in both soccer and lacrosse. She also played on nationally ranked travel soccer and baseball teams. Mannino, who went on to get her degree at Rowan University, said she “lived and breathed competition.”

“Going from athlete to teacher, I get to utilize my best physical abilities and play all day,” she said. “Yes, there is an abundance of information and knowledge gained from a great PE program, and at times, I’m totally exhausted, but I cannot reiterate this enough, I get to be a big kid all day.”

In addition to teaching PE, Mannino runs Girls High’s Gay Straight Alliance club, or GSA. The organization provides students in the LGBTQ+ community a safe space that centers positive relationships, equality, and peer acceptance.

“Identifying as lesbian myself, the students feel more secure because I can relate my past experiences to things they may be going through,” she said. “Homophobia exists everywhere, unfortunately. Many of my students are scared to come out/identify as what they want because it’s still not culturally accepted.”

From the first day at Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences, Mannino demonstrated how much she genuinely cares about each student, said John Piniat, the principal there.

Added another former colleague, teacher Blair Downie: “She cares deeply about inclusion of students with disabilities and has developed school-level programs to increase opportunities for students in self-contained special education classes to spend more time with their peers.”

Mannino spoke recently with Chalkbeat.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Why is engagement so important for the classroom, and what are some ways you keep students engaged?

This is going to sound real old school, but I try to keep technology out of the gymnasium as much as possible. Now, keep with me here because I know you’re probably rolling your eyes. Social media is everywhere! Most students have access to a cell phone, which leads to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc. As a physical educator, there are many goals, but if I had to narrow it down, the goal is to get up and move. Put the phones down, let’s get some face-to-face social interaction.

Many of the games [we play] are based on seasonal sports such as football in the fall, basketball in the winter, but there are also so many aspects to a complete PE program. We play cooperative games that incorporate teamwork, positive communication, problem-solving skills, and much more. These are vital to learn and grow into a positive member of the community. There’s also a sense of being a big kid at heart. I play, dance, get the “tea” every day, and it allows for positive relationships to grow. When I show them that I am interested in the games and that I give it my all, they follow my lead. When you practice what you preach every day, it’s contagious for the students not to latch on and get excited to walk into my gym every day.

How have you used your personal experiences to support the students in your classroom and/or school community?

This question has two sides that I need to address. One, my personal experiences and upbringing are of the middle class — a more privileged outlook than what our students literally see on a day-to-day basis. So, I try to listen to what is happening to them rather than sharing my privileged upbringing. There are always going to be lessons in life that we have experienced that we relay to our students because it’s just natural for educators to share parts of themselves. The second side is that I share my experiences in a positive way. I make sure my students know that I am not perfect and that my experiences in life are only told to them to give them information to make decisions in their everyday life. I’m here for them — gimme the “tea,” tell me what’s going on. When you keep a classroom where the students call it a “vibe” you know you’re doing something right.

What has been your biggest hurdle in returning to in-person learning?

To be honest, I am so glad that we are back to in-person learning. While virtual learning was necessary due to the pandemic, being able to play games and have social interaction beyond breakout rooms is where I want to be and stay.

What are some of the things you learned from teaching students with special needs that other teachers can take into the classroom?

One of the things that I am most proud of is called gym buddies. Each year, we would pick one group of students, usually an eighth grade class, and we invite them to join our adapted class to utilize socialization between both [typical learners] and special ed students. The main reason Gym Buddies started was to create a positive setting where students can get to [know] one another. A group of selected eighth graders would leave their lunch period once a week to interact with students of different disabilities. We believe that this socialization really helped out our school community because now our students are exchanging social media accounts, gamer names, high-fiving in the hallway, and disrupting negative behaviors from other students towards the students with disabilities. I also emphasize the district’s no-bullying policy. I let it be known in the beginning of the school year that everybody is equal, and nobody here is better than anybody else, no matter how gifted you are in athletics.

What’s the best advice that you can give to new teachers?

We think our “work” is the job we go to or the place we get a check from. No. Your work is the very special thing that you add to this world. Your vision, your light, your love, what you share, what you create, how you make people feel, etc. That, my friends, is truly our work.

Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org.

After 23 years in education, I’m frustrated. When is it time to quit?

2022-09-15T13:00:00+00:00

Dr. Kem,

How do you know when to leave education?

The last few years have been a lot, as we all know. And I have pushed forward, and am beginning my 24th year in education.

However, it is harder and harder to shake my frustration about things that I cannot change but impact me as a school leader. I do not want to be the bitter leader that poisons the culture of my school. Nor do I want my negative vibe to show to parents and students.

How do I know it’s time for either a position change in education or leave education altogether? — Gearing for Goodbye

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Gearing for Goodbye,

A celebration is in order. You are starting your 24th year as an educator, and as a school leader, you have undoubtedly had an impact on the lives of many children.

Dolly Parton once said, “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.”

Great leaders have the ability to create vision and values, and then establish frameworks of thinking that support action. They inspire action!

That also means inspiring actions in ourselves.

Staying in your current position will depend largely on whether you have accomplished what you set out to achieve as a school leader.

As you consider whether to stay or to go, assess and make a list of all of the things you currently feel you cannot change and how these things impact you personally. You can use a decision tree to help you decide.

Your job should be an occupation and not a definition, which means you can’t allow a negative environment to change you for the worse.

If you lean toward leaving, here are the two most important questions you need to be able to answer because the vision you have for your building should carry on after you depart.

Your new focus should be a smooth transition that compliments your skill level.

1. Who will be your successor?

The teacher whose classroom I inherited worked the same job for 42 years. Her boss had been asking her to retire because, according to retirement system rules, she was losing money by continuing as a classroom teacher. She said she could not leave until someone she trusted took over. Her boss became my boss and he was the best mentor EVER!

Gearing for Goodbye, do you remember your first year of teaching or your first year as a principal? Were there mistakes that you made that could help someone else avoid? I know I can look back and laugh at myself as a new teacher. So many mishaps. Like the time I brought in a class pet when my principal had a no-animals policy.

It is time to leave your current position when you have found a mentee to take your place.

A successor who crosses your path will appreciate you beyond words and help ensure your work continues to impact generations to come.

2. What will your mentor say?

A mentor, an experienced and trusted advisor, can help you develop your personal leadership plan.

In my graduate coursework, I wrote a career plan using a model similar to this one found on Northeastern University’s blog. My plan included five goals and the dates I would complete them.

Think about your life plan. Was being a school leader the last thing on your to-do list or were there other ambitions?

A mentor has the experience and trust to encourage you to spread your wings and take the next step. If you do not have a mentor, consider following these steps to find one you can trust.

There are many opportunities to continue to support school-aged children and strengthen the education system without working directly in schools.

Former teachers can be found in many facets of society. Some chose curriculum writing or substitute teaching. Others go into nonprofit work or grant writing.

John Waldron, a former social studies teacher is now a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives where he lobbies on behalf of public education. Frederick Minner, one of my former principals, is an author and a consultant who recently started a podcast.

Embrace change that empowers you as an individual while still advocating for students, families, and communities.

Gearing for Goodbye, I encourage you to make your next move your best move.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Gearing for Goodbye, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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‘See the strength in them:’ This Denver teacher knows what it’s like to be a refugee

2022-09-09T22:48:48+00:00

Katherina Lei was 5 years old when her family fled the civil war in Myanmar, walking through forests and across rivers to neighboring Thailand.

“I was so tired and felt like the journey would never end,” she said.

Today, Lei is a preschool teacher at Denver’s Place Bridge Academy, a magnet school serving refugee and newcomer students from all over the city. She knows what it’s like when students land in her classroom not knowing English or facing emotions they don’t know how to handle.

Her goal, she said, is to “peel through the layers and see the strength in them.”

Lei was one of three Denver Public Schools staff members honored last spring by the district’s Asian Education Advisory Council. She talked to Chalkbeat about how she helps new students acclimate, why reading is so important to her, and why she mistakenly believed teaching would be easy.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What was your experience as a refugee like?

I am a Karen ethnic from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). My parents are from the Karen State in Myanmar. I became a refugee because of the civil war between the government junta that oppressed the Karen and other ethnicities that wanted freedom and democracy for decades.

When I was young, many villages in the Karen State were attacked and we had to flee to a refugee camp in Thailand. I remember vividly how we walked through the forest, slept under the trees in a tent made of tarps, and crossed the river. My sister got chickenpox while we were running for our lives.

I lived in Nu Poe refugee camp in Thailand close to the border of Myanmar for over 11 years. We lived in a bamboo house, crowded, and fenced with barbed wire. For me, it was not bad because we had a roof over our head and food on our table. Besides, nature was my comfort.

I never felt safe because our camp was on the border. One of the things that bothered me was the barbed wire fence that took a piece of my clothes or my skin every time I snuck out to go find veggies, swim, or feed my pigs outside the fence. I snuck out many times because I was always curious about what was outside of the barbed wire fence. Moreover, I could not see my future and felt stuck and unsure about life.

In the early 2000s, many countries, including the United States, opened the program to accept refugees from Myanmar. My parents got accepted to be re-sheltered in the United States in 2008. I have lived in the Aurora-Denver area since I moved here.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

When I started college, I wanted to become a pediatric nurse. As I took some college classes, I started to work at Place Bridge Academy as a paraprofessional to help me with some bills and tuition. I realized that I wanted to help young children learn. After my associate’s degree at Community College of Aurora, I transferred to the University of Northern Colorado to complete my bachelor’s degree in early childhood education.

How do you help students acclimate to living and learning in a new place?

I help students acclimate by providing a welcoming classroom environment, learning a few greeting words or important words from their languages, and listening to them. I also connect with the families and get to know them by listening to their stories. From my experience, one of the most important things is to give my students the space and time to go through their feelings, and just sit with them quietly if needed.

How did your own experience in school influence your approach to teaching?

I was a refugee student coming to this country without understanding English or knowing the system. I remember being scared and lost in this new country. By having a very nice and understanding teacher, I was able to navigate through my first year of school — at Aurora Central High School — in this country. I can never forget the sweet smile of my teachers as they helped me understand what they were saying. This experience influenced me to become a teacher who is not only teaching academics but is a person students can trust and who cares about them and understands them.

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach. Where did the idea come from?

I love reading and talking about the stories with my students. Books help us start a conversation about an idea or a topic.

When I was young in the refugee camp, we did not have many books. My first memory of enjoying books was when they started to build a public library. I think I was in middle school. I would go and read as many books as I could every weekend. My first ever favorite book was called, “Rudy the Bear.”

I love the feeling of reading, and I want to pass this experience to my students. One of my favorite books to read with my students is “Whoever You Are” by Mem Fox. I enjoy talking about this book because I want my students to accept and celebrate the diversity of children in our class, as well as our community, our country, and our world.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on in your classroom?

My students always tell me what happens around them — at home, in the community, and in their little world. If they witness violence in the community, they will think it is OK and act out what they have witnessed. For example, they pretend to fight and punch each other. Sometimes, they pretend to be in jail or take each other to jail. According to them, they are stealing or being bad, so they need to be in jail. If they witness kindness, they will also bring it and show it toward their peers.

What was your biggest misconception that you initially brought to teaching?

My biggest misconception that I initially brought to teaching was “teaching is my passion and it should be easy.” I learned that even though teaching is my passion, I have many rough days.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

One of my favorite biographies is, “Undaunted: A Memoir of Survival in Burma and the West” by Zoya Phan. She is a Karen refugee from Myanmar, just like me.

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

What’s the best way to communicate with my students’ families?

2022-09-08T13:00:00+00:00

Two teachers seek help in communicating with students and their families.

Dear Dr. Kem,

I’m starting this year at a new school that has a large Spanish-speaking population, but I don’t speak Spanish. Most of the kids speak English, but I’m nervous about trying to communicate with their parents.

What would you do in my situation? — Lost in Translation

Dear Lost in Translation,

You have a case of what I call the pre-worries.

Given the demographics of the teaching profession and the increasing number of diverse students, you are not alone as you try to communicate with those in a culture different from your own.

My school participates in foreign exchange programs and as an English teacher, I have taught students from Germany, Spain, Liberia, Jamaica, and other places around the world.

My first experience was a lot of pointing, smiling, and being utterly confused. It took me a while to learn the following advice — use the resources available to you.

Contact the district English Language Learning teacher, if there is one. This teacher can help you translate notes and phone calls between you and the non-English speaking families.
Students tend to be helpful when they know you have limited language skills. They will be your greatest resource for understanding not only language but cultural barriers. For example, they will alert you about traditional foreign holidays when they may be absent from school or may not be able to complete a project.
Make no assumptions about familial commitment to education. It can be easy to fall into the trap of believing that non-English speakers who do not initiate contact care less about their child’s educational experience.

