Middle school isn’t the hallway between “cute” and “chaos”—it’s the proving ground where students decide who they’re becoming. We sit down with Anna Crooke, a veteran educator and board member for the North Carolina Middle Level Educators, to unpack why the middle years carry outsized impact and how a conference like NCMLE fuels real classroom change. From her roots in a family of teachers to roles spanning classroom, coaching, principalship, and district leadership, Anna shares a candid look at what works when adolescents are testing limits, seeking belonging, and building habits that last.
Website: spotlight4success.com
Episode Transcript
Welcome to Spotlight for Success by American Book
Company.
I am Devin Pintozi, your host.
We are here at NCMLE, the NorthCarolina Mid-Level Educators
Conference in wonderful andsunny Charlotte, North Carolina.
Today we are here and joined byour special guest, Anna Crook.
Very nice to meet you, Anna.
(00:26):
Thank you.
Anna is a middle school directorwith Caldwell County Schools.
Thank you, Anna, for joining ustoday.
SPEAKER_01 (00:34):
Thank you.
I'm glad to be here.
SPEAKER_00 (00:36):
Anna, can you tell us a bit about your work in
NCMLE and what's going on hereat this conference?
SPEAKER_01 (00:44):
Yes, so I am the conference, I'm on the
executive, or not the executiveboard, but the board of
directors for the middle levelassociation.
And then at this conference, Iwork with sponsors and vendors.
So I help get sponsors andvendors situated, get them to
come to the conference, recruitthem, make sure they have
everything they need, all kindsof things like that.
SPEAKER_00 (01:04):
Oh, that's wonderful.
And uh can you tell us a bitabout your journey of why did
you choose to become a teacher?
SPEAKER_01 (01:10):
So I became I grew up in a family of educators.
My mom and dad were bothteachers, and it was always
something that I felt like wasmy passion.
I think I didn't know anythingdifferent, but when I was a
little girl, I played like I wasdriving the school bus.
I it I've just always had thatpassion for teaching.
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
So oh that's wonderful.
And uh what made you uh you'veyou've done a number of
different kinds of schoolsyou've been a part of, is that
right?
SPEAKER_01 (01:37):
Yes, so I majored in middle level education and then
when I in college and then Istarted teaching in a high
school, and I taught high schoolfor three years, and then I
moved to middle school, which iswhat I really wanted to do.
So I taught there for um tenyears, then I was an
instructional coach in thatschool, then I moved to be an AP
at an elementary school, andthen I was the principal of a
(01:59):
middle school, and now I work atthe central office in middle
level education.
SPEAKER_00 (02:04):
Wow, that is quite a journey right there.
Thank you for watching Spotlightfor Success.
I am David, the chief operatingof American Book Company.
We are located here in ourheadquarters in Woodstock,
Georgia.com.
(02:55):
We look forward to hearing fromyou.
SPEAKER_01 (03:03):
So I would say one of my favorite moments was um
there was a year when I taughtseventh grade and then I got
moved to eighth grade.
So I had the same group ofstudents two years in a row.
And those kids were just sospecial to me.
They um they were kind of bondedas a family.
We did a lot of things together.
Um on the first day of school, Icame in the second year and it
(03:25):
was party in my classroom.
They were having a ball becausethey all knew each other, they
were comfortable, and I wasworried because they all I went
in on the first day.
Everybody's usually quiet, andthey were not quiet, they were
just ready to roll, and theywere.
I was like, Oh, hold on to yoursocks.
This is gonna be a year, but itwas fine.
When we walked in, we all kneweach other, we had the standards
(03:46):
set already, so we were justable to pick up and start doing
our thing, and it was great.
We had a fantastic year.
SPEAKER_00 (03:51):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (03:51):
And those kids still to this day, they're adults now,
they're like 30, and they comein.
I I see them in the grocerystore wherever and they're like,
Miss Crook, Miss Crook.
So I'm really bonded to thosepeople.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Oh, that is wonderful.
Uh, tell us a bit about your umuh let's see, you made a journey
to become an NCMLE uh member,board member.
Yes, how did that happen?
SPEAKER_01 (04:14):
So I've attended this conference for a long time
since I was in the classroom.
And so as a middle schoolteacher, I really enjoyed this
conference.
I learned a lot.
I loved coming to hear fromother educators and getting
their ideas.
Then um my principal nominatedme to be the regional teacher to
watch.
I think then it was regionalteacher of the year for NCMLE.
And I won.
(04:36):
And so I got involved that way,and then later on when I was I
took this job at the districtoffice, a friend approached me
and asked me to be a part of theboard.
SPEAKER_00 (04:45):
Oh, that is wonderful.
And um, is there anything elseyou'd like to share with the
NCMLO community?
SPEAKER_01 (04:51):
Well, this is a fantastic conference.
I wish every middle schooleducator could come here.
Middle level education isunique, and oftentimes we get
buried in between the littlenessof elementary and the craziness
of high school, and so we'reoften forgotten, but this is
really important work.
Middle school kids usuallydecide what they're gonna do in
(05:15):
the middle school ages, and theyalso it's the proving ground for
whether kids will stay in schoolor drop out, so it's really
important time, and it's a timeof huge growth and development.
So we need to celebrate ourwork, and we need times to
develop professionally like thisto support our kids.
SPEAKER_00 (05:34):
Yes, I totally agree.
It's such a critical group ofyears for all of us, and uh it's
fantastic that uh you've beenable to do so much here with the
organization uh to support theMidLaba teachers uh in their
journey and all the things thatthey're doing in their
classrooms.
Um, well, thank you so much,Anna Crook.
Very nice to meet you again.
Uh uh she is a member, a boardmember of NCMLE and supports all
(05:58):
of us, and especially us asexhibitors as well here at the
conference, and we're so happyyou could join us today.
SPEAKER_01 (06:03):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (06:04):
Thank you.
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