Teacher Voice: Solutions from Changemakers in Public Education

Teachers from all over the nation gathered on Capitol Hill in May of 2023 to celebrate their impact in education and exchange ideas on how to strengthen the teaching profession. During National Charters Schools Week, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools presented seven changemaker awards for teachers who’ve gone above and beyond to shape the lives of students. They participated in a panel moderated by the National Alliance’s senior advisor for school support, George Parker. Hear directly from teachers on how they stay motivated, their experience teaching in a charter school, and ways school leaders can attract more teachers to the profession.

For questions, comments, or episode ideas, email [e-mail].

Takeaways:
- Teacher voice is critical to providing students with a high-quality public education.
- Invest in your teachers to ensure they feel seen, heard, and valued.
- Increase teacher salaries.
- Ensure teachers have the tools and resources to serve students.
- Include teachers in conversations and in decision-making.

Panel Moderator:
George Parker, senior advisor, school support, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

National Alliance 2023 Changemakers and Panelists:
Andrea Thomas, Dream Diné Charter School in Shiprock, NM
Tiffany Ortego, One City Preschool in Madison, WI
Cielo Acosta, SLAM! Miami in Miami, FL
David Singer, University Prep in Denver, CO
Nathaniel Dunn III, i3 Academy in Birmingham, AL
Dr. Alissa Russell, Life High School Oak Cliff in Dallas, TX
Coach Jermar Rountree, Center City Public Charter - Brightwood Campus in Washington, DC

Quotes

“By nurturing the confidence of educators and offering platforms for networking and personal growth, we can empower them to become influential role models who inspire their students.- Andrea Thomas

"We are a group of educators with unwavering grit, committed to showing up every day and persevering in our mission."- David Singer

"I aim to cultivate resilience and a growth mindset in my students, empowering them to learn from mistakes and emerge stronger." – Jermar Rountree

"To retain quality educators, we need autonomy, validation, and respect. By involving us in important discussions, you create an environment that supports our best work.- Tiffany Ortego

“Empowering our students with advocacy skills can create a significant impact. Let's prioritize advocacy education”.- Dr. Alissa Russell

"Uplift your children with problem-solving strategies, but remember that guidance is essential. Show them the way to independence” - Nathaniel Dunn III

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
04:50 The Motivation Behind Teaching at Slam
05:53 Charter Schools: Solving the Math Problem
15:25 Teaching on Navajo Nation: Embracing Diversity
19:40 Elevating the Teaching Profession: Expanding Talent Pool
27:00 Fostering Respect and Communication Among Students
33:14 Investing in Educators for Success
40:53 Community, Safety, and Learning Skills for Students
47:29 Teaching Resilience and Embracing Failure
51:59 Creating Safe Spaces for Teachers
54:38 Mental Health Partnerships for Educators
1:05:36 Knowledge Sharing to Enhance Education
1:10:20 Grit and Perseverance: The Keys to Success
1:12:07 Outro

Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Thank you for tuning in to theGet Schools on Public Education podcast. I'm
your host, Brittany Baker, andremember, charter schools are public schools.
Today's episode is all about teachers.The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools honored
seven educators from across the nation withchange Maker Awards for their contributions and positive

(00:25):
impact on education. All seven changeMakers travel to Capitol Hill and participated in
a panel discussion about their personal experienceworking in a charter school in ways school
leaders and lawmakers can help to bettersupport teachers to provide a high quality public
education for students. As a formercharter school teacher, I am still on

(00:48):
cloud nine after having the opportunity tobe in their presence and feel their energy
and passion for teaching and to addto that excitement. The National Alliances,
his senior advisor for school Support andthe former president of the Washington Teachers Union,
George Parker, moderated the discussion.Let's listen in so one of the

(01:11):
things that we want to know fromthis panel, you know you you are
some awesome teachers, and I cantell you today is a happy day for
me having taught school for thirty yearsis to see this all star team here
and I'm just as excited as everyoneelse. Here is to learn what you
have to say about education and thatthe strategies that you use in etc.