Do whatever you can to invite these families to events, have special reading and math nights equipped with translators (coordinate with school counselors), and send home grade reports with summary comments to let them know how their child is progressing.

By the end of the year, you will have learned more than an app or even a semester in college can teach.

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dr. Kem,

I know there are A LOT of apps out there for teachers to communicate with students and parents. Do you have one you like best? — Techy Teacher

Dear Techy Teacher,

As much as I would like to jump on an app to communicate with families, I only use communication methods provided and approved by the district.

In my career, I have seen teachers who have used methods not approved by the district and the result has caused problems with parents and administrators. Specifically, I have seen teachers use social media to connect with their students and too many conversations can be misinterpreted in an informal setting.

If you’re hungry to use technology, look for ways to use communication technology inside your classroom.

Learning Without Tears suggests teachers create a podcast. While starting one can seem like a daunting task, Teacher Vision provides a step-by-step guide on how to get started.
Elementary school educators use apps like Class Dojo because it provides behavior reports that families can view in real time.
All teachers can use Google’s “schedule send” feature to plan emails in advance.
When I taught summer school, I set up a free Google voice phone number that was connected to my cellular phone to text and leave messages with parents.

Whatever communication method you choose, set your boundaries and make it clear to parents what platforms you’re available on at the start of the school year and avoid the temptation to allow exceptions.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with either Lost in Translation or Techy Teacher, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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Back to school, fellow teachers! Here are 7 tips to handle our angst.

2022-09-01T13:00:00+00:00

As the new school year begins across the country, teacher and columnist Dr. Kem Smith offers advice for teachers at every stage of their careers. She’ll return to answering your questions next week. You can submit them here.

A cartoon by the late James Estes in “Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul” shows two kids standing in their shiny new school clothes and backpacks outside a classroom door. There is a sliver of the teacher’s head visible through the small window. The caption reads, “We know you are in there, Ms. May - we can see you. Open the door.”

While the cartoon is meant to be funny, new school year worries can be debilitating to even the most seasoned teacher. But, there are ways to avoid that angst.

As teachers, we must remember to consider what we can control. We are faced with so many challenges. If we get bogged down in every detail of every problem, we will never be able to create the teacher work-life balance we need.

How to navigate new-year angst

- If you’re a new teacher, get help! New teachers often think they can operate on the same level as 10- and 20-year veterans. The benefit of being new means you know what you learned in school and what you experienced as a student teacher.

Having your own classroom is a different experience. You have to talk through your thoughts about learning (metacognition) with a person who can brainstorm solutions.

- If you’ve moved to a new school, hopefully, you were able to get unpacked and settled before the new school year. Step out of your comfort zone and find a way to make new friends at work. Teacher friends are the best; they will show you how to win in the classroom and with parents. When they invite you to lunch, go.

Use all the skills we teach our students to make connections. And, don’t forget to connect with the staff. Stay late and meet the night custodian; come in early and greet the cafeteria workers, librarian, and coaches. If you win them over early, these colleagues will be your allies with students, families, and the bosses.

- If your classroom environment feels chaotic, be attentive to possible solutions. As the practitioner, you have the front-row seat to learning loss and can often determine when connections are broken.

I have gone home feeling defeated after a long day of trying to teach a new concept. Before bed, I meditate on solutions asking myself, “How can I relate this material to something familiar to the students?” When I wake in the morning, I have at least 2-3 ideas I can implement to improve my classroom success.

- If you’re teaching a new subject or grade level, it doesn’t mean you need to reinvent the wheel. Talk to other teachers about the class. They will have a stack of resources that could fill a football stadium. It’s a mistake to try to read through everything in one sitting. Tag the resources that look interesting and group them by theme. Use planning time to read over and incorporate whenever possible.

- If this is your first time back in person since the pandemic, incorporate safety measures that matter the most to you. There are over 100 teachers in our building. Some wear masks, some don’t. Some use personal air purifiers or take other precautions.

Your health is your personal business. No one should pry into what you choose to do.

- If you have a new supervisor/administrator/department chair, give your new boss the opportunity to gain some experience and familiarize themselves with the building. Also, consider being flexible with any changes they propose. Organizations may operate under a “that’s the way we’ve always done things” mentality, while outsiders can see the error in maintaining the status quo. Allow new leadership the chance to learn for themselves that your way may be best.

- If your best teacher friend left your school, cry! No, I’m kidding. You may feel like crying, but part of being a healthy, whole individual means accepting change.

The pain of losing a friend can be reduced with all the technology available at our fingertips. Wouldn’t it be great to become pen pals with your former co-worker? If your friend took on a corporate position, can he or she use volunteer hours to assist your class? Think of all the ways you both can benefit from a continued relationship even if it means you meet for brunch or snow cones.

I hope these tips will help you in the new school year.

There has been a surge of comedians with stand-up routines about teaching. Everyone finds a way to laugh about what we take seriously every day. Maybe, we can find some humor in our profession as well.

I have learned that what frightens you in August and September will make you laugh in June.

Even in the moment, find and choose joy.

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Good morning, Mr. Harper! First-year Philadelphia teacher relishes new role.

2022-08-29T11:00:00+00:00

Tamir Harper always toyed with the idea of becoming a public school teacher. Now after years of advocating for equity in education, Harper is among the school district’s 600 new teachers and counselors starting this year.

“I’m excited and nervous — just all the unknowns that come with it. I’m excited to get to know my students and really just do the work of teaching and learning.”

Monday is Harper’s first day teaching eighth grade English and social studies, the latter being his favorite subject growing up, at Henry C. Lea School in West Philadelphia. It’s also the first day back for roughly 114,000 district students.

The Southwest Philadelphia native is a product of the school district, graduating with honors from the Science Leadership Academy Center City. While there, he helped found the nonprofit UrbEd Inc., creating a platform for students to engage with issues involving public education and social justice.

He graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., where he was a member of the Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars program — a full-ride merit scholarship track that focuses on the legacy of the late abolitionist. He was also the editor of The Blackprint, which covered campus happenings of students of color.

“It’s about giving back to my city. I can’t imagine teaching in any other system within my first few years of teaching,” Harper said. “Why not teach for the district? Why not teach in the city that made me who I am and teach in an adjacent neighborhood to the one I grew up in?”

Harper is a part of the movement known as the Black teacher pipeline, aimed at recruiting, hiring, and retaining Black teachers across the U.S. The effort is spearheaded by Philadelphia educator Sharif El-Mekki, founder of the Center for Black Educator Development. El-Mekki’s mission is to bring 21,000 Black students into the teaching pipeline over the next 12 years in 10 communities across the country, including the Philadelphia-Camden area.

“It feels amazing to be part of this movement,” Harper said. “I feel as though this is the work that needs to be done, and the work that will actually change how we look at education.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How did you prepare yourself in college for a career as a teacher?

I took classes in the School of Education. My minor was education. All of my [professors], for the most part, were former teachers. I felt the best folks to teach me how to become a teacher are ones that were in the classroom.

Why do you think it’s important for Black students to have Black teachers?

From graduation rates to lower suspension rates to feeling more engaged. But if we even take out just clear data, who doesn’t want to see themselves as the professional in front of them? Right? I dreamed of being an FBI agent at one point because I used to see the Black guy on “Criminal Minds.” I had dreamed of being a doctor because I had a Black woman as a doctor; her husband, a Black man, was my brother’s cardiologist. So I saw folks that looked like me in medicine.

Who was your first Black male teacher? And how did he inspire you?

My first Black male teacher was during my ninth grade year. I can remember Matt Kay. For me, he showed that you can actually be a Black man. I’ve seen someone that’s doing it. He enjoyed the classroom from my viewpoint. He enjoyed being in front of students. So that inspired me and made me excited, but it also helped me see that I can actually do it.

What style of teaching can students expect from you?

Project-based learning that’s inquiry-driven. They’re going to get an educator who loves to teach and to make learning fun for them. And have them enjoy learning — that’s what they’re getting right there. They’re getting a young new college graduate from their city who grew up every weekend in their neighborhoods. I’m excited to teach them English and social studies and will ensure that it relates to their lives.

What are some methods teachers should use to connect with their Black students?

I think the most important method is listen — listen and learn. Someone said to me recently that the music the students are listening to is not the music you probably listened to, right? I think there’s a new rapper named Lil Durk. I’d never heard of them. But you know what I’m going to do now? I’m going to blast Lil Durk so I can learn what you’re talking about.

Do you plan on making a connection between students’ lived experiences and the classroom?

I think every student brings their lived experiences. So if it’s music, if it’s the gun violence that’s plaguing our city, if it’s the poverty level, if it’s their parents having to work multiple jobs or they can’t have clean uniforms. So I think as an educator, I have no choice but to use their lived experiences and ensure that the trauma that they bring with them is acknowledged, respected.

The TV show “Abbott Elementary” has been heralded for highlighting struggles of big city school districts like Philadelphia. Which character on the show do you most connect with?

It’s a mix of the Italian lady (teacher Melissa Ann Schemmenti, played by Lisa Ann Walter) that literally will do anything for her students and the former lead actor in “Everybody Hates Chris” (teacher Gregory Eddie, played by Tyler James Williams). It’s that, hey, I want to do good, and I love the students, but also I’m scared sometimes. And I don’t want to be roasted. Like when I decided I was really going to go teach, I bought at least another two pairs of Jordans. My kids are not about to be making fun of me on TikTok.

Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org.

How do I set boundaries for student-teacher interaction after school?

2022-08-25T13:00:00+00:00

Dr. Kem,

Do you have any advice for setting boundaries when it comes to students reaching out after school hours?

I want to be available for my students but I’ve also had parents complain when I don’t email a student back right away, even if it’s late at night.

How do I find a balance? — Access or Excess

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear Access or Excess,

In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was passed. (It was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015.) As a parent and an educator, I remember telling myself that NCLB also applied to my own children because I needed to prioritize my role as their mom and their first teacher.

Early in my career, I experienced more challenges with administrators than parents who did not understand my familial boundaries. I was often required to stay after school and work on weekends as a regular part of my job.

For years, I would leave work, pick up my children from school, then drive them back to work with me. When they became teenagers they explained how awful it was for them feeling forced to be my teacher assistants. In fact, they despised teaching as a profession. They held me accountable for putting them before my work.

I learned from them to be intentional about my boundaries.

As much as I would like to be available for my students and their families at all times, boundaries are important for work-life balance. Not setting boundaries can lead to fatigue and a strain on personal and professional relationships. It can also lead to students calling at inappropriate times like when a teacher is asleep (that happened to a colleague).

Think about college professors. On their syllabuses, they list office hours and what to expect during the course. Consider using the same method for your students and their parents. In your beginning-of-the-year materials, list the times you are available and when you will respond — then commit yourself to sticking to those rules.

If you do not have a syllabus to distribute, use your email. Place your office hours in your email signature and communicate that information to your students and their families at meet-the-teacher nights, parent-teacher conferences, and throughout the school year. I have found all of the above methods to be effective.

Then, everyone will know what to expect.

Despite my best intentions, I have answered parent calls during class or first thing in the morning when I needed to prepare for my students.

Sometimes, parent or student calls can be challenging. I usually end those conversations by setting up meetings with parents. Emails and phone calls can be barriers to communication. In-person meetings can be facilitated by an administrator or team lead and alleviate those barriers between teachers and parents.

Remember, you have the power to teach people how to communicate with you. Do not be afraid to hold that power, and if you find your boundaries are not being respected, ask an administrator or a school counselor to support you.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Access or Excess, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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This teacher wants to stick with his students from kindergarten to high school

2022-08-24T11:00:00+00:00

Mark Rogers went from teaching calculus to teaching kindergarten.

It was a big jump for the Texas teacher, but he did it because he believed in a practice called looping.

Looping is when students are taught by the same teacher for multiple years. Whether done intentionally or by chance, recent research shows this teaching technique can improve student academic performance and behavior.

Rogers came across looping by accident when an administrator at Meridian World School, a charter school north of Austin, Texas asked him to move up from eighth grade to fill an empty ninth grade algebra position. The first day teaching ninth grade was “completely different.”

“I knew everybody’s name. I knew everybody’s family situation. I knew how to differentiate for their needs,” he said. “There was a classroom community that had already had 12 months to develop. So I was blown away. This is so much easier. This is the way teaching is supposed to be.”

Rogers was such a fan of the teaching style that with each new year he volunteered to move up a grade with his students — even though it required learning new material. Eventually, he watched his high school seniors walk across the graduation stage.

“I saw how helpful it was taking kids from middle school, and then transitioning with them to high school,” Rogers said. “I thought to myself, well, what if we did that the whole way?”

