Category: Leadership

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Dear Teachers

Dear Teachers,

I see you. I know your job isn’t easy. You’ve got a million things on your plate. I see those late nights spent planning the perfect unit and lesson. I see the stacks of papers that need to be graded and the list of grades that need to be entered. I know your email inbox has emails– both good and not so good– from parents and admin. You’ve got to juggle students with 504 plans and IEPs and find ways to challenge your gifted students. I know you’ve got that one student (maybe more) in your class that just can’t sit still and is constantly causing disruptions. By the time school is over, you’re tired of redirecting, repeating yourself, and helping students find their lost pencils (again). I know your feet ache by the end of the day from standing and walking around all day long. I know your voice is tired. I see you, simultaneously teaching the current lesson while mentally worrying about and planning the next several days. I know the PLC meetings, staff meetings, trainings, IEP meetings, and district development days are draining and time consuming, especially when you have a ton of other stuff you need to get done. I see you, taking time after class to straighten desks, pick up trash, and prep for the next day. I see you rushing to cram a bathroom break, lunch, and a minute to breathe into your 30 minute lunch period. I see you showing up to work sick because sometimes it’s just more work to prepare sub plans. I see you making hard discipline decisions. I see you trying to figure out seating charts because you know that those certain few students can’t be anywhere near each other without causing complete mayhem. I see you, and I see all the hard, tricky, not-so-fun parts of your job. 

But you know what? I also see the amazing things you’re doing and the really cool parts of your job. I see you taking your own personal time to plan and grade because you care about what your students are learning, and you want them to be engaged. The hard work you put into accommodating students with various needs shows how much you want your students to succeed. I see you taking time to help the one student who is struggling to understand the content. I see you helping them to grasp concepts. I see the smile on your face when you see the lightbulb go on for a student. I see you showing up, day after day, even when you don’t feel like it. I hear you saying kind and encouraging things to your students. I hear students in the halls talking about how much they love your class and how amazing of a teacher you are. I see those emails from parents thanking you for all you do. I see you worrying about your students because you care about them and love them. I watch as you head down to the counseling office because a student has turned in a writing assignment telling you about how they are neglected or abused at home. I see you helping a student get the resources they need when they tell you their family doesn’t have money for food or clothes. When a student has a hard day, I see you taking a minute to encourage them and lift them up. I see you attending games, plays, and concerts after school hours to support your students and their interests. I see you taking a genuine interest in your students and really getting to know them. I see as you celebrate the wins and mourn the losses with your students. They know you care. They know you are a trusted adult, and I see students come to you for help when they don’t have anyone else to listen to them. I hear the laughter coming from your classroom as you share a story or joke you know they’ll love. I hear you cheering them on as they learn, grow, make mistakes, and do their best. 

I know the days are long, and some days are really, really hard. But I see you, and I know you’re doing a fantastic job. The youth of today will build a better tomorrow because of the influence you have had on their lives. Thank you for your love, your dedication, and passion. 

Sincerely,

Someone who has been in your shoes

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2024 Scholarship Recipient Spotlight: Elia Woods

We’re reached the end of our 2024 scholarship winner spotlights. You can find out more about our other winners by clicking on their names: Jack, Thrisha, Sahana, and Josephine. Last, but certainly not least, we have Elia Woods, who created The Recycling Project, which is aimed to provide better water accessibility to homeless and other underserved populations. 

Elia described what made this project come about, “One day, when my mom and I were volunteering at Paz de Cristo, a local homeless charity, we noticed a problem.  While dinner was being served, we noticed that many of those in need were using old Circle K cups or crinkled plastic water bottles for their drinking water. They were then coming back to the water dispenser several times to refill small styro-foam coffee cups and old disposable bottles. They clearly did not have a durable solution to store/drink water outside of the shelter.” 

When she realized it was a problem at one homeless shelter, Elia realized it was likely a problem at other shelters as well, and that she could do something to help. Her solution for this was to place donation bins in various businesses in the community. There, people could donate new or used reusable water bottles. Elia would then collect the water bottles, wash them, then donate them to those in need. 