(01:34):
At your schools. So we're goingto get right on with it. Our
first question for the Pounder is goingto be a little more personal. We
want to ask you number one,how did you come to be a teacher
and then more specifically a charter schoolteacher? So what drew you just charter
schools and what drew you to theteaching profession? And Andrea, we're going

(01:57):
to start with you. Good morningyet Andrea Thomas and Chief h So uh,
the reason I became an educator isto help to UM for our students
or Indigenous students to know their identity. Coming from a family of educators,

(02:23):
I think it's really important for ourstudents to know who they are and to
believe that they have an opportunity tomake an impact in their lives. And
so that's what led me to becomean educator and into a charter school.
It gave me the opportunity to bein a school that allowed the flexibility UM

(02:44):
and the opportunity for students to beembraced in a learning environment that allowed them
to uh their culture and their languageto to be the center around that.
So I appreciate the opportunity for charterschools to give students that opportunity. Thank

(03:06):
you, good good, Okay.Well, I come from a long line
of educators, so I knew withouta shout over that I would never be
a teacher. And fast forward,the firm I was working at began a
partnership with the local school, volunteeringto have tutor the students. And so
I was student the students, andI would see the lightbulb come on and

(03:29):
I was like, well, thisis kind of cool. I kind of
like this. So after much internalsearching, I decide I would go ahead
and join the family business and becomea teacher, and my children al would
attend a charter school. And Inoticed that the innovative and individualized that suppose
my children would bring home insure withme that they not only had the lightbulb
come on, but they were alsoable to extend that lightbulb and apply it

(03:53):
to different parts of their lives.And so it was just a natural fit
for me to work in a charterschool. Awesome and we were talking earlier
and kind of had the same experience. Right. We're both were math majors,
and neither one of us in ourvision had planned to be a teacher,
and uh, it just happened tobe by experience that we became teachers.

(04:16):
I wanted to be an entertainer.I just you. I was supposed
to be next to Michael Jackson,but it didn't work out that way.
And as a substitute teacher, Iwas substitute teaching and I came home and
it's like, Wow, I likedit, and no you no, No,
I don't. No, I don't, but I tell you we happy
to happen the same way that asa calling, and that when when you

(04:40):
enjoyed working with students and you loveit, you can't resist it. Okay,
let's see who's next year. Thatwould be, Oh, miss Cella.
Okay, I like the oh goodmorning everyone. First and foremost,
my name is Sia Costa and I'ma currently greed language or tea trust LAMB
Miami. So although you had askedtwo questions, I do feel that for

(05:03):
me, the two questions kind ofgo hand in hand. The reason that
I started to teach and the reasonthat I started to teach let alone at
a charter school is because I'm actuallya SLAM alumni, which is an alumni
from the school that I currently teachat. At a very early age,
I met mister Bretta, which iscurrently in the room along with all you

(05:25):
know, some other administrators, andI didn't have a sense of direction,
and they were able to provide thatfor me. They were able to provide
a sense of hope. And Isaw how impactful and moving that was for
me and who I am as aprofessional, and I couldn't wait to experience
that and allowed to give that toother students as well. Awesome, awesome

(05:47):
day. I always loved children mywhole life. When I was a child,
I loved little children, babysat taughtSunday school, the Jewish version,
and I went to school to studymathematics like my two colleagues here, and

(06:08):
I thought we had an innumeracy problem. We talk a lot about a literacy
in America, but we have mathand competence in our country. I thought
I could maybe fix that problem.Right, you're twenty one, and you're
quite ignorant, and you think youcan fix the world's problems. Still still
trying, but I really thought wecould fix in numeracy, and I started
teaching high school mathematics and poured myheart and soul into it. Still love

(06:29):
that profession, and realized that fifteenwas too late for kids to be on
a path to science and engineering quitefrankly economic mobility, because the stem fields
is where you make money, it'swhere you're desired in the workforce, it's
where you can transform generational poverty issues. And said, what if we did
this when you were five instead offifteen? And charter schools were the vehicle

(06:49):
for social entrepreneurship. If charge schooldidn't exist, there would not have been
a pathway to founday school alongside offamilies and community right where I taught high
school and say we're just going towork with you, but the five year
old version of you. And herewe are fourteen years later from an idea,
twelve years from opening, and ourfirst graduates who are in first grade
in twenty eleven are walking the highschool stage and eighty one percent our path

(07:13):
to success in post secondary. Sothe idea that social entrepreneurship can exist in
the education space. In the publiceducation space, charge schools were the only
vehicle to bring about the change thatwe saw necessary in our community. And
I'm grateful that the law ever existedin nineteen ninety three and we're here today.
Awesome coach. It's really hard togo after David Um. So I

(07:43):
Um, I'm Jamar Rountree two thousandand twenty three, DC teacher of the
area. I just want to makesure we're clear in that you're here in
my home. So I got intoteaching. Um, really I wanted to
one. I had a mister Parkeron that discuss to park but I had
a mister Parker's it was also asub So it's very ironic. When we
were talking, I was like,UM, are you sure you're not related?