That thought spurred the move to kindergarten at a different charter school, Austin Achieve, which serves students from elementary through high school. Today, five years later, Rogers and his class are entering fourth grade, and he plans to stick with them until they walk across that graduation stage, too. (He was their lead classroom teacher from kindergarten through second grade and now teaches math and science to those same students.)

Chalkbeat spoke with Rogers about the benefits and challenges of his approach.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What are the most positive impacts of looping you’ve seen?

You can imagine that taking a calculus teacher and putting them into kindergarten, there’s going to be some bumps along the way. And I’ll be the first to admit that it was very challenging from a content perspective.

The amazing thing is that, even with those challenges, the kids who were with me in kindergarten had a class average of the 25th percentile when it came to national standardized testing data. In fact, I didn’t have a single student above the 40th percentile. And that’s normal, right? Kids come in and we’re going to teach them what they need to know. But what’s really cool is that even with a teacher like me, who is still grappling with the difference in curriculum and content and how to deliver it, because those kids have been in a really familiar environment, with their friends, and with me, and at the school, those kids have risen. So those same testing scores have increased. I’ve now got eight students who are in the 90th percentile or higher. And that’s just amazing growth to think about in four academic years, including a COVID disruption.

Any hurdles?

The pushback about learning new content. You can typically get around that and make teachers more comfortable with learning new content when they realize that we’re always learning something new. As a teacher, you’re either going to learn new content or you’re going to learn new kids. When I speak with teachers who are reticent to begin looping, that’s what really opens their eyes. Are we going to learn new content and loop with our kids? Or are we going to learn completely new kids, and stick with the same content? When we start to think about how challenging it was to learn the unique characteristics and traits of a child, and how you can build trust with them, I mean, that’s the special sauce of education.

The hurdle with the teachers, that’s easy to overcome. The harder one I’ve found is that if it’s not a school priority from leadership, then looping has a really tough time getting started. So if a principal isn’t bought into the data-driven benefits of looping, it’s very hard. That’s part of the work that I do now is meeting with administrators and helping them see through not only anecdotal evidence from me and other looping teachers, but also nationally, what looping does in very large data sets to improve attendance, academics, and behavior.

Tell me about a memory with your class over the last five years.

For anonymity purposes, we’ll call this kid James. James was with us kindergarten through second grade, but [Austin Achieve] was a little further away than the other school he would have been zoned for. So James actually left our class for the third grade year [2021-22]. And James missed us so much that James convinced his mother to bring him whenever he had a school holiday that didn’t overlap with our calendar. He’d just come to school and sit in our class. That happened three times. I mean, think about that, a kid voluntarily going to extra school to be with his friends.

James was just sad. He missed his teacher. He missed his friends. He missed our environment that we had spent three years building together. And I’m really happy and almost going to tear up. James’s mother called me two weeks ago and was like, we want to come back. He finally set foot in the class, and the smiles on James’s face tell me everything I’ll ever need to know about looping.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom or your school?

The primary community issue that we see right now is housing price inflation. Ninety-five percent of our kids are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. And so housing price inflation has been so challenging in a lot of places, especially in Austin, Texas, where the median sales price for a house has doubled in the last 10 years and rent along with it.

One student’s family came to me in tears. They’re like, ‘I’m sorry, we have to move to Bastrop, a smaller city southeast of Austin. We’ll pay half in rent. We can’t afford to live here anymore.’ And so she moved to Bastrop Independent School District. A special looped class like this one is one thing. But just to lose the ability to go to your own school because you can’t afford to live in the city anymore, that was really challenging.

As you prepare for the coming school year, what are you most looking forward to?

I believe that kids all learn at different rates and at different times. I think every kid in my class is a genius, and they have genius in different areas. My goal is to continue to grow and cultivate the genius in the children that I haven’t had a chance to do that with. And the coolest part about looping is you do get another chance.

Jessica Blake is a summer reporting intern for the Chalkbeat national desk. Contact her at jblake@chalkbeat.org or on Twitter at @JessicaEBlake.

How can we just go back to the way it was before the pandemic? Life is different now.

2022-08-18T13:00:00+00:00

Dr. Kem,

It feels like teachers are expected to go back to the way things were before the COVID-19 pandemic, without recognizing how differently everyone experiences life now.

I teach at a school for emotionally impaired students and we had really poor academic outcomes this past year. Our school was incredibly understaffed, to the point that I had to combine all middle school students into one room when others were out sick. I don’t blame my admin or the district — it’s a trickle-down effect — but I’m burnt out.

Administrators and the district are heavily focused on addressing learning loss and conducting academic data review check-ins, but it doesn’t feel like that’s speaking to the heart of the issue. That’s been the most frustrating.

Our youngest students have never had a normal school year, and we’re seeing increased behavioral challenges compared to other years. As educators we know what we need to do to support students, but we’re being asked to prioritize their grades over their emotional needs.

Dr. Kem, I know changes to the system are needed, but how can teachers ensure the changes being made are aligned with what students actually need? And how can we make sure the changes are sustainable when we are under-resourced? – Chasing Changes

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear Chasing Changes,

You are not alone.

America’s education system was driving with its check engine light flashing BEFORE schools closed in 2020. Someone needed to stop and ask teachers what to do years ago. Instead, the push to keep rolling along until the wheels fall off was heightened by the pandemic.

Understaffing and the need for more resources happens daily in schools all over the country. Schools need better funding to increase teacher pay and provide equitable resources, de-politicize curriculums that provide autonomy for teachers, and improve professional development programs.

Education is not a fundamental right under the constitution. The establishment of education is one of the powers reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment. We have to be active on the state level to challenge legislation that is designed to undermine public education. As educators we have the ability to invite legislators to our classrooms and allow them to hear our voices and those of our students.

One thing teachers can do collectively is vote. The entire ballot matters, from the local school board and district committee members to the United States President. Engage in this fundamental right to create a better education system.

Along with voting, you can ensure your classroom is equipped to meet your student needs by participating in social media movements like #clearthelist. Teachers and their communities raise funds to ensure that under-resourced classrooms get the supplies they desperately need.

To participate, go to Amazon.com, create an account, and add a wish list of items you need for your classroom. Once your list is created add it to your profile on platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Then, search #clearthelist, and share your list with other teachers who will amplify it with their followers until your list is cleared. You can repost other teachers’ lists, too.

Within your classroom walls, focus on what you can control by creating consistency, routines, and patterns for students. Help them understand expectations when they arrive, throughout the day, and as they depart. Focusing on problems instead of solutions sets you up to worry about what’s wrong with education, instead of what is right.

Here’s how I ensure my sanity and put student needs first, even when change is the only constant.

– Every day is a new day. Practice a fresh start policy. Everyone, including the teacher who may have participated in an unproductive act the day before, gets a clean slate. There are no carryovers. If the day needs to start with a restorative circle instead of coursework, give yourself permission to pivot.

– Pursue progress, not perfection. Consistently show up for students who are chipping away at their individual Big Hairy Audacious Goals (B.H.A.G.s). That teaches them the perseverance to accomplish even the most difficult task. The old saying goes, “how do you eat an elephant?” One bite at a time.

– Look for ways to make a positive impact. There are children whose home lives are less than ideal. What brings us to tears is their norm. Sincerely look for ways to plant seeds of greatness without being condescending.

I painted “Intelligence is your birthright” and “Today, I will walk in my power” on the wall in my classroom. I have had to explain to an astonishing number of high school students what those two phrases mean.

A difficult part of our job is helping the people around us see how life is an opportunity to pursue greatness. We show them when we transform our school communities with positivity.

Chasing Changes, things are different now. While we can’t go back to the way things were before the pandemic, and in reality, they weren’t much better, focus on actions you can take with the teaching community and what you personally can control in the classroom.

Thank you for writing this letter. Composing your thoughts is the first step in helping other teachers who are facing similar situations.

I want to encourage all educators to use their voices. I am here. “After the Bell” is here.

We can unite in the power of our collective voices.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Chasing Changes, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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Kindergarten kids hear world music and a Colorado teacher shares his passion

2022-08-15T22:10:46+00:00

Croatian rock, Brazilian jazz, and hip-hop.

Those are a few of the musical genres Donavan Fountain introduced his kindergarten students to as part of a week-long music appreciation unit he created since there was no music class in the weekly schedule.

“I love music so much, and I wanted to share that with my students,” he said.

Fountain, a graduate of Denver School of the Arts, previously taught at Global Village Academy and this year teaches at Lotus School for Excellence, both charter schools in Aurora. He was among a dozen teachers selected last year for a Colorado Teaching Policy Fellowship through the national nonprofit Teach Plus. The program aims to involve teachers in education policy discussions and give them the tools to lead change.

Fountain talked to Chalkbeat about his contribution to Colorado’s new school discipline law, the impact of COVID rules on kindergarten families, and why he talked to a student’s parents about their divorce.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

When I was in high school, I had one of the greatest educators I’ve ever encountered as my history teacher — Mark Hughes. One day he was lecturing about World War II, specifically the D-Day Invasion, and he pointed to a poster on his wall. The poster was a photograph of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower briefing a group of paratroopers before the Normandy Invasion. When Mr. Hughes talked about the moment in which the photo was taken and the weight of the scenario he began to cry purely out of a passion for the content he was teaching, and it moved me deeply. I decided then that I wanted to become an educator.

How did your own school experience influence your approach to teaching?

I went to Denver School of the Arts for theater in middle school and high school. It influenced me to push for kids to use their creativity and imagination as much as possible. Kindergarteners are naturally curious, imaginative, and creative — I’m just dedicated to bringing that out of them!

Tell us about a favorite lesson to teach.

At my last school, we, unfortunately, didn’t have a “music specials” class for our elementary building. So, for a week, I taught a music appreciation class to my kindergarteners. We listened to so many different types of music, and they journaled about what they liked and what it reminded them of. On the first day, we listened to world music, including a Croatian Prog-Rock group called September and the Brazilian jazz artist Waldir Calmon. On day two, we studied hip-hop. We looked at several elements of hip-hop, including breakdancing, beatboxing, DJing, and rapping.

As a Teach Plus policy fellow, what project did you undertake? Why?

When the fellowship began in June 2021, we got grouped together based on mutual interests. Our working group was tasked with addressing the school-to-prison pipeline and how/if it affects students in the state. I’ve been fascinated by this theory not only as an educator but as a person of color, so when the option presented itself, I jumped at it.

I’m proud to say that our efforts resulted in the drafting of House Bill 22-1376, also known as Supportive Learning Environments for K-12 Students. The bill was signed into law this summer, and I contributed language that ended up in the bill. I was very happy to have that opportunity. It gave me an inside look at the direction I want my career to head.

What is something happening in the community that impacts your classroom?

A lot of parents have been a bit frustrated that they can’t be involved as much within the school building due to COVID protocols. This is especially unnerving for parents of kindergarteners, as that’s the cohort of students that needs the most support, especially in the first month or two. For me, the big concern is students feeling anxious or upset without their parents. It’s appropriate developmentally, but considering a parent in a pre-COVID world would be able to walk their student all the way to class, the protocols now make things a bit tougher.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

A couple of years ago, I had a student whose parents were in the middle of a divorce that was less than amicable. The fighting and poor communication between the parents spilled into their son’s life. He was always so upset and couldn’t calm himself down. Seeing this had an impact on me as I’m a person whose parents divorced, but my parents knew to keep my sister and me out of the parts that had to do with them.

Eventually, my co-teacher and I called a conference with the parents and had to be stern about positive and appropriate communication and how [the divorce] was affecting their student. I learned that although I care for the families of our students, my primary concern is the student.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to education policy, so when I have some free time, I love to read books about education policy as well as studies surrounding education. But for extra fun, I’ve been listening to Tom Segura’s new book, “I’d Like to Play Alone, Please.”

Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.

This Brooklyn teacher is making theater more accessible to students with all abilities

2022-08-15T18:36:34+00:00

A serendipitous subway ride about 20 years ago led Michael Pantone from his acting career to teaching theater at a Brooklyn public school serving children with disabilities.

On the No. 2 train, Pantone had run into an actor friend as she headed to direct an after-school theater program for middle school students. She invited Pantone, who was between acting gigs, to check it out. He went the next day and ended up assisting her. That led to them co-directing a summer student theater program. Then, the private school that housed the program offered Pantone a full-time position teaching theater.

For the past eight years, Pantone has taught theater at District 75’s P721K, the Roy Campanella Occupational Training Center, where he splits his time between working with high school students with multiple disabilities and K–2 students with autism. He often leads workshops for other teachers and teaching artists working in general education settings, as well as in District 75, a group of specialized schools serving students with the most significant disabilities. Pantone, who holds master’s degrees in theater education and special education, was among 20 teachers recognized by the city’s education department in this year’s Big Apple Apple awards given to outstanding educators.