These donations would help to alleviate the problem of poor quality water containers while also reducing the use of single use plastic water bottles. In 2022, Elia was able to collect and donate 678 reusable water bottles, and in 2023, she was able to collect over 1,500! What an amazing impact this project has had.

You can find Elia’s website here to read more.

Way to go, Elia!

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2024 Scholarship Recipient Spotlight: Josephine Gardiner

We’re continuing our spotlights of our 2024 scholarship winners. You can read our other spotlight posts here, here, and here. 

Today’s spotlight is on Josephine Gardiner, whose aim is to provide free swim lessons to underprivileged and underserved children. Josephine grew up swimming and on swim teams, and feels very comfortable in and around the water. As she watched her classmates and others swim, she realized that not everyone was as confident in water as she was. 

Thus, her project, “Pool Panthers” was born. Josephine’s overall goal was to “improve water safety and wellbeing for youth and teens in under-resourced communities.” To achieve this goal, she plans to teaching basic floating and swimming skills, teaching children how to use swim equipment, helping children understand water safety skills, educating parents and guardians how to be effective water watchers, and promoting a fun water environment while also encouraging children to love water while being safe in it. 

Josephine planned to hold lessons at low-income housing complexes, alleviating the problem of how children would travel to their swim lessons. She used Red Cross trained volunteer instructors and life guards, and would hold multiple lessons at the same location so as to reach as many kids as possible. She also made sure to cater to all skills and comfort levels. 

By providing these free lessons, Josephine has been able to promote a safe relationship with water while still allowing for children to have fun and get use out of their community pools. 

You can find her on Instagram @poolpanthersswim

Great work, Josephine!

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2024 Scholarship Recipient Spotlight: Sahana Gupta

Today we continue our spotlights on our 2024 scholarship recipients. You can read about our other winners here and here.

Our spotlight today is on Sahana Gupta. Sahana came to realize that while many children in foster care had their basic needs taken care of, extra “wants” were often overlooked. She set out to create a positive birthday memory for children in the Charlottesville Attention Foster Family by baking, decorating, and delivering personalized birthday cakes. 

Her goals include to expand her project beyond the foster care system to serving other children in need, as well as creating partnerships with bakeries and children’s organizations to maximize the reach of her project. 

Sahana had all the resources at her own home, and was able to get cakes made and delivered easily, which allowed for her to get her idea up and going quickly and effectively. You can check out her website Hani’s Heroes for more information. 

As someone who has had a cousin and a niece adopted into my family out of foster care, I absolutely love this project and the thought and consideration Sahana put into the children who are in foster care. It’s an important work, for sure!

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Election Day: A Chance to Educate Ourselves and Choose

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, ”Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” What a powerful statement! We, as the American people, have the incredible opportunity to vote for our leaders. With that privilege comes the responsibility to educate ourselves on the candidates and issues being voted upon. Voting is so much more than checking off some boxes on a ballot; educated decisions play a huge role in the outcomes of elections. 

It happened to be an election year the year I turned 18, and I was ecstatic to finally have the chance to cast my vote. I had gone to the polls with my parents in previous years, and had seen and felt the impact of this incredible privilege. But to get to do it myself? Amazing. Me, and 18 year old woman, getting to have my opinion heard on political leaders was something I knew I couldn’t take for granted.

My husband isn’t a natural born citizen; he was born in Brazil and was adopted by American parents. He didn’t become a citizen of the United States until he was almost 20. When we got married, he had yet to vote in an official election. When the 2016 election was nearing, we sat down together and researched each candidate. We read through pamphlets and brochures, scoured websites, talked to people who were informed on issues, and so on. We felt educated and ready to make a decision, so when the day to vote came, we confidently went to the polls together and cast our votes. 

There are an abundance of resources that provide information for voters in today’s digital world. A simple internet search will give you multiple websites to review for candidates and issues. Voters must use good research skills to make sure they are reading fact based information, rather than emotionally charged and biased information. 

In a classroom setting, teachers of any content area can educate students on how to effectively search for and understand the information that is available to them. Reading through candidates’ websites would provide an excellent opportunity to discuss how to determine if a website is heavily biased one way or the other. Election seasons also provide an opportunity to discuss just how much of a privilege it is to have the right to vote. We are so lucky to have such an incredible privilege. 