(08:05):
Um. But mister Parker was theone who inspired me, who gave
me the faith in teachers because Ididn't have that faith when I was in
sixth grade. UM. And sothat gave me the faith in teachers to
respect the profession. UM. AndI had always seen myself as a as
a mentor. When I was younger. I started off I was a boys
and girls kid. Um. Whatwas in girls? Boys and girls club

(08:26):
kid? Um? And so Igrew up around individuals who was always trying
to put me on the right path, but couldn't do it UM, and
so I wanted to be that changemaker for my students UM, and charter
schools gave me the autonomy to dothat. UM. They gave me the
opportunity to be able to bring notonly my passions UM to life, but
also my students passions to life.I wanted to do a follow up question

(08:52):
with you haven't been been the DCTeacher of the Year, but also been
a black ill and then the areaof physical education, It's been quite a
while since we've had a Black millthat has been Teacher of the Year.
Near your physical education talk to usjust a little bit about the accomplishment.

(09:13):
Yeah, not many people know thatin the National Teacher of the Year program,
there has never been a physical educationteacher to have ever won, and
I am the first to ever winas a black educator and as physical education
to ever be a finalist. SoI am honored in humble to be that
trailblazer that now puts physical education inhealth on the map for teachers not only

(09:37):
in the district but across the nation. Awesome, awesome, Okay, Nathaniel
Coach, Good morning, My nameis Nathaniel Dunn. I'm from I three
Academy in Birmingham, Alabama. Thereason I wanted to be a teacher is
because I can remember my mom alwaystold me, you need to be a

(10:03):
teacher, and I often thought thatand I thought it was something else that
I could be good at UM.But I enjoyed helping people, making making
people better because I was taught thatway. People made me better and it
made me want to pour back intomy students. Michael Jackson once said the
best way to receive success in lifeis to by watching and seeing, and

(10:28):
I had the opportunity to do thatin this profession, starting from being a
an assistant and just by watching andseeing other teachers and picking up on things
that they delivered very well and addingit to my craft. It encouraged me

(10:48):
and it inspired me to want tobe myself. There was one one time
once someone said, why do youwant to be a teacher? You should
be a teacher. But whenever youhear that type of conversation, that's something
that you need to tap into.I enjoy working with children. I enjoy

(11:11):
seeing the best out of him.And as far as a charter school,
charter school has been very instrumental forme because it's allowed me the freedom to
be able to teach again without thepressure. I enjoy it. And one
thing that our school leader told usonce, he said that working at a

(11:35):
charter school is not easy, andthat always inspires me on days that are
hard, because this is a realjob and we see it every day.
This is something that we enjoy doing, and this is something that we need
support in doing, and we wantto continue to do that. Awesome.
Awesome, and typically, growing upthrough my childhood, moved around a lot,

(12:01):
but my one stable safe space wasschool. I loved going to school.
I loved the connections I made,and I was very thankful for the
educators that I did have because theyinspired me with the classroom environments that they
made. They made me realize howfun it is to learn, how important
it is how to care for people, how to be a kind and just

(12:22):
genuinely a good person. And soI always knew I wanted to be one
going through high school, and thenI got to college and then I was
like, oh, there's little people. Those little people are very interesting.
They are so honest and forthcoming withthemselves, and they have so much to
give, and so what I loveabout the charter school aspect is that there

(12:46):
is a freedom, as many ofmy colleagues up here have said, to
be able to do the best forthem. I have so many children in
my class from various diverse backgrounds.I have children who have various needs,
differing from person to person. Somemeet need more help than others, and
it's important to teach all of themhow to help each other. And so

(13:09):
that is what I love about mycharter school is that we're a community and
we work together and we hold eachother up. Okay, I want to
go back to a question I talkedwith you earlier. Say hello, yes
about a quote I read that youmade and that was be something you love
and understand. But could you talkto us a little bit about what you

(13:31):
meant about that and telling that toyour students of course, So what he's
referring to is this quote that Iactually go by and it says be something
you love and understand. And Ithink through life identifying your individuality is something
that's very challenging and it's important tograsp onto things that you want to be.