Each year, after Pantone works with his students on performance skills, he also helps them turn their ideas into fully realized theater pieces.

“When devising an original scene, some students can easily verbalize ideas, preferences, and concerns. For many, however, this is not their preferred method of communication; instead, they communicate with their bodies, eyes, gestures, behaviors, and communication devices,” Pantone said. “For me, it’s fascinating to be constantly reminded how the communication of wants and needs can be so easily conveyed if one is open to receiving them.”

Chalkbeat talked with Pantone about his creative approaches to teaching theater to students with disabilities and his efforts to make arts education more accessible and inclusive.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

When you moved into teaching, did you know you wanted to work with students with disabilities?

I did not know I wanted to work with students with disabilities at first, but to be honest, the students that required me to dream up ways to best serve them, were becoming my ‘favorite’ students to work with. I was creatively challenged, and these young people were so willing to learn and grateful to be included in the ensemble. I came to learn many of these students did indeed have IEPs [Individualized Learning Programs].

When I was able to provide supports, such as clear step-by-step directions, modified choreography, adapted lines in the script, etc., wonderful things started to happen. Disruptive behaviors dissipated, casts became more supportive of one another and performed as true ensembles.

I cannot see myself working in any other community today.

Can you tell us a bit more about some of the different approaches you use with your high school students and your early elementary school students?

My high school students with multiple disabilities and my elementary students with autism are perhaps some of our students with the most severe and profound disabilities. With these students, I am left with wonderful opportunities to figure out how to tell and act out stories with students with limited or no mobility and those who are mostly nonverbal.

With students with multiple disabilities, the work we do often involves choice-making. We do this through the use of assistive communication devices, motion detection technology, and peer-to-peer interaction (i.e. an ambulatory student assisting a wheelchair user in their performing efforts).

Many of my elementary students with autism have the desire for social interaction but may lack the skills to engage appropriately or can be overwhelmed by it. So, social interaction and awareness are at the core of our curriculum. We work to understand one another by exploring non-verbal communication, body language, facial expression, all which are foundational theater skills.

You also spend a lot of time teaching teachers. How do you try to inspire them to incorporate more inclusive practices?

I present on inclusive practices for not only special education theater teachers, but also for general education theater teachers who are finding more and more students with IEPs in their classrooms.

I try to demystify any misconceptions they may have about working with students with disabilities by being frank about what disability is and the many ways it can look and feel.

I am big on the expression, ‘accept all offers’ and theater teachers have heard me speak on this over and over again in the workshops I lead. Accepting all offers simply means to remove any preconceived ideas of what an outcome should look like and accept the response offered by students as right and just even if you, the teacher, can’t make sense of it at the moment. Their offerings are authentic and spontaneous and our job as the ‘professionals’ is to figure out how the offerings fit into the big picture; again, super creative work!

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

Interestingly, I do not remember very much about my early school life, which I chalk up to be because I wasn’t having fun. I do, however, remember every show or performance I did dating back to kindergarten because for me, that was fun, meaningful, and magical! This is where I learned and how I learned best.

Now, I seek the fun element in every lesson I create in the hope students will have experiences where they are making meaning of themselves, how they fit in the world, and how to secure their places within it.

As you prepare for the coming school year, what are you most looking forward to?

We are super excited about getting our students back on buses and subways to explore the arts in New York City after not being able to due to COVID.

Partnering with outside arts organizations provides additional exposure that we may not be able to provide with our in-house offerings. For example, many of our students have never attended a live theatrical production, visited a museum, or gone to a dance or music concert. These partnerships make that happen and in many instances create opportunities for our students to engage most effectively by offering autism-friendly performances, which include sensory exploration and modified technical effects such as loud sound, bright lights, etc.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

“Lost At School” by Ross W. Greene is a book that I have read and reread and reread. In fact, I try to read it yearly.

In it, Greene explores challenging student behaviors and simply defines these as ‘unsolved problems.’ The unsolved problems become the collaborative task to solve between staff and student. Greene provides multiple strategies to assist, but most importantly, he shows us how we can ‘flip the script’ on our reactions to challenging behaviors and to be more understanding of them because they are the result of ‘unsolved problems.’

This book has made me a much better educator and overall human.

You have a busy job, and this is a stressful time. How do you take care of yourself when you’re not at work?

I exercise! When I get home from work, I almost immediately do a 30-45 minute workout in my home gym (Peloton and Tonal enthusiast here!). These minutes to myself allow me to shake off the day, get some good endorphins going, and are the best gift I can give my family as I really try to be home when I get home from work.

Amy Zimmer is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat New York. Contact Amy at azimmer@chalkbeat.org.

I’m starting my fifth year of teaching. Will it ever get easier?

2022-08-11T13:00:00+00:00

Dr. Kem,

Teaching has always been my calling. The classroom is my domain, where I feel the most me — I feel so fulfilled. I love kids and interacting with them. I love science. Teaching is a perfect fit for me.

But four years into my career, I didn’t expect the constant drastic shifts. I’ve already taught at three different schools, and navigating new schools in a short period in the middle of the pandemic has created a feeling of instability.

Teachers have always worn 10,000 hats: we’re teachers, coaches, therapists, mentors, college counselors, in-school parents, etc. It’s a lot for one person to handle. I’m a structured person. I aim for perfection, and there are a lot of things that I can’t control. There is no space to really sit down and process these feelings — I just have to get through it.

While things may go perfectly one day, I still have to be ready for anything the following day. Teachers always have to have Plan A through Plan E ready every single day, but all of them could still fail and we have to adapt in real time.

It feels like there is no stability as students and teachers still get sick and have to stay home. When I had COVID at the beginning of the school year, I still taught virtually. There was an inherent feeling that I wasn’t doing my best if I wasn’t present.

While people often equate teachers with superheroes, we’re human and we need help. I need more resources for myself as a teacher. But, too often, administrators and parents make it seem like advocating for better treatment (for both students and teachers) equals complaining.

A school fails when teachers, parents, and admin don’t collaborate. Instead, I wish we could create a space where everyone feels welcome, heard, and seen.

Dr. Kem, how can I adapt to this job that requires making multiple plans and wearing different hats? How do I support my own mental health needs to adjust for the instability in teaching right now? — Instability in Ed

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear Instability in Ed,

Congratulations are in order. In the spring of 2022, you completed your fourth year of teaching. Under the current circumstances, you have accomplished something great.

Ten years from now, you will look back on these times and say those were the good ole days. You will talk with colleagues and reminisce about when you first started virtual teaching and how challenging it was switching from one plan to another.

I have learned from years of being a teacher that if something is not working right, give us time and resources, and we will fix it — it’s clear from your letter you have that ability, too.

Though my first four years of teaching were challenging, I remember them as my glory days. So much happened I could barely keep up, and I was the world’s best actress in front of students all day.

My mother died on the first day of my first full-time sixth grade teaching assignment. I had no time to mourn her loss or help my own children process the loss of their grandmother because, as a single mom, I had to get to work. I felt there was no way I would survive that year, especially without my mom.

I was wrong.

My co-workers became my support system. Looking back, I realize that I learned so much that year about who I was as a person, how amazing teachers are, and what the students meant to me.

Three years later, I felt instability and a sense of loss again when our school closed, and all of our positions were eliminated. I loved many of the people I worked with who helped me through those first years of teaching.

I eventually found a new job, moved, and even started planning my wedding – all while operating as an utterly confused middle school teacher.

As chaotic as my life was, I would not change any of it. It is in the instability where teachers find their footing. I realized not knowing what I was doing was making me better at my job.

I know working as an educator can be hard for people who crave perfection as you do. In people management (and that’s ultimately what we do with our students), too many variables cannot be controlled. Instability is the nature of our work.

Here’s what I would tell my younger self – pandemic or not – to help me maintain my sanity in the early years and beyond:

- Set annual personal and professional goals. I live in the same town where I grew up, yet I use my GPS for most of my destinations. Why? Because I like knowing where I am going and when I will arrive. I am re-routed if there is a detour, and I can see my route from multiple points of view.

Being a teacher and having a personal life are the same way. You own your route and your point of view.

Work with a mentor to maintain control of your professional life. Find someone to help you set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals each school year. Most districts assign mentors or you can connect with someone who smiles at you in a staff meeting. Oftentimes, you’ll instantly know they are the “one.”

The saying goes, “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Around October, when it feels like you are failing because you are one unit behind, your mentor can help identify your route and decide where to detour.

- Make sure your skills as a teacher are matched with the grade you teach. Teachers often are placed in a grade that does not match their skill set. I aimed in college to teach first grade but I was placed with older students. But, teaching middle school made me miserable. I felt out of place trying to provide the type of structure middle schoolers needed. I found my happy place with 12th graders. Helping students transition to adulthood worked for my creative nature.

I have found that improper placement can cause teaching frustration. Administrators will often place teachers according to building needs and not necessarily that teacher’s skill set. That is why it’s crucial to set personal and professional goals. Take note of the things you do and don’t enjoy with the grade level you teach. If you want to switch grade levels, obtain proper credentials. Plan properly to move forward in your career.

- Find something every day that energizes you. We become overwhelmed with semester grades, parent-teacher conferences, required contacts, committee meetings, and clubs. Losing your identity as a teacher can lead to teacher burnout. Think of what energizes you and is personally fulfilling. If roller skating is it, skate. If dancing is it, dance. Find your “thing” and add it to your calendar. Set a date and commit to yourself.

- Put something on your calendar that you can look forward to. I have a secret tip that only those closest to me know. I survive every semester because I have a trip planned. I am a travel junkie. I love going to new places and experiencing new things. Last year, I took 11 trips. And, no, I do not advise you do the same! You have to plan for retirement, and travel is an expensive habit.

But what can you do that’s affordable and that every time you look at your calendar, you look forward to it? Whatever that is, it will keep you going.

- Listen to your body’s signals. Fatigue is a sign. Hunger is a sign. Thirst is a sign. I teach 85-minute blocks per day. My body is always asking for something.

On my best days, I listen. I drink water. I go to the bathroom even if I have to ask another teacher to watch my class. I do not skip lunch. I also eat with other adults. Even if the lounge is full of Negative Nancys, you need a break from your room and students all day.

A new teacher’s workload is so demanding that it can be hard to imagine looking back on the beginning of your career with fondness.

I hope sharing my experience and advice proves that though our work as teachers has always been challenging, it will get easier and you will find yourself getting better at managing the chaos.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Instability in Ed, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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My students don’t seem to care about their studies. How do I reach them?

2022-08-04T13:00:00+00:00

Hi, Dr. Kem,

It’s heavy being an educator right now.

While I have a good handle on what I need to do for myself to stay in a good headspace, there are more demands on the profession and a challenging worldview toward teachers right now.

As a department chair with over 20 teachers in my department, I need to be the mental health support for the rest of my teachers. I am transparent with them and listen with a nonjudgmental ear. If extra resources need to be brought in, I can do that for them.

I also still teach, and am transparent with students about what they need — I strive to be a safe person they can come to.

That being said, we’ve all felt some lack of motivation recently. I teach students both in person and online, and many times it feels like my students just don’t care anymore.

I give my online students a questionnaire after every unit that asks them, “Are you on track?” and “What do you need?” Many of the students answer, “I’m not on track because I don’t want to do this” and that’s it. They don’t give a reason.

It’s frustrating because most of the time I don’t have the contact information for their parents, caretakers, or guardians, and the students don’t want me to have it since they aren’t doing well in my course.

I don’t even know how to identify the problem. Because it’s a virtual setting and there are over 100 of them, I don’t have time to call every single student. I usually send a note back to them after reviewing their questionnaires to say, “Hey, I know you don’t like this class, and I know that it’s summer, but you need this to graduate.” But it doesn’t seem to change anything for them.

This apathy is happening in-person, too. I don’t know if this stems from assignments and expectations being excused at the height of COVID. In our district, we were told to “give students grace.” While I agree there’s certainly a time and place for grace, I worry this language puts our students in a mindset that there are no consequences. And, when teachers at my school reach out to administrators about students refusing to do the work, they tend to side with the student.

While I try to make lessons engaging and relevant, the lack of consequences is an added challenge for motivating students who are struggling. My students lack perseverance and grit — if things get hard, they just stop.

Dr. Kem, how can I motivate my students after three years of school disrupted by the pandemic? How can I get them to buy into their education again? — Missing Motivation

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear Missing Motivation,

You are the reason America loves teachers. If no one has said thank you, I will. Thank you.

