Seeds Before the Harvest

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A spark in a science lab. A brave ask for help in a lunchroom. A reminder from a keynote to keep planting seeds even when the harvest feels far away. This conversation from NCMLE in Charlotte brings the heartbeat of school to the surface as we sit down with eighth-grade science teacher and AVID educator Erin Burton and assistant principal Michelle Posley Lee from Southeastern Randolph Middle School.

Website: spotlight4success.com

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_03 (00:06):
Welcome to Spotlight for Success by American Book
Company.
I am Devin Pentosi, your host,and we are here at the NCMLE,
the North Carolina Mid-LevelEducators Conference in
Charlotte, North Carolina, thisyear.
And we are so excited to have uhspe uh two special guests with
us.
We have Aaron Burton, who is ateacher with Southeastern

(00:28):
Randolph Middle School.
Congratulations for being ateacher at that wonderful school
these years.
Thank you for being on the show.
And we also have with usMichelle Posley Lee.
Michelle comes to us as theassistant principal of the same
Southeastern Randolph MiddleSchool.
Thank you for joining us,Michelle.

SPEAKER_00 (00:47):
Glad I could be here today.

SPEAKER_03 (00:48):
Okay, fantastic.
So I'm gonna ask a series ofquestions and then uh feel free
to chime in as we go.
Um so Aaron, uh starting withyou, what brings you here to
NCMLE?

SPEAKER_01 (01:00):
NCMLE was uh it's a the conference was invited, we
excuse me, I was invited by myprincipal.
Um she was looking for a feweducators to go to see where we
can go for leadership and so onand so forth.
And so we got invited this pastweek, and I'm super excited to
be here.

SPEAKER_03 (01:16):
Oh, that's awesome.
And for you, Rochelle.

SPEAKER_00 (01:19):
It's a lot of what Ms.
Burton just said, you know, umwe were invited by our
principal, um, and then alsolearned that our principal
nominated someone who wasrecognized and received the
central office staff member towatch.
So we're excited to be here tosupport her as she received that
reward and also be able to havesome takeaways for ourselves to

(01:41):
hopefully take back to ourschool.

SPEAKER_03 (01:43):
Oh, that's wonderful.
Um, Aaron, can you tell us alittle bit about the work you do
in the school?

SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
Uh so for I'm an eighth-grade middle school
science teacher, and I'm also anavid educator, so I'm helping
prepare the students for thefuture, finding uh what they
want to do, so what they whattheir pathway is to get through
high school to get the careerthat they want to, but also I'm
in the classroom doing labs andfinding curiosity and wonder in

(02:08):
science.

SPEAKER_03 (02:09):
Oh, wonderful.
And uh Michelle, how about you?

SPEAKER_00 (02:13):
Well, I would just say my first and foremost job is
supposed to be able to supportmy principal and support the
teachers.
And so um working at the school,I will say it's my first year
being there, and so I think it'sas important about supporting
the staff and learning aboutthem.
So this is that time of sittingback, um spending time as much

(02:36):
as I can in the classrooms orcafeteria or the hallways, um,
but being able to learn as muchas I can about what it is that
they enjoy, as well as what arethe needs in the school to best
be able to figure out how wemeet those needs.

SPEAKER_03 (02:51):
Oh, fantastic.
Um, so wonderful.
Uh Aaron, can you share with usuh some magic moment you had
with your students where youfelt like the light bulbs really
turned on for them?
Thank you for watching Spotlightfor success.
I am David, the Chief OperatingOfficer of American Company.
We are located here in ourheadquarters in Georgia.

SPEAKER_01 (03:54):
Yes.
Last year when we were goingthrough our chemistry unit, uh,
we like to do our conservationof mass, so learning that you
can't create or destroy itmatter at all.
And so we were doing a lab wherewe had to capture the gas and it
clicked with them when theballoon filled up.
And then they took the balloonoff and they're like, Well,
where did it go?
Why did the weight change?

(04:15):
Why did the mass change?
And it just went click, click,click, and all their light bulbs
went on.
They're like, nothing can becreated or destroyed, and it was
really cool to be able to seethem do that in a lab by
themselves with direction, ofcourse, um to see that.
It was really cool.

SPEAKER_02 (04:32):
That's amazing.
And how about for you, Michelle?

SPEAKER_00 (04:36):
It's probably actually been in the last couple
of weeks where um, sooftentimes, as administrators,
we're encouraged to beinstructional leaders.
Okay.
And oftentimes, if I'm beingcompletely honest, as assistant
principal and principals, wedon't always feel like we get to
do that just because of themanagerial pieces or those the

(04:56):
safety measures, those kind ofthings.
And um, in visiting classrooms,I will ask students from time to
time questions, havingbackground as a former high
school math teacher, math is mything.
Um, but the the light bulbmoment for me was when a student
who I had previously said, youlet me know when you need help,
I'm more than willing to helpyou.

(05:18):
And I was willing to help themduring lunchtime because I
didn't want to take away fromany of the class time.
And that student sought me outduring lunch to say, Hey, Miss
Posley, I need your helplearning how to calculate word
problems as they pertain topercentages.
Can you help me with that?
Oh.
And then not only did it takethe time to show that student,

(05:41):
but they were very intent on nowcan I have that paper so that I
can take this with me and gotake it back to my classroom?
And so it's moments like that ofaccountability that just remind
all of us the importance oflearning and that everyone in
the building is there to help.
It's not just a teacher, it'snot just a student, that we all

(06:02):
are supposed to be invested ineach other and learning.

SPEAKER_03 (06:05):
That's wonderful.
It's really a community oflearning.
Yes.
That is so important.
Wonderful.
Um, Aaron, can you tell me a bituh if there's anything you'd
like to share with NCMLE?

SPEAKER_01 (06:16):
I'm so happy to be here, and I'm excited to learn
and make connections and furthermy career and helping and
support the students so thatthey can be them their best
selves.

SPEAKER_03 (06:28):
That's awesome.
And you, Michelle.

SPEAKER_00 (06:30):
I would just say something that was pointed out
this morning in the openingsession and speaking by Dr.
Peppard.
Um, basically, it is thatsometimes we can get bogged down
by the hard work.
And we plant seeds sometimesthat we don't get to see the
fruits of that labor in themoment, but keep planting

(06:51):
anyway.
That we have to believe thatwhat we're instilling in our
students, or what we'reinstilling in or working with
and working with teachers, whatthey instill in us, that in time
we will see the benefits ofthat.
We will see what it is that hasbeen taught to us.
So I appreciate being here forjust that takeaway alone and

(07:11):
knowing that this is good workand we're gonna keep doing it.

SPEAKER_03 (07:14):
That's awesome.
That is fantastic.
Um well, this is wonderful.
Uh, we're speaking again withAaron Burton and Michelle Posley
Lee uh with Randolph CitySchools.
Thank you so much forparticipating with us today.

SPEAKER_00 (07:29):
Thank you so much.
Thank you.