(13:54):
So Unfortunately, growing up, Ididn't have much accessibility to financial resources.
My parents were immigrants and they cameinto this country and they worked very
hard to give me the things thatwe had. So from a very early
age, I knew that I wantedto be loving. I knew that I
wanted to be giving, understanding,helpful, successful, and be somebody that

(14:16):
when you walked in the room,you were respected. So I worked really
hard at becoming something that I loveand working towards understanding it. And it's
a quote that also bleeds into myprofession as an educator, because I want
children to understand what's their value,what's their purpose, and what are the
things that they're great for, sothat they can truly be in love with

(14:37):
themselves and with their purpose in thisworld. Wow. Okay, thank you
they So we're going to move onnow to another question. And we all
aware pretty much that education is achallenge and the teaching profession is a challenge
today. If you had one thing, and you don't have to limit it

(15:03):
to one thing that you would recommendto school leaders, local school leaders,
state school leaders, and congressional leaders, if there was one thing that you
could say to them that if youdo this, this could help the teaching
profession what would it be And let'ssee, let's start with you Andrea again.

(15:24):
Okay, So I a teacher,drinks in a charter school in Chibrock,
and it is the only charter schoolthat is located on the Navajo Nation.
And so with that, I believethat it's really important. One of
the reasons I chose to teach thereand teach within the community that I am

(15:45):
in as I was raised there,was raised by my grandparents, and I
believe that having students who reflect theidentities and look like our teachers, who
look like the students they serve,is really important. It's very powerful when
we teach our lessons, when weteach about historical, our curriculum, and

(16:07):
what we talk about in creating relationships, especially now with our students is very
powerful. Coming from New Mexico,we're very diversity within the state is it's
wonderful, and we have a lotof great people. And I've got a
lot of great charter school leaders rightnow who were once teachers and have the
same idea of wanting to do thesame thing within their communities. And with

(16:30):
that, I believe that it's reallyimportant that we try to support higher education
and create a pipeline of teachers ofcolor so that they can return to their
communities given the experiences within their universityprograms, to go and handle the challenges
that they face outside of the urbanareas that their schools are located on.

(16:52):
It was very fortunate to attend auniversity in Mexico and get placed in a
charter school for my teaching experience,and with that felt like I was provided
the skills that I needed to goback into the school. The public school
system I was at that was reallystruggling and challenged at the time, and
I knew that going in there,but I wanted to make a change.

(17:15):
I wanted to have that opportunity thatI didn't have growing up, where I
had teachers that look like me,that knew and understood the challenges that I
had as a learner, but alsoput the language and culture that I feel
Bill is very important for our studentsto understand, to make them so that
they're able to navigate in two worldsas we say it as indigenous people,

(17:41):
but also to go out out ofour four Sacred Mountains as we say,
outside of our tribal communities and becomeleaders themselves. Oh awesome. Okay,
and now this would be well.I would tell my legislators that we need

(18:03):
a Harvard Law review of education.There are a lot of teachers out there
doing really great things, and asa teacher, I would like to know
those things because I truly believe thatas a teacher it is my job to
educate every child in my classroom wherethey need to be educated, in the
way they need to be educated.And so to know what every teacher is

(18:26):
doing would give me like a toolbox of supplies that I can pull out
as I see rich child needs.What I mean, if you think about
school drivers, not one school driverwill do every job. And so as
a teacher, I would say,we just need lots of educational tools of
what's proven to work in the classroomto make our classrooms better. Say lord,

(18:52):
it is my personal belief that additionalresources can be extremely beneficial to school
As you guys know, you know, unfortunately our education system is experiencing a
teacher shortage. So with additional resources, our administrators would be able to provide
competitive salaries that can increase the retentionof teachers. In addition to that,

(19:17):
additional funding can also help diversify andinclusify the instruction that teachers provide their students.
With that being said, I alsothink that the additional funding could be
beneficial to engage and include parents withinthe community, because I believe it all
starts from home. David, Yeah, I echo my colleagues like Forward working

(19:44):
with Harvard, But I would sayone, we have to do anything and
everything to elevate the profession. Ithink we are failing miserably as a country
to elevate the teaching profession as aprofession that means real salaries and real money
and homeowners in community who are educators. We can't diversify the workforce and say,
I know you've taken on all thisdebt as a person of color and
you're trying to get out of abjectpoverty, and here's forty five thousand dollars

(20:07):
be a teacher. It's a mismatchbetween dollars and what we say matters.
So we have to fix that problem. That's number one, And in number
two is we can't have any infighting about pathways to teaching color at a
start of this year with three thousandteachers missing from classrooms, and we want
to argue about licensing approaches I don'tcare what the approach is. Find great