Every day you go above and beyond the call. Missing Motivation, look at all of this work, yet you continue to push. Based on your letter, this is a summary of your typical day:

You teach students both in person and online; your virtual classes have over 100 students.
You work to ensure lessons are engaging and relevant.
You advocate for your students’ long-term success by checking on them.
You survey and read questionnaire responses from students, and provide written feedback for each one.
You take care of your own mental health.
You are the department chair for over 20 teachers. TWENTY teachers! And, you provide mental health support, resources, and supplies for them.

You are already doing so much and I am sure there is more you can add to the list.

Part of enjoying life’s journey is to remember what you can and can not control. A student’s honest response about a lack of desire to complete coursework can be startling. This generation of students possesses more autonomy to express their emotions even if the adults around them dislike what is being said.

Every day, Generation Z grapples with competition for their attention which makes them believe that school is optional. I know it is nearly impossible to capture the attention of my students for a meager five minutes of direct instruction.

Remote learning over the past two years seems to have intensified their need to escape into their electronic devices. The sad reality is that we, as teachers, cannot compete with such enticing distractions. Daily, they see students as young as 15 who have become YouTube stars, social media influencers, Amazon resellers, or well-paid gamers. Those challenges are outside our control.

I empathize with students who lack motivation for school. They gave up so much – prom, school football, basketball, and soccer games. They missed seeing their friends, and many more pivotal experiences. They deserve time to grieve even if we need them to hit the ground running.

Here’s my list of what I believe we can control as teachers. I hope one or more of these recommendations will resonate with you and can be adapted into your daily practices.

Tap your community

My district superintendent says there are two types of school employees: teachers and those who help teachers. Building administrators are in place to support you.

Reach out to administrators with a list of students whose families you have been unable to contact. Partner with leadership and those who were responsible for enrolling the student in school. The administration’s role includes monitoring attendance and reporting that information to agencies. They can also create outreach plans to reach struggling students. I once worked with an administrator in Missouri who tracked a student to Kentucky, and enrolled him in a program that allowed him to complete high school.
Document student files with correspondence. Student apathy is a community affair and failure should not be an option for virtual or in-person students. When administration does not respond to multiple intervention requests, begin to document your attempts to engage with apathetic students. This information will be helpful for future planning and progress monitoring. For example, I have former students who were not successful in their home schools but thrived in alternative environments. When placing students, notes from teachers provide valuable insights.
Find mentors. Edutopia.org provides step-by-step guidance for any teacher who has never implemented a mentoring program. Avoid developing a program like this individually. Use the team of teachers to power through together.

Examine equity issues

Create a safe space for students by coordinating with school counselors and social workers to help them feel included in the school’s culture both inside and outside the classroom.

Are there any groups of students who, based on their identities, feel isolated and disconnected from other students? You have an amazing tool at your disposal with your questionnaire. Find out if there are areas where students do not feel welcome and work with them to build connections.

Tap into what students already love

Edglossary.org defines student engagement as, “the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education.” In order to engage students, we have to pique their interest.

Locate programs that support student desires. When you create your questionnaire, include a question that will prompt students to tell you about their interests. Then, scour the internet to find community resources. For example, a student who has an interest in the arts may consider free classes available through the local art museum. A student who likes discovering how things work can enroll in an engineering summer camp through a local college. Most of these campuses offer full-tuition summer camp scholarships to cover fees.

Bring in outside speakers. As the department chair you may be able to recruit your teachers or librarian to help bring in speakers. Consider local authors, politicians, fire and police department personnel, and business leaders. If cost is a challenge, consider arranging for alumni to speak. This article provides tips on how to plan an engaging alumni talk.

Help students envision their futures

Teenagers are notorious for not being able to see the steps to success. While they can envision themselves as rich and famous, they struggle with how to get there.

Plan virtual college visits. Higher education institutions have created virtual tours for prospective students. These 360-degree tours make students feel as if they are on campus. Princeton Review has a list of colleges with virtual tours.
Petition the school district leaders to require students to complete volunteer hours. Civic engagement can alleviate apathy and develop character. In my district, there is an annual Special Olympics where the entire student population can volunteer to serve. Students can also serve as camp counselors, tutor younger students, volunteer at food pantries, help with beautification days, organize blood or donation drives, and more.

Use tech to your advantage

Help students break down their dreams into digestible goals and see how their lives could look in the future.

Review the virtual student orientation process. Research indicates that when students have little to no experience with the virtual learning environment, the onboarding process significantly impacts their experience. Speak with the counselors and technology department about ways to improve how students learn and interact with teachers and technology.
Understand that teachers who teach virtually have to take on a new role as supporter and instructor. Know that when you teach virtually it is more like taking on a second job than adding another class. Get as much support as possible from software tools. Automate as much as possible.

Missing Motivation, I know student apathy can be discouraging. When their choices don’t match our instructional aims, we can feel like we are failing. I hope my response helps you recognize that the work you do for every student under your charge matters. It is obvious that you care. Consistency fights apathy! Never give up.

Eventually, your students will graduate. You’ll be invited to their class reunions and they will tell you how you helped them through the most challenging time of their lives.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Missing Motivation, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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How do I speak up to get more support from the administration?

2022-07-28T13:00:00+00:00

Dear Dr. Kem,

I’ve been an elementary school teacher for 15 years. I know a lot of teachers feel underappreciated right now, but what’s bothering me is the lack of appreciation from those who should be supporting us most: our administrators.

I’m taking care of the mental health of all my kids. I’m covering my colleagues’ classes due to a lack of substitutes. I’m adopting new textbooks and websites before I’ve had time to fully digest them. And I’m acting as tech support for my colleagues who don’t know how to access the myriad of virtual tools we’ve implemented over the last two years. Meanwhile, we often hear discouraging messages from administrators like “you should be doing more” and “don’t complain, you have a job.” It’s taking a toll on me.

I’d like your help with a difficult dynamic in my school. If I reach out to someone in the district who is more knowledgeable than my administrator, or who would quickly answer my question, it creates tension with my admin. Administration expects us to know answers that they should be able to help us with (e.g. what is the passing i-Ready score for a third-grader this year?), and when they don’t know, they get upset with us for reaching out to the district for help. Instead of dealing with this, I usually try to solve my problems on my own.

Another point of tension is the monthly award our administrators hand out to staff to honor their efforts at school. In the two years since this started, only two teachers have been recognized. The rest of the recipients have been staff members, like custodians, office personnel, or school security. While I know they work hard, too, it’s disappointing to see teachers who will never be recognized for their dedication to their students. I wish administrators saw how much we actively manage in the classroom each day.

Dr. Kem, I know my colleagues and I deserve to be recognized by our administrators, but how can we voice these issues and concerns when I worry they will just get upset with us? Is there a way we can communicate our needs and be heard by our admin? — Annoyed with Administration

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear Annoyed with Administration,

When my children were small and had birthday parties, I limited the party size to five children. We would head to the nearest event space with a paid hostess. Inevitably, things would get wild for the children who consumed too much sugar and were overstimulated by arcade games. More than one child’s behavior would have to be redirected; others needed parental intervention because they would no longer listen to me. By the end of the night, I would be exhausted.

For my non-teaching friends, imagine that birthday party with 30+ children, every day. That’s six times the above-mentioned number of partygoers, and there’s no event planner or fun venue. You are the hostess, and every adult at the party at the same time. And, you have to consistently plan, execute, and deliver an engaging event.

That is what we do as teachers. We deliver exciting lessons to a variety of learning styles without enough resources and supplies for each student. Then, the only person who should be assisting you instead comes to observe your teaching on random days of their choosing. In many cases, they are paid more than you to critique you. Whoever created this dynamic clearly had no idea how terribly these things could devolve.

Teachers all over the world can identify with your annoyance.

The tension between building administration and teachers is built into this system. We, the teachers and administrators, need to partner to alleviate this “us” vs “them” dynamic. We need to model a cooperative working environment to benefit our students.

The best administrators get us resources to better do our jobs. They give us relief from extra duties, help us find money to fund our projects, and keep snacks handy. They recognize our hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual efforts. The book, “If You Don’t Feed Teachers, They Will Eat The Students,” serves as a reminder for school leaders to nurture teachers.

Yet, not everyone automatically has the insight and ability to create effective high-quality administrator-teacher relationships.

Here’s how to communicate your needs to the administration

Annoyed with Administration, you can maintain a professional relationship with your administrator even if there are challenges. I have outlined some steps to help you communicate your needs in a way that will get them to listen:

- Align yourself with teacher colleagues to create an open communication plan between administration and staff. In our building, we have an Organizational Leadership Team (OLT) that meets monthly to discuss general concerns about the building as an organization. The OLT was created by the district when we adopted the Professional Learning Community format. The team got buy-in from fellow teachers by creating a vision plan for our building, and got admin involved because they could see the benefits of the committee. The committee members are volunteers, and all teachers can submit agenda items to the committee for open discussion. An administrator is required to attend and reply to agenda items.

If you decide to create something similar, know it will take time and hard work to do, but the investment will be worth it and will help get everyone on the same page. The power of partnership and participation eliminates the back and forth between teachers and administrators or the need to seek outside help. I know that some days as a teacher are more difficult than others. Use your teacher support system to create change.

- Begin to document the one to three most urgent matters that need action. If you are feeling overwhelmed, identify the areas where you need the most support. Explain in writing the type of assistance that would most help. For example, you mentioned you have been helping colleagues access new technologies. Is it possible to get release time or compensation for creating virtual tutorials for your co-workers?

A teacher in our district assisted so many teachers with the new learning platform that she created a job for herself and was promoted. She had been one of the first teachers trained and received a certification from the company. We were all so impressed by her knowledge but her promotion didn’t just happen. She advocated for herself and leadership responded.

- If you are in the union, involve your representatives in conversations about covering classes for teachers and implementing new curriculums while learning new software and programs. Ensure that labor laws are followed. Be sure to consider your relationship with administrators when involving the union. The representative may ask, as they should, have you spoken with your administrator first? The union is there to protect you and amplify your needs. Often policy changes need to be made and the union is critical in that process. However, there are certain situations that are specific to administration.

- If the administrators are unable to provide a positive climate, the student council along with the parent-teacher association can help change the atmosphere in the building. One year, our student council wrote positive messages like “I am grateful for what you have taught us this year” on sticky notes and placed them where the teachers could see them. In elementary school, students can draw themselves with their favorite teachers. Those drawings can be posted in various places throughout the school.

Teacher burnout is real and it’s also avoidable with help from those who have the ability and leadership to ensure you are getting support. Administrators are under pressure from the district, parents, teachers, students, and the community. Be gracious while advocating for yourself. Your work is valuable and you and your co-workers are stronger together.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Annoyed with Administration, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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For this LA educator, teaching Asian American history and activism is personal

2022-07-22T18:30:00+00:00

Five-year-olds have a very literal way of understanding the world, says Kimi Waite, who spent her early career in a kindergarten classroom.

“One of my students had an incredible mind for science and engineering,” said the Los Angeles-based teacher, noting that he was eager to experience everything he learned.

“One day during recess, I found him outside of the classroom door with his cheek pressed against the wall. I asked him what he was doing, and he said, ‘Today, our vocabulary word was texture! I’m trying to experience the texture of the wall.’”

She delights in students’ radical openness to those new textures, new ideas, and new people. That’s one reason Waite, who now works as an elementary school STEM curriculum specialist while pursuing her Ph.D. in sustainability education, is passionate about teaching about underrepresented communities.

“I believe that young learners are perfectly primed to think about issues of injustice and also scientific inquiry due to their unique way of looking at the world,” said Waite. “They’re very passionate about what’s fair, what’s not fair.”

Growing up Asian American in Seattle, Waite says she rarely saw herself reflected in her school curriculum. “If I did, it was always like a very oppressed narrative,” she said.

Teaching, Waite said, was “a calling to counter the experiences I had, and to make it better for [other] children.”

But improving the experience for all students requires better training for educators, she said. “Our teacher education programs need to emphasize more anti-racism and social justice,” she said. “I think it’s fundamental that teachers are trained.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I wanted to learn about different places and education systems around the world that were different than in North America. I first started teaching as a fifth and sixth grade ESL teacher at a public school in Seoul, South Korea. I’ve also taught professional development for early childhood educators in Guyana. One of the reasons why I love Los Angeles is because of the local and global connections that always show up in the classroom.

But the main reason why I became a teacher was because I wanted to make a difference. I believe that education and teaching have a larger purpose and a larger goal of advancing social justice and environmental justice.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

As an Asian American, I never saw myself reflected or represented in my K-12 curriculum. On the rare occasion that Asian Americans were in the textbooks or were mentioned in a lesson, the portrayal was one of an oppressed people who silently accepted their fate. However, history tells us that this stereotypical portrayal isn’t true. Throughout history, Asian Americans have engaged in resistance and coalition-building against injustices. But this typically isn’t taught in schools.