Whatever your political stance, please exercise your right to vote by heading to the polls today! Educate yourself and go into the polls ready to cast your vote with confidence. Vote with an attitude of gratitude for those that came before us to make it possible for democracy to work in this great nation of ours!  

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Teacher to Admin: Mike’s Story

The administrative team in a school makes a big impact on the teachers and students in the building. Every administrator is different, and every administrator leads in a unique way. The role of a principal or assistant principal is to support, lead, and teach their students and teachers, among other things that would fall under these three categories. In order for an administrator to fully understand what their teachers need, I believe it is crucial that they have spent some time actually teaching in and managing their own classroom. It’s one of those “you don’t understand it until you’ve actually done it” kind of things. I had the chance to talk to Mike, a teacher-turned-administrator, and was able to get his insight on the shift from a classroom teacher to a vice principal. Let’s see what he had to say!

What grade(s) and subject(s) did you teach while you were in the classroom?

6-12

Social Studies – Utah History, U.S. History, Geography, World History, Government, History of Pop Culture, History of Food, Positive Psychology

Financial Literacy

Interior Design

Drama

I was also a school counselor for a year.

What is something you miss about being in the classroom on a daily basis?

The thing that I miss most about being in the classroom is the deeper, more individualized connection I was able to develop with students. I was able to see them on a regular basis, get to know them, understand what strengths they had and what needs they had.

What influenced your decision to leave the classroom and become an administrator?

I went into teaching to advocate and support students. I went into administration to advocate and support teachers. I realized if I could support teachers in a building, I could actually have a broader impact on the larger school population. I also had some situations where I felt like I wasn’t being supported by administrators and wanted to be part of the change. Furthermore, I’ve always been one who wants to learn systems from every angle. Experiencing the public school system from a teaching perspective is much different than experiencing it from an administrative perspective.

What is your favorite thing about being an admin?

My favorite thing about being an admin is problem solving. Every single day is different, and every day requires me to access different parts of my brain, my experiences, to come up with solutions to very unique problems. I step into the building with no idea what will happen that day, and that is exciting to me.

I also love watching them navigate “firsts”  on a regular basis. First locker, first break up, first death of a loved one, first failing grade, first passing grade, first solo in a concert, first place in a race, etc. Being able to help them navigate through these firsts is so rewarding.

What would you tell someone who is considering becoming an admin, but isn’t quite sure they want to make the switch?

I would tell them to make sure to cherish the time they have in the classroom. It’s one of those “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” situations. Classroom teaching is difficult, but there’s just something about it that you don’t quite get to experience once you leave it. You still get to interact with students as an administrator but it’s just different. I would also encourage them to ask if they can shadow an administrator for a week. I think it’s easy for a teacher to view administration as something that it’s actually not. I was completely blindsided by the amount and scope of work that I had to deal with as an administrator, and that’s partially because I have worked for some great administrators that made the job seem easy, even though it wasn’t.

What do you love most about the students you work with?

I am inspired on a daily basis by my student’s resiliency. The fact that students get up every morning, get on the bus, come to school (something many of them don’t love), and face many unknowns and challenges every single day is inspiring. Students have very little control over what is happening in the world around them, yet they still show up. Every. Single. Day. I have seen students experience some of the most horrific things one could imagine, and yet, there they are in 1st period, learning about the pythagorean theorem. I also see this resiliency watching them navigate “firsts”  on a regular basis. First locker, first break up, first death of a loved one, first failing grade, first passing grade, first solo in a concert, first place in a race, etc. Being able to help them navigate through these firsts is so rewarding.

What great insight; thanks, Mike! From his answers, you can tell what an excellent administrator Mike is. Administrators like Mike, who lead with kindness, understanding, and love, are the kind we need in schools today. Students face so many hard things in their lives, and school should be a place they can come and feel safe and taken care of by the teachers and administration at their schools. The next time you see the administrator of your own school or of your children’s school, take a minute and thank them for their hard work!