(20:29):
people, get them in classrooms,support the hell out of them, and
then hold them accountable excellence while youlove them simultaneously. And if they don't
work out, that's okay. Thathappens in lots of professions. But we
have to have the widest funnel humanlypossible to attract talented individuals to be in
our schools. We can't minimize thefunnel. We have to maximize it.
So one we got to figure outthe dollars, and two we got to
figure out how to flood our classroomswith excellence from every walk of earth across

(20:53):
our country and make sure our kidshave these strongest professional educators in front of
them always after. I guess Icould sing the song money, money,
money, money, you know,echoing all all of my my changemakers up

(21:19):
here. You know, Funds isalways going to be the issue, right,
friends, is always gonna be theissue. But I'm gonna come from
the other standpoint of enrichment. I'mgonna come from the standpoint of you know,
the arts and physical education and elevatingthat as a profession and making sure
that that is also on the mindsof our individuals who are making those choices,
who are putting those policies in place, because we forget how important positions

(21:44):
like mine are in the community,in our school culture, and the way
that we interact with our parents,and how we do a lot of that
work behind the scenes, and howa lot of that work is that needs
to be elevated and be seen aswell. As we're saying, you know,
uh la and math um need tobe elevated, but enrichment programs also

(22:06):
need to be elevated, and wealso need to be seen and heard.
Its awesome, awesome, make value. UM. I have four words again,
like my colleague teachers need more pay. Um. I look at I
guess I'm here for advocating for mycolleagues and my coworkers. UM. I

(22:29):
see the look in their faces.Um, they work extremely hard. Uh.
This is the hard This is thehardest working group of individuals I have
ever worked with in our charter school. They show up every single day,
and I think they should be rewardedand compensated for that. Um. They
do go above and beyond UM doingthings there. The mother, the father,

(22:51):
the grandmother. We play so manyroles to where it's extremely important,
and we all have the same goal. We want the best for the children.
Also, I think that if we'retalking to our administration, our local
representatives, that I feel that weneed more programs in place for parents to
help parents, assist parents in helpingtheir children throughout their educational journey, because

(23:15):
you know, we can only dowe do a lot as teachers, but
they do go home and they needto have that same empowerment at home.
They do have the same fulfillment thatthey're getting in school at home. Not
saying that homes homes don't do that, but there are times as a teacher
you notice things, and as aneducator, I do realize that that's one

(23:37):
program that needs to be in place, something for the whole family. Awesome
typit me. I think they've saidmostly everything, but I want to reiterate
that teachers don't do this work fortheir recognition or like the spotlight of it

(23:57):
all. We do it for akids and we're working nearly ten hour days
most of the time because we takeour whole work home with us. I
think about my students when I'm notat work. I think about them all
the time. I hope that they'reokay, I hope that they're happy,
that they're safe. I work andthink on the weekends when I'm doing my

(24:18):
gardening program or I'm thinking of waysto improve the literacy program for my little
ones. We need to be seenand there needs to be respect with that
scene and not constant judgment because we'reall human at the center of it all.
And so I think everybody up herehas made valid points pay be seen,

(24:41):
just you know, be kindesting someof my outside conversations with you and
Jabbar, you both talked about theimportant of social emotional learning. I know

(25:03):
that the Angie Play program focuses onthat, and you and I had a
conversation about what makes you successful,and then we talked about the impact of
social or emotional communication with students.Because you talk about that's just a little
bit about how important that is increating your success with students. Okay,

(25:26):
I'll let say a little bit.So as I've said I've worked, I
work with little people like four orfive year olds, emotions are a big
deal. And in order to becomelike functioning human being in society that like
it knows that what their goals are, they know what their dreams are,

(25:48):
they have all those seeds planted whenthey're little. But sometimes when someone takes
your toy, you get real madabout it, and so you want to
do something about it. So socialemotional learning and problem solving skills and critical
thinking skills, they all happen fromthe very start of school, and we
need to be able to lift ourchildren up in a positive way and not

(26:11):
always constant reprimands on things that they'redoing wrong. It's like, I see
you, I see that you're frustrated, and that's okay. I see that
you're sad. To our boys outthere, it's okay to be sad.
Make sure that they're acknowledged, thatthey're hugged, that they're embraced, show
them paths that they can take todo different things to solve their problem rather

(26:33):
than try and get that toy backin a forceful way that ends in tears.
But it's so important to your overallhealth, like feeling good about yourself
and knowing that you're a good person, that your self worth is important.
It starts from when you're very littletoo, and so I just always push
for advocacy with that. Um.One thing I didn't mention is that I