Much of the work I did to prepare to be a teacher, in undergrad and in my teacher preparation and masters program, was about unlearning the whitewashed narratives that were presented to me during my own K-12 education.

My own K-12 education also showed me the importance of having teachers of color. From kindergarten until my doctoral program, I’ve only had five educators who have looked like me. In elementary school, I never really felt like I connected with any of my teachers or that I was seen.

What’s your favorite — or in your opinion, most important — lesson of Asian American history to teach and why?

Asian Americans have a long history of resistance, and this resistance has shaped our civil rights today. The nuts and bolts of each court case may not appear in early elementary school, but the concept they reflect of Asian Americans fighting for equality can. Here are some examples:

United States v. Wong Kim Ark: This 1898 case affirmed that American-born people of Asian descent were U.S. citizens, and gave legal precedent for citizenship rights of historically marginalized U.S.-born people. A great book to use to teach this is, “I am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story.”
Korematsu v. United States: Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were given orders to report to assembly centers. Fred Korematsu defied these orders and was arrested. Legal challenges were filed, but his conviction was deemed constitutional. Scholars now regard this as wrongly reasoned, along with cases like Dred Scott v. Sanford and Plessy v. Ferguson.
Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution is celebrated annually in California and 12 other states on January 30 to honor the legacy of Korematsu. Some great books to teach this are: “Fred Korematsu Speaks Up” and “They Called Us Enemy.”
Related to Japanese American incarceration during World War II, the POV documentary “Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust” tells a story of historical dispossession: the dispossession of Indigenous lands; the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans; and the extraction of natural resources. Three communities rise up in solidarity to fight for environmental justice. The lesson plans I wrote for the film are available on PBS Learning Media.

California also has one of the country’s largest Sikh populations; however, despite their rich contributions to the culture, economy, and industries of California, there’s a lack of awareness about Sikhs that can lead to bullying. Pre-pandemic, a Sikh Coalition volunteer came to my kindergarten class, and my students learned about Sikhs in California as part of a state history lesson. They used coloring pages of Sikh children as superheroes. It celebrated a group of people creating awareness and understanding but also showing them experiencing joy, which I think is really important.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

It isn’t direct advice, but the best example that has been set for me in my career has actually been from 5- and 6-year-old kindergarten students. I love their inquisitive minds, their unfiltered honesty, and the pure joy that they gain from things that we might find mundane.

Young learners are perfectly primed to think about issues of injustice and also scientific inquiry due to their unique way of looking at the world. I also admire their courage and authenticity. We should all be like this, but as adults, we’re socialized out of it.

What’s one thing you’ve read that has made you a better educator?

“The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century” by timeless activist foremother Grace Lee Boggs.

One of Boggs’ most famous questions is, “What time is it on the clock of the world?” She encourages us to think globally and to see how interconnected we are. Even with kindergarteners, I always had this question in mind when lesson planning or when preparing for learning projects.

You have a busy job, and this is a stressful time. How do you take care of yourself?

Knowing when to say “no” is a skill that I’ve had to learn (and keep learning) over the years. And not compromising on the “no,” because “no” is a final and a complete answer. As educators, we are in a helping profession, and we want to help. However, you need to take care of yourself first and protect your own time and energy for your own mental, physical, and emotional health.

This Indy Teacher of the Year is determined to give students what she missed out on growing up

2022-07-21T17:45:53+00:00

DaMeisha Fleming was named Indianapolis Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year in May, alongside fellow educator Paige Sjoerdsma. Fleming has taught first grade at James Whitcomb Riley School 43 for the past five years and worked as a mentor teacher for educators in the area.

Fleming says she has always loved mentoring children and works hard to create an environment where each student is supported with consideration for their unique needs. When she is not teaching, Fleming is studying to earn her master’s degree in Urban Educational Leadership at IUPUI or coaching student-athletes in sports such as volleyball.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Was there a moment when you decided to become a teacher?

I was on the nursing track. I enjoyed the classes. I made the grade, but I just didn’t feel complete. I went over to the School of Education, and I was like, these are the courses that I’ve been taking — what does it look like? So, I met with a counselor and switched my degree track. As soon as I did that, I started loving to study, loving to be in the classes, and taking additional classes; it was almost like I was at home.

Following years of disrupted learning, is there anything you did differently this past school year to help students catch up and heal?

Well, I definitely think the pandemic played a role, but honestly, I’m an urban educational leader, so when there are a lot of things in place in our urban schools that were there pre-COVID. I think COVID further highlighted these disparities. What I have done differently is really stress the importance of the scholars and their learning. And we set goals, and we meet those because there is a shared understanding between teachers and students. This is where we’re growing.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach, and why?

February is Black History Month, and I go all out for Black History Month. Because my district uses a curriculum, it’s a little bit harder to be creative throughout the school year, but the month of February, I take that as my month to really connect with a lot of Black and brown students. I take that as a month to expose them to their history.

We look at the Underground Railroad and how brilliant our people were to come up with a system to escape different hardships. After that, we’ll take a look at our civil rights era. So we’re looking at figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and Ruby Bridges. We look at our inventors and see how a world without Black people would not be such a great world at all because literally everything that we see, a Black person has had a hand in doing. Even when it comes down to the first open-heart surgeries and traffic lights. And students began to really see that I can truly be what I want because I stand on the shoulders of great people that have come before me.

What’s something happening in the community that affects what goes on inside your classroom?

Honestly, I would say social media is huge. A lot of times, things are happening on Instagram and Facebook, and then it is spilling over into the school. There’s just a lot of drama and different things like that, so it does impact our school greatly because it determines the mood and attitudes that the students come in on.

How do you approach news events in your classroom?

We do a meeting every morning, so that’s a time where we will greet each other. We like to acknowledge each other. It’s important to me that my students know that they are loved and welcome. And then after that, we talk about what’s going on. A lot of times, we’ll share how their night went or anything that stood out to them. We bring up current news [like when] one of our buses got in an accident last year. Some of my kids were on the bus; some were waiting for it to arrive. That’s something we talked about, and we use it in our circle. I allow the students to share. Because I teach first grade, we don’t go into a lot of details, but we definitely do share what’s happening in our world today and how it impacts our lives.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

Growing up, I did not have any teachers of color. All of my teachers were white. Another reason I chose this field is because our kids have to see themselves in these different positions. I think not having had a teacher of color really propelled me forward into the education field. Because I feel like you have to understand your students of color, and I feel like I missed that growing up.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

I will have to go back to my training at IUPUI in the urban educational program. It really prepared us for our urban environment because we get students from an array of different home lives, and so we do a lot of work around cultural pedagogy. One of the authors that we did a lot of reading on was Gloria Ladson-Billings, and she talks about the three tenets of being a culturally relevant teacher: You have to ensure that you have academic success. You have to make sure you have the cultural competencies and critical consciousness. When you merge all of those things together, then it informs your teaching, so that’s something I try to strive for and live by.

How has your role as a coach impacted how you approach teaching in the classroom?

I feel like there are a lot of parallels between how our students learn, whether it is a sport or it is reading. So, what I have found to be true is they have to do it first, and then they want you to come back and show them what they did wrong. So, for example, coaching volleyball, we would go over the basics: This is a set, this is a bump, but students were still not comprehending. Once you allow them to play their first game, they’re like, “Oh, that’s what we need to do.” Taking that into the classroom, a lot of the times, I’ll give them a task and say, “try this,” and let them come up with their different strategies. Then we’ll go back and review it.

Helen Rummel is a summer reporting intern covering education in the Indianapolis area. Contact Helen at hrummel@chalkbeat.org.

What can I do if teaching feels like I’m ‘a browser with 100 tabs open?’

2022-07-21T13:00:00+00:00

Dear Dr. Kem,

I love the classroom and I love teaching — I always thought I’d work until 70. But in September 2020, there were so many changes coming down the pike from the Department of Education, and teachers were not being included in the decision-making process. We were scared, anxious, didn’t know if we’d be remote or in-person; and mandate after mandate kept coming. Decisions were made for us, without us, and we had to suffer the effects of those decisions without having a voice. It was the first time I started to think about retiring early.

I have spent the past two school years in a state of worry. I often wake in the middle of the night in a restless, uneasy panic. There is so much extra work now, but I cannot retire yet because my husband is retired and we need a full-time income. I need support.

With my health plan from the school, I tried to seek mental health services, people I could talk to. I went through all the steps — intake forms, therapist matching, initial interviews. After being turned away from a provider, who was matched to me, due to “scheduling issues,” I am still waiting to be connected to someone new. I decided to give up on this.

I used to practice self-care through dance classes, but the studios closed during the pandemic. I’m lucky to have friends and family I can talk to, but at the end of the day teachers are dealing with intense stress and tough decisions. We’ve faced low morale, feel exhausted all the time, and our needs have not been met. At this point, if the Department of Education offered something now, I’m not sure that I would use it. I’d ask myself, “What’s the catch?”

So, Dr. Kem, I’m reaching out to you with a few questions on my mind. After more than two years of being left out of decision-making processes in my district, how can I advocate for the mental health resources I need? Where else can I turn for these resources when it feels like I’ve exhausted all my current options? And, as the extra work keeps piling up, how can I carve out time for my own mental and physical health? — Ready to Retire

[Are you a teacher? Submit your question for our advice column here.]

Dear Ready to Retire,

Two things can be true at the same time.

For teachers, the last few years have been brutal with mandates and the loss of autonomy. Simultaneously, we learned how resilient and strong we are — because we had to support our students.

Collectively, we survived, you survived.

Teachers now are less certain they will work in the classroom until retirement. In March 2020, 74% of teachers said they expected to work as a teacher until retirement, but the figure fell to 69% in March 2021. In a study on British teacher’s mental health and well-being conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, one teacher described life in pandemic teaching: “My brain feels like a browser with 100 tabs open.”

Improve work-life balance by setting boundaries

To support your mental health, establish reasonable boundaries to create a better work-life balance. In my earlier years, a wise teacher told me you can either stay late, come in early, or take work home – but you cannot do all three. Choose one and stay committed to that choice.

I, too, struggle with setting boundaries. For example, in my school district we are mandated to check our emails twice daily. I, however, check mine throughout the day and on weekends because the expectation is teachers are always available. Are you checking work emails after hours and on weekends? We need to set boundaries around our actual work hours. Constantly putting out fires and being reactive to every message in our inboxes puts a strain on our mental health.

Overorganize and create automated systems to respond to your specific classroom needs. If you are struggling in an area where you find yourself working harder than the students, then you need a system.

As an English teacher, I spend a lot of time collecting work, sorting alphabetically, grading, subtracting points for late assignments, and then returning that work to students. Recently, I have begun to allow technology to change the way I process:

Students submit time-stamped work electronically.
I use the pre-loaded answer key to grade.
Students get immediate feedback.
The paper is returned as soon as the grade is released.

‘Find the good’ and find self-care that works for you

I understand your exhaustion. Early in my teaching career in the midst of a redundant professional development training with yet another “expert” non teacher, I started to have an “I’m sick of these meetings” temper tantrum. I was sketching on the handout and displaying aggressive body language. At the first break, my mentor looked over at me in all her wisdom and 2.5-magnification reading glasses. She took the notebook I was doodling on and wrote, “Find the good in everything.”

Her statement became my mantra. No matter how difficult teaching becomes, take time to find the good.

I also had a hard time finding a therapist and getting appointments. When I scanned the internet and ended up with a counselor who did not understand me, I decided there was even good in this experience. First, I learned that better was available. I knew what I wanted from therapy. I should not give up. Instead of accepting the first person the insurance company recommended, a family member suggested a therapist who matched my needs.

The techniques I learned in therapy were worth the hoops I jumped through to find a therapist who understood those needs. I was pleased with how my therapist helped me balance my doctoral studies, work, family obligations, and church commitments. The power to balance comes when you take time to find the good.

Ready to Retire, reconsider pursuing a therapist who is a better match for you.

In addition to therapy, make time for hobbies that can serve as affordable self-care options. I partake in the magic of journaling, which helps me manage emotional shifts because I can track my progress and growth, find inspiration, and achieve goals. I found helpful resources to manage mental health using a bullet journal on fellow teacher Nichole Carter’s blog. Like Nichole, when I read my older journals, I remember what I survived as a teacher, laugh at the mischievous antics of former students, and marvel at the lessons I have learned from them. Reflections remind me that I can continue to persevere.

There are also other self-care options such as taking a walk, playing music, gardening, and watching a great movie. During dark moments of mental exhaustion, I paint. Putting my thoughts on a canvas keeps them from racing at night when I am trying to sleep. When I realized people actually liked my paintings, I set up a website and sold them. I also use these paintings to decorate my classroom.

To retire, don’t wait. Plan ahead.

I also heard you say retirement is not available for you right now. Take comfort in knowing it will be. Today’s education landscape with the Department of Education’s constant testing mandates, strained parent and community relationships, local politics, superintendent turnover, and inconsistent administration make 40+ years in the classroom nearly impossible. My own predecessor taught for 42 years before she retired, but those days are gone.

Fortunately, other teachers have lobbied on our behalf and you will not have to spend a lifetime in the classroom, if you have a plan. Consider creating a money management map.

The steps to retirement planning start with contacting your school district’s teacher employee retirement specialist. In my state, the Public School Retirement System offers retirement webinars and can prepare a personalized retirement outlook. Also, check with your building representative about low-cost or free personal financial advisors and tax advisors.

Don’t forget to consider all of your options for healthcare coverage. Also, research possible additional revenue streams for after you leave the classroom.

Until retirement, I hope my response has provided you with some options for self-care and support through these tough times. Summer is an excellent opportunity for us to breathe and let go of whatever burdens we are carrying, regroup, and plan for the future. Find a studio. Find a YouTube video. Dance again.

If you have a rebuttal or additional advice you’d like to share with Ready to Retire, please email afterthebell@chalkbeat.org

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Michigan’s Teacher of the Year stresses the importance of supporting parents, too

2022-07-18T14:00:00+00:00

Librarian, outdoor education manager, computer technician. Nanette Hanson has worn all these hats and more in her 25-plus years teaching in classrooms across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

This May, Hanson received a new title: State Teacher of the Year.

“I probably shook until 10 o’clock that night,” said Hanson, recalling what it was like to get news of her award from State Superintendent Michael Rice. “It was so exciting and very overwhelming but a great opportunity for me.”

Nanette Hanson is Michigan’s Teacher of the Year for 2022-23.

A Gladstone native and Northern Michigan University alumna, Hanson has long been invested in the region, going above and beyond to introduce new programming to the schools she’s taught in. Having done her master’s thesis on family involvement in schools, she now advocates for supporting communities and parents just as much as students. She wants every Upper Peninsula parent to feel valued.

Hanson has been teaching first grade at Escanaba’s Lemmer Elementary School for 12 years.

She began her teaching career in 1994 at Fitzharris Alternative High School, before moving to Curtis Elementary School to work with younger children. She quickly learned that teaching in these small, rural schools would mean expanding her job description.

In between chuckles, Hanson recalls how, at Curtis, her responsibilities ranged from music teacher to computer teacher to librarian.

“Because it was such a small, community school, we all worked together to service our kids. Our principal out at Curtis was also the fifth grade teacher!” she told Chalkbeat.

When she again transitioned to teaching high-needs students at Phoenix Alternative High School, she single-handedly got cross country skis donated to the school, after pitching her idea for an outdoor education program to local Escanaba business Mr. Bike and Ski.

And during the pandemic, Hanson was again eager to offer support far beyond her classroom. When Escanaba Area Public Schools provided computers for their online students during the 2020-21 school year, Hanson took it upon herself to make sure every one of her virtual students could log on.

“I got you,” she told families struggling with online learning. “I’ll come to your house, if you feel comfortable with that. I’ll log you in. I’ll help you get your passwords in place — whatever they need to feel successful in helping their kids in this time that we’re all feeling uncertain.”

Hanson recently spoke with Chalkbeat about her philosophy on teaching and what led her to the classroom.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How and when did you decide to become a teacher?

I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I knew I wanted to make a difference. I knew that I could make a difference. So I went to school to be an elementary teacher, and I went back to school to get my master’s degree, and that’s in administration. But I can’t bear to leave the classroom yet, so I’m not ready to be a principal.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I was exposed to many types of different teachers with different teaching styles. I sort of gravitated toward the teachers who made relationships with me, and I could see that they were making positive relationships with other kids. And those people that took the time to forge relationships with me, in this small town, made me think, ‘Man, I can do that. I can be that for somebody else.’ Because I had a small school system and teachers who took an interest in me, that ignited that spark in me to become a teacher and be the difference in somebody else’s life.

How do you like the Upper Peninsula community and how does it affect what goes on inside your classroom?

I enjoy living in the Upper Peninsula. We’re mostly a rural area. We have smaller schools than a larger urban area, but it makes it nice for us because we have smaller classroom sizes and it allows me to attend to students’ cultural and personal needs. We have diverse cultures up here, and I like to incorporate those cultures in my classroom.

We have a large Native American population, and so I like to incorporate the community. We invite the Indian Education Program to come into our classroom, and they do a wonderful job of sharing the culture with our students, some of whom are Native American.

I think that it’s super important for kids to see themselves reflected in their classroom community and their community at large. I want them to know that their backgrounds are important, that we recognize them, but I also want them to see how they’re different from other people.

What are some of the most important lessons you impart on your first graders each year?

I think that critical relationship building is the most important thing about first grade because I want them to love learning and love school. I want them to know that they’re valuable in the decision-making in their education and that they can drive portions of that.

My biggest thing is creating an atmosphere and a culture that’s accepting and inclusive of everybody and their uniqueness and setting that groundwork so that kids love coming to school.

Grace Tucker is Chalkbeat Detroit’s newest reporting intern. Reach her at gtucker@chalkbeat.org.

Introducing ‘After the Bell,’ a new community for teachers

2022-07-14T13:00:00+00:00

Today, Chalkbeat launches a weekly advice column for teachers, by teachers.

It’s been our mission since we started to report on the effort to improve schools for all children.

We’ve formed close relationships with those of you on the frontlines of these efforts — the teachers. We’ve listened to your stories, heard your joys and frustrations, and watched you advocate for your students, schools, and yourselves.

While education professionals are not our only audience, you are our largest. And we know you need more support, from us, from everyone.

Two years ago, we set out to better understand educators’ needs during a time of unexpected disruption to our nation’s schools. Our research sought to answer: What do you need that isn’t being met? What products already exist to help you? What product should Chalkbeat develop to uniquely help address those needs?

In February 2020, we began our research with a survey, “Educator Needs Assessment,” and conducted in-depth teacher interviews before the pandemic irrevocably changed the education landscape. Our updated survey in August 2021 received over 2,000 responses from teachers like you across the country.

Those survey responses made it clear there had been a large shift in what you have needed since the pandemic began. Teachers were no longer interested in new curriculum or professional development offerings — you expressed that those markets are oversaturated. Instead, you said mental health and advice from fellow teachers were your two biggest needs not being met.

To verify our new survey findings, we conducted interviews with teachers, education professionals, and journalists. These interviews provided a better understanding of your needs, especially around mental health.

We knew Chalkbeat could help.

We learned you are more tired than ever before.

“I am not appreciated, I haven’t felt that way [before]. The morale is so low, not just at my school, I made a comment on Facebook about how I love teaching but don’t love where teaching is right now and so many teachers commented that they were ready to quit.” — Chicago elementary school teacher with 20+ years of experience

We heard that you are seeking advice, and that teachers inherently trust each other.

Q: When you seek out resources, which of the following do you most often turn to?

A: 41.8% of teachers who responded said teacher forums, and 30.5% said in-school colleagues.

“The higher level people are so far removed from trying to help students. I find the best advice from other staff members, [I’ll ask them] ‘what would you do in this instance?’” — Chicago elementary school teacher with less than five years of experience

You continued to prioritize your students’ mental health.

Q: What do you need help with?

A: 33.5% of teachers who responded said advice on maintaining students’ mental health, and 31.1% said advice when there are problems in the classroom.

But things shifted during the pandemic, and you began to prioritize yourselves.

“If students’ needs are met and teachers’ needs aren’t met, there won’t be teachers — last year I might’ve said students’ needs are greater; this year teacher needs are greater because it dominoes on to students.” — Indiana middle school teacher with less than 10 years of experience

“When our students are unwell we’re unwell.” — New York high school teacher with less than five years of experience

In response to our survey findings, interviews, and the urgent needs you have shared with us, we are launching an advice column specifically for teachers, by teachers.

Starting today, veteran educator Dr. Kem Smith will respond to your questions based on her own experiences in the classroom. Meet Dr. Kem here.

“After the Bell” will become the go-to spot for you and your colleagues to share your joys, frustrations, and questions. “How I Teach” subscribers will receive it directly in their inboxes. Here’s how to subscribe to How I Teach.

The column’s name was inspired by Chalkbeat intern Katie Hetlage’s experience as a high school teacher.

“There’s a lot of teacher chit chat right after the bell rings, or even in between classes, because you stand in the hallways to monitor students and we would often stand with our neighboring teachers to talk,” she said.

Chalkbeat’s goal is to make this column useful, actionable, and shareable. We hope its focus on teachers will make it successful. We want it to become your place for camaraderie, support, and new ideas.

Now, we want to hear from you. Submit questions — the letter writer will remain anonymous — to Dr. Kem via this submission form. What have you been venting about with your colleagues? Are there areas of your work in which you’ve needed support, but haven’t received it? Is there a situation, policy, or decision at your school that you are having trouble navigating? Let us know!

Kary Perez is Chalkbeat director of program innovation and oversees the research, development, and execution of major new initiatives. Contact her at kperez@chalkbeat.org.

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Challenges in the classroom? Share your questions with Dr. Kem here

2022-07-14T13:00:00+00:00

How can I motivate students who tell me they don’t want to be in school? I’m told to support my students’ mental health, but what about my own?

Why does my district add new programs, when I don’t have enough time as it is? I love teaching but is it time for me to leave the classroom?

Teachers, if any of these questions have crossed your mind lately, you’re not alone. While you often share the joys that come with being in the classroom, we’ve also heard your exhaustion and frustration.

Following two years of research on your needs, we listened to your calls for support and actionable advice. We witnessed a large shift in what teachers need since the pandemic began and saw your urgent mental health needs grow. That’s why we launched “After the Bell,” a weekly advice column written by veteran educator Dr. Kem Smith.

Dr. Kem is a full-time 12th grade English teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. She has 20 years of teaching experience with preschoolers, college students, and everyone in between. Whether you have questions about classroom teaching, navigating relationships with students, parents, or administrators, or the tumultuous climate surrounding education, Dr. Kem is here to help.

Please fill out the form below to submit your question, or go here if you are on a mobile device.

Thanks for reading “After the Bell.”

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Meet Dr. Kem: Her new column will be your go-to spot for teacher conversations

2022-07-14T13:00:00+00:00

Teachers, you are doing better than you think.

Along with teaching through these unprecedented pandemic times with so many impacted by COVID-19, consider the student lives you have touched. You survived countless professional development hours, adapted to online environments, taught hybrid classes, conquered the curriculum while facing chronic absenteeism, and prepared students for standardized tests. Your resilience is incredible.

I want to acknowledge your strength first because I have to admit that I am also worried. As a 20-year veteran teacher with preschool through college-level experience, I have witnessed many shifts in education as both a student and teacher.

I have heard your doubts about your practice due to high-stakes testing, the ability to meet the social and emotional needs of your students, and the need to understand technological changes that impact learning. I have seen you question your core values. I have lived your physical and mental struggles. And, I have seen you work for gift cards and smiles for far too long. I will be honest: too many of you are barely hanging on.

There is too much work to be done and too many students who need us. Yet, the relationships you have with students are worth today’s sacrifice. As a teacher, you have the opportunity to nurture the curious nature of students. You teach them how to become critical and creative thinkers. One day, because of your efforts they will become lifelong learners. Let’s get back to what you love about teaching.

“After the Bell” is my new advice column in which we teachers can explore ways to reconnect with the magic of teaching without losing our marbles. I decided to write this column for the teachers who are considering walking away from their calling.

I know how difficult this work can be. Trust me. I tried quitting.

When I had 10 years of experience, I decided to leave the profession to be a full-time mom but also because I was fed up. Ten years of working with increasing class sizes, ever-changing testing requirements, Response to Interventions, Individualized Education Programs, a new administration team, and supporting students with learning gaps all while nursing a newborn was exhausting. I left for five years and promised myself I’d never return.

Yet, during that time, I missed teaching. I missed the positive relationships I developed with my students and co-workers. I missed the spontaneity of kids and the autonomy of creating engaging units.

Dr. Kem Smith has been teaching 12th grade English in St. Louis since 2016.

That eventually brought me back to the classroom in 2014, where I found my passion again. Only now, I was more fueled to make a difference in the lives of students because I recognized the 21st-century skills needed to survive beyond the classroom. I was determined to impart those skills to my students. When I returned to the classroom, the first lesson I learned was that neither the gift nor the calling goes away because you leave. I even wrote an unpublished book, “Why I Quit Teaching and Why You Don’t Have To.”

Teachers, you don’t have to quit.

The state of education today may cause you to question your calling. Universal education-related issues such as virtual learning, poor working conditions, and testing and teacher evaluation systems make the work of being an educator difficult. However, what you do each day for students’ future and the future of our country is too important.

I believe teaching is a calling. Some people are aware of this calling early in life. For others, it takes time for them to recognize their gift. I am part of the latter group.

I began the journey to become a teacher in 1997 while working in insurance. I took a spiritual gifts test at church and the results overwhelmingly pointed toward teaching as my gift. I worked at the office during the day and finished my bachelor’s in business administration at night. After graduation, I immediately enrolled in graduate school, intending to become a teacher. I left my insurance job and began to substitute teach. I did that for three years in many classrooms, multiple buildings, and across three different St. Louis County school districts until I finished my master’s in education.

Then, I landed my first full-time teaching assignment for a fifth-grade classroom in 2001. In the years that followed, I taught sixth, seventh, eighth, 10th, 11th, and 12th. Then, I began teaching adjunct college-level courses. Early in my teaching career, I also discovered my passion for writing. I returned to school and earned a master’s degree in creative writing while teaching during the day.

Since 2016, I have been teaching 12th grade English. There was a gap in my understanding of higher education and how I could help my students prepare for the rigors of college. I returned to school and earned my doctorate in higher education administration leadership.

What keeps me going? Every day, I experience the joy of watching learning happen. My secret confession is that I am a learning junkie. Every time I have a down moment, I use it to soak up some form of information. Not to store it, but to share it with those who will benefit.

A few years ago, I accompanied a group of students on a college visit a few hours from our hometown. We were on lunch break when I heard my name called above the crowd noise. I turned and was immediately enveloped in a hug. A former student had found me. She exclaimed she could not believe it was me. She was with her friends and told them who I was. She explained how she loved my eighth grade English class so much and that I was the reason she had chosen to major in journalism.

Her excitement made me realize I was on the right path. The work I was doing impacted my students for a lifetime. The energy of hundreds of students eager to learn and hoping for someone to point them to their life’s purpose helps me persevere. It has been wonderful to watch children I’ve taught in preschool graduate high school and say, “thank you.”

Even though the pandemic’s high absenteeism rates negatively impacted student-teacher relationships, I received a message from a student on May 23 that touched my heart. The student wrote:

“You don’t know how much you have helped me this school year. I wish I could express how hard it is trying to break generational curses and still be child-like. Having you as a mentor, I feel, was God’s plan, and I needed you to help guide me on the right path!”

Before the summer break, I learned this student had lost three close loved ones this year — one from COVID-related complications, another from gun violence, and one from suicide — and the student was the one who found the person’s body.

Teaching is more than content. Our students face unknown struggles and rely on us to see them as individuals who require compassion even when they are unable to return the emotion.

In this column, I will be intentional about finding the joy in teaching. Your mental health will be the main focus. While I am not a psychologist, counselor, or mental health expert, I will consult with those trained to support the varied needs of educators.

There is so much good in this world. Choose to see that today. Choose to be kind. Choose to love and if you need support, read this column.

As you reflect on the last school year and prepare for 2022-23, send me your questions, testimonials, and stories.

Starting today, I will read them all and respond to your questions every week.

Dr. Kem Smith is Chalkbeat’s first advice columnist. She is a full-time 12th grade English teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. Submit your question via this submission form, and subscribe to How I Teach to receive her column in your inbox.

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This Philadelphia teacher helps visually impaired students ‘jump into their greatness’

2022-07-06T22:35:28+00:00

Two things Sharita Jerkins learned from teaching students with visual impairments are the importance of being more descriptive while teaching and verbalizing every detail of her lessons. Jerkins, who teaches grades 4-8 at the Overbrook Educational Center, said people often underestimate her students and their ability to excel in a mainstream environment.

“My past and present students are a true example that if the expectations and the proper resources are in place, there is no limit to what a visually impaired or blind student can accomplish,” Jerkins said.

Sharita Jerkins teaches science and social studies at Overbrook Educational Center.

A native of the Nicetown section of Philadelphia and a graduate of Parkway Spring Garden, the high school now called Parkway Northwest, Jerkins knew she wanted to be an educator when she was a child because most of her teachers were “motherly” and “like family.”

“I had teachers that would send letters to my home over the summer and holidays and invited me to their summer homes on vacation,” she recalled. “Most of my teachers had a good relationship with my family and would attend my family events.”

Jerkins earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Cheyney University and a master’s in vision rehabilitation therapy from Salus University. She returned to Salus in 2018 to complete her teacher of the visually impaired, or TVI, certification. Jerkins worked for 11 years as a teacher of the visually impaired at independent and parochial schools in Philadelphia. During that time, she created a state-of-the-art vision resource center in a parochial high school. She also created a life skills summer program.

“I love to expose them to independent living skills, social skills, and assistive technology,” said Jerkins, who joined Overbrook, a Philadelphia district school, in September 2020. “I also want to build confidence in the visually impaired students, empowering them to advocate for themselves and learn that they have the same opportunities as all the students in Philadelphia.”

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Growing up, which teacher influenced you the most? Why?

It was Ms. Andrews. She was my fifth grade teacher at Our Lady of Holy Souls School. She taught me the importance of getting an education. Ms. Andrews made learning fun. She advocated for her students in her class. She spent time teaching us African American history. She taught us how to be responsible and organized. She also talked to us about life and encouraged us to be proud as African Americans. She set the academic bar high and set the expectations that we meet that high bar. My class worked hard because we wanted to make her proud of us; as children, we did not realize that we were making ourselves better students. Ms. Andrews left the school after my fifth grade year. She later went to work at Dunbar Elementary School. When I found out she left, I thought to myself, those students will be so lucky to get Ms. Andrews as a teacher.

Sharita Jerkins, second from left, with her students.

How did you begin teaching students with visual impairments and blindness?

I started teaching students with visual impairments after my aunt Felicia Whitney left her position as the TVI in non-public schools. My Aunt Felicia is my mentor. She informed me that she was moving on in her career as a TVI, so I applied for the job at the intermediate school at Elwyn, a nonprofit that focuses on education and treatment for children with developmental disabilities and learning challenges. After several interviews, they offered me the position. I did not know what to expect on my first day. However, once I met the students and saw their determination to succeed, it motivated me as a teacher to supply them with all the tools needed to excel at school.

Why is engagement so important, and what are some ways you keep your students engaged?

Engagement is important in the classroom because it keeps the students interested in the subject area. It also creates a learning relationship between the students and the teacher. The first way I keep them engaged is by explaining to them the “why.” Why is this lesson important? I also bring in different cultural aspects to help the students identify with the lesson. I love to add songs and artwork so the student can make alternative connections to my lessons. I encourage them to use all their assistive technology because all my students have visual impairments.

How have you helped your students adjust to in-person learning after a year of virtual learning?

I helped adjust the students to in-person learning by encouraging self-care (getting to bed on time, eating properly, exercising); positive affirmation, giving the students an outlet to express their emotions; and encouraging them to support each other and build healthy relationships with peers and staff.

Tell us about a memorable time — good or bad — when contact with a student’s family changed your perspective or approach.

It was the first time I told a family that their son should learn Braille, and his mother started crying. I was in the meeting thinking they were going to be happy that their son was going to learn Braille to help him read. I asked the mother if she was OK and asked why she was crying. She stated that she had no idea how bad his vision was, and she felt bad that she was unaware. Through that experience, I learned to be more empathic in meeting with parents. I also try to educate parents more on students’ eye conditions before I state the needs of the students.

What was the biggest misconception that you initially brought to teaching?

That teachers are not supported. However, since I started teaching, I have received support from other teachers, parents, principals, the students, the community, and my family and friends. Sometimes I am surprised and overwhelmed by the amount of support and resources that are offered to me when I talk about how amazing my students are when it comes to learning.

What’s the best advice you’ve received about teaching? What’s the most gratifying thing you have experienced in your years of teaching?

Never limit a student in the learning process. The most gratifying experience is watching my middle school students take a science lesson on anatomy and dissect a frog using their functional vision and assistive technology to locate all the organs of the frog. The lesson showed me the importance of encouraging the students to push themselves and showing that they can excel at higher levels.

What else do you want to share or want readers to know?

Visually impaired students at Overbrook Educational Center are exceptional learners and are ready to excel and change the world. I would like to encourage teachers to always challenge themselves to maximize instruction in their classroom. As educators, we sometimes have to push the envelope and set the bar high, then watch our students jump into their greatness.

Bureau Chief Johann Calhoun covers K-12 schools and early childhood education in Philadelphia. He oversees Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s education coverage. Contact Johann at jcalhoun@chalkbeat.org.

Newark’s 2022 Teacher of the Year says kids strive when they feel accepted

2022-06-30T21:52:46+00:00

When Newark’s 2022 Teacher of the Year reflects on her personal experiences with school, she recalls having educators who established warm and inviting classroom environments that she eagerly anticipated.

And others who made their classes feel like a dreaded task.

So, when Jessica Tavares began teaching for Newark Public Schools eight years ago, she prioritized setting an example in her classroom of acceptance and kindness. From her firsthand experience, she knew those qualities were key to inspiring students to learn.

“When you actually want to be in school and feel like you are accepted, you are more willing to try your best,” Tavares said.

The eighth grade science teacher at Lafayette Street School was recently named the district’s teacher of the year, a recognition she was surprised and honored to receive.

“She was nominated and selected based on her interdisciplinary approach to teaching that centers on student growth, which is both challenging and engaging,” said Nancy Deering, district spokeswoman, in an email about the announcement earlier this month. “Tavares has compassion and sensitivity that allows her to connect with her students and others on a personal level.”

Tavares’ approach to modeling acceptance in her classroom as a way to promote learning is also supported by research.

“Students who learn in positive learning environments that are safe, supportive, and engaging are more likely to improve academically, participate more fully in the classroom, and develop skills that will help them be successful in school and in life,” according to the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments.

Tavares spoke recently with Chalkbeat.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Why did you want to become a teacher? Did you always want to teach middle school science?

As far back as I can remember, I have always wanted to be a teacher, and I have always loved science. Blending the two just made sense. But I wasn’t always sure about what grade I wanted to focus on. When I was younger, my first job was covering the after-school and summer programs for a community center in the Newark area. I was able to experience working with all different grade levels. I found that I was able to connect and make the most impact with the middle school students. When it was time to become a teacher, I decided my best fit would be as a middle school science teacher.

How do you feel about being named the 2022 Teacher of the Year?

I feel honored. I was very surprised by the award. I never thought I would be chosen above all the other great educators in the district.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received, and how have you put it into practice?

The best advice I have ever received is to be kind to everyone and treat people as you would like to be treated. Most teachers see their students as kids and not always as people. But just like adults, our students have good days and bad days. The toughest student is usually just having a bad day or a hard time and they feel defeated. Most students just need someone to be kind and understanding. You can’t learn and be successful if you are in a negative mindset.

Teaching and showing kindness, compassion, and life lessons are sometimes more important than the curriculum we teach in the classroom. Encouraging my students to be nice people and to show kindness in everything they do is sometimes the best lesson I can teach them.

Tell us about your own experience with school and how it affects your work today.

I have had many different experiences in school. I attended Ann Street School here in Newark from kindergarten through eighth grade. For high school, I attended a small private Catholic school. I was exposed to different teaching styles and environments. Throughout my schooling, I have had some great teachers that made me love going to school and some that made going to school feel like the worst chore. I learned a lot from both experiences and they have definitely all had an effect on my teaching.

Taking in all these different experiences, I have learned that having an inclusive, encouraging, and positive environment in the classroom helps students learn and persevere. When you actually want to be in school and feel like you are accepted you are more willing to try your best. I try to make sure that all my students feel like they can be themselves and not worry about struggling in my classroom. We all need a little extra help from time to time, and it is okay to ask for it. I try to make sure all of my students feel comfortable coming to me for help, whether it is help for something in school or outside of school.

What’s your favorite lesson to teach, and why?

I think my favorite lesson to teach my students isn’t one specific science lesson but something that is taught throughout the school year. I try to teach my students to persevere, whether that be in life or in science. Many students tend to give up when something seems hard, but I try to encourage them to keep pushing forward.

One of my favorite moments as a teacher is when I see a student who once struggled and would give up start to persevere and become the one to help others in the classroom. They have become more confident and have learned to work through difficult tasks. Perseverance and never giving up is a lesson I hope they carry with them throughout their lives.

Catherine Carrera is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Newark, covering the city’s K-12 schools with a focus on English language learners. Contact Catherine at ccarrera@chalkbeat.org.