(27:00):
teach preschool all the way to eighthgrade. So I teach all eleven grades.
So I definitely feel like, uhyeah, and the three four and
five years of my favorite grades toteach because they are so candid and real
and if everyone talked like a three, four and five year old, we'd
have some we education. When weat the top of the list for everyone,
Yeah, I think we had done. Um. One of the conversations

(27:22):
that we had, um, missusParker and I was around the idea of
respect. And so I teach respectas soon as I walk into the classroom
day one of It's a part ofmy procedures that I go through when I
when I talk to my kids asthree year olds, when I talk to
my kids as eighth graders, UM, and we go through that kind of
same program. Um. I'll giveyou an example. We have a conflict

(27:44):
corner in my gym, and sothe conflict corner is a space where students
can take other kids to have conversations. So they did something to you,
you take them to the conflict cornerand there's these six things that they have
to accomplish when they leave them whilethey're in the conflict corner, and then
they can hug it out or fistpump or high five however they want to
end the solution or whatever solution theycome to. But that's one avenue.

(28:11):
Another avenue is that I have thatI started. When the kids come into
my classroom, they pick up differentcolored clothes pins that depict their emotions.
So you have blue that represents sad, you have green that represents happy.
And so kids are now walking aroundwith clothes pins that represent their emotions,
and other kids can see that otherkids are feeling the way that they're feeling,

(28:32):
and so now they're having even moreconversations around how why am I feeling
this way? Or I see thatyou're feeling this way, So let's communicate,
And that offsets when they're on theplayground and they can pull a friend
aside and say I saw that youwere sad. In coach Runtries class,
we want to talk about how Isaw that you were happy? Is what
do you do to why are youso happy? Even having those conversations trickles
off into the classroom, and nowkids are being more social, kids are

(28:56):
using their emotions in the right wayas we were talking about, and they
are being able to have better daysbecause they are having these conversations, because
they are talking to each other,and because they can not only acknowledge somebody
else somebody else's emotions, but theycan also communicate that to a teacher and
tool an adult. As we knowduring the pandemic, our kids lost that.

(29:19):
I saw that a lot of ourkids lost the empathy to have conversations.
They lost the emotion to take thatsomeone to take when someone takes something
from you, how to deal withthat emotion. And this is another way
that kids can show their emotions,but have their emotions be heard and then
also express their emotions. Awesome,Awesome, I thought. I thought that

(29:45):
it was good to do this andfocus on this question because I find that
a lot of my experience that weuse terms sometimes in education that folks don't
really get. And there's a lotof talk about social emotiontional learning, but
the kids, what does that looklike to the average person when we're talking
to parents as we talk about socioemotional learning. But you're putting examples there,

(30:11):
and I think that's important. Butthe socio emotional learning is something that
I think that as people understand itmore, they will understand the need for
it. Yeah, okay, Ithink Andrea, and I think you.
David two and a couple of peopletalked about the we need to get out

(30:33):
there and recruit and next teachers.I was reading some data. I think
it's maybe ED week, but hetalked about the NA had done a survey
of teachers, and this was recently. I can't remember, maybe it's twenty
two or twenty three, but fiftyfive percent of the teachers that they interviewed
indicated that they were going to leadthe profession early because of the workload,

(30:59):
the stress, and etc. Sowith that in mind, we have a
shortage of teachers. What are someof the things that you would recommend that
school leaders and political leaders and decisionmakers in general could do to recruit,
develop, and be sure to retainhow quality teachers like yourself? Now,

(31:22):
this question would be for Tiffany,and we also give it to David.
But if someone else wants to jumpin, we have we have we're good
on time. So if you canask, and then if someone else wants
to jump in, that's great becauseI think that's an important question. How
do we get teachers and then howquality teachers into this profession? This is

(31:45):
basically pigging backing off our last conversationbecause children grow up into adults, and
I think mental health is important foreverybody. And this is kind of just
an umbrella topic because there's so manyrain drops that fall on the umbrella.
You have financial needs, you haveproper and lifelong lasting professional development learning rather

(32:09):
than things that get you buy througha year or a few weeks. Learning
things like anti bias education like properlyand how to get those tools into your
classroom. And also just letting usbe heard. There are so many times
where decisions are being made and it'snot teachers making those decisions, and so

(32:31):
I think that's very impactful. Wherelike we want you say you want us
to do a good job, andthen you keep changing the way we're supposed
to do our job. Let usbe part of the conversation. I think
that's a good place to start tokeep on good teachers, because if we
feel seen and heard and respected,then we'll keep doing our darnedist. David,

(32:54):
I want to just add a littletouch to that same question for you
because you a form a teacher,but you are now a school leader,
and so as a school leader,what are some of the things that you
have implemented in order to try toattract and recruit and retain quality teachers.

(33:15):
That's a great question. First,just trust Tiffany and do what she said,
because probably the number one thing wecould do that I would say on
the front end one, you haveto have a team environment in which everyone's
rowing together. Everybody wants to workin a setting in which you're part of
a united team, same mission,same value, same beliefs, same attitude

(33:36):
about kids. So you have tocreate a school setting which that is true
as a starting point. Without thatadult culture component, anything you do is
superficial and performative. So that's thefirst thing. First things first, But
then I think it's about investing inand loving people. Everyone wants to work
in a place where their manager caresabout them, where they're seeing her her
own and valued and invested in.And that is true in the education profession,

(34:00):
different than the private sector or nonprofitorganizations outside of teaching. So a
few things we think about that aredifferent. We think about compensation differently.
I think this generation will have fourdifferent careers on average by thirty two,
not four different jobs careers. Soas much as I love my fellow math
teachers up here have been doing thegrind for a long time. Thirty year
math teachers in urban education are adying breed. I wish that was not

(34:23):
true, but I think it isthe truth. And so you can't think
of slow linear growth of compensation.So we think about is how do we
exponentially increase your salary in your firstfive years to get you to a salary
that is meaningful and valued, andthen maybe we start to fly in it
out a little bit later. Butthose first five years actually a matter a
lot more because there is no goldwatch at thirty five won't exist, So

(34:44):
I need to save money for araining day. When you're your twenty ninth
year teaching high school math, weneed to pay you right now. So
we think differently about compensation what thatcurve looks like over time. I would
say we have to have transparent andaccessible pathways to leadership inside and outside of
the classroom, where you know,how do I grow? How do I
move forward? Internal external professional development? Getting sent to Washington DC. Our

(35:04):
teachers should be experiencing the same thingsthat Deloitte goes, you're great, We're
gonna do all these things for you. Right, what does schools do.
Here's a backpack, here's a certificatepainted out on paper that's not even matt
right, like not because schools don'twant to do more because they can or
haven't, And we have to thinkdifferently about how we invest in people.
We have a five year Club atyou Prep University of Prep in Denver.

(35:24):
Once you've done five years, you'vebecome a special part of this elite group.
And we introduce you in the fiveyear Club with a giant check in
the summer, and the family you'vehad the most impact on in your life
as an educator comes and speaks aboutyou. And then in the spring we
do this dinner. So we're atCap Grill last week in Denver. Music
teachers right, talk about in Richmond, right at Cap Grill where the special

(35:44):
fancy room. Who's right outside ofthe room the Phoenix suns. So we're
having dinner alongside Chris Paul. That'swhat it should feel like to be an
exceptional educator, and it doesn't feelthat way. And so when I say
invest in people, love on people, that's the kind of thing I mean.
And then it's other elements. It'swhether it's how do we give you
flex days that are not your PTO, but give you a chance to catch

(36:05):
your crow stries. Go to thedoctor, maybe you go to the bathroom.
If you're a teacher, it wouldbe great. Yes, And then
I think something we can work onwith legislators that'd be huge as housing access.
If the average housing denver is aboutto be a million dollars and you're
making fifty two grand, we gota mismatch. And so I think the
pathway for folks in service industries.We are in a public service industry,

(36:28):
in education, teaching, nursing,fire professionals, fire safety, whoever you
are, you need a different pathwayto access homeownership, which creates generational wealth.
And so I think there are processesand pathways we can create with our
legislators to change housing if we can'tfully change funding, which is another way
to think about compensation differently. Awesome. I'm glad that. And this may

(36:55):
be the union leader show piece ofthe talking now, but I'm glad to
hear you talking about the money part, because very often when you talk to
teachers and you bring up money,folks to say, well, you don't
teach for money, you teach forthe kids. And so it causes people
never to really talk about what isthe kind of professional income and compensation teachers

(37:22):
deserve. So I'm glad to hearteachers like you talking about the fact that
one of the problems in recruiting andretaining outstanding people is that we don't pay
teachers enough. Very simple. SoI'm glad to see strong teachers like you
talking about it and encourage you totalk about it even more. I just

(37:43):
wanted to quickly add we have threeexceptional and fantastic male teachers up here winning
this word this year, and thatis phenomenal. We need more male educators.
And we had a conversation this morningabout how we think money is a
big part of that because they don'tsee it as a worthy career because you
don't get paid for it, youreally don't. And so I think making

(38:07):
that change will help diversify the teachingeducation pool of people wanting to pursue it.
Yeah, and I think, Nathan, you started out with three words,
I'm seriously and to second or toadd to that, there are you

(38:27):
know, two black male educators asthe two percent that are educating our nation's
kids. I've agot to add somethingso with that, I think that in
New Mexico there was a teacher networkthat was started, and I feel like
just with the teacher voice and addingthat advocacy into the educational policies that are

(38:49):
set, like bringing them, bringingtheir voices into the to the table.
And because a lot of what I'veexperienced or what I'm noticing is that what
is set for students in the urbanareas of some of our schools really hinder
some of the flexibility or some ofthe things that we're able to do.

(39:12):
But also it gives people the opportunityto hear from diverse populations, from the
students that they actually are servings.I think that that's really important when it
comes to policy. Yeah, thatteacher voice pieces is you talk about as
a very important piece, and Ifound that teachers feel that they want to
have their voices heard and you allfeel the same for too much that that's

(39:37):
one of the big recruitment pieces,is that teachers voices need to be heard
and they want to feel that they'revalued. Yeah yeah, okay, great,
So we talked about retention. NowI want to talk a little bit
about There's a lot of talk inresearch has shown that there was st don't

(40:00):
learning laws resulting from the pandemic.The question here is what are some of
the strategies that you would recommend thata school leaders in general, or whether
it's that your school or just nationally, what are some of the things that
you feel could be implemented in orderfor us to address the student learning laws

(40:24):
that has occurred as a result ofthe pandemic. I want to ask four
glasses, Andrea, Nathan and aLissa to respond to that. But also
we live with time that anyone elsewho wants to jump in, you can
jomp in. Okay, okay,Andrea, seems like we'll back there.

(40:52):
So I think for students, it'sbuilding a sense of community, allowing them
to come into the school and feelthat they belong that despite the challenges they
may have encountered before coming in,that they feel safe, they feel accepted,
and know that their peers are understanding. And so that it depends on

(41:17):
the teacher and how you create thatenvironment is critical. We talked about social
emotional learning already, and I believethat that is something that I have noticed
of our students who throughout our navajoonnationreally struggled during the pandemic. We're probably
in remote learning a lot longer thana lot of schools other schools, and

(41:39):
as the students have returned, beingable to feel, you know, learning
skills that should have been taught previouslyfor them and so getting them to come
in giving them trying to teach themthese critical thinking skills, the abilities to

(42:00):
be able to communicate, how doyou learn to socialize? I think that
that was a really big part ofbuilding a classroom that's going to love learning
and building relationships, understanding the differentneeds of all of our students. As
our charter serves kindergarten through fifth grade, and we have two grade levels in
a classroom, and instead of focusingon the individual grade of the student,

(42:25):
it's looking at what are the needsof those students and what is how can
we create a learning path for eachindividual student that will allow them to be
successful if they can't read and whoif there's a friend or if there's a
student of their one of their peersthat is able to help them to support
I think that that's really important.So that's what I think would be very

(42:50):
important. It's just building relationships tolearn a lot through speaking with students and
then learning about and building a partnershipwith their families as well and bringing them
into that conversation as a way toreally help them to to move forward and
to improve. Okay, Nathan,how how what kind of strategies are you

(43:15):
using in your classroom and then maybeeven at your school in terms to address
the learning laws? UM, Iwill say, first off, we all
as we all know, the pandemichas it has exposed education. With that
being said, there needs to besomething in place where for the whole child.

(43:35):
In my classroom, we spend alot of time. I spend a
lot of time building relationships and Ifound with that students are able to trust
me more to FaceTime text messages.I tell them to text me, check
on me, and they do that. They hold me to it. Um.

(43:58):
I think that we need to investmore time as far as developing the
entire child. With that being said, um, sometimes you have to go
to a ball game. Sometimes youhave to play little events with them to
get them to buy back into learningagain. One of our favorite words in
our classroom is grid. Around oneo'clock, they get really tired, they

(44:22):
do they want to give up andjust developing that motivation, I think our
students need to be motivated just likewe do. I know I do a
lot better when they're motivated. Um, and I think our students don't receive
that as much they receive event fromus, but that needs to be something
in place where we can motivate thewhole child. I had another thought also,

(44:47):
in our classroom, we make surewe check on each other. We
say, how's your heart, howare you feeling? How are you today?
We do a feelings check in everyday. Again throughout through with learning
in our classroom and education, wetend to, like I said, we
get tired really fast. Just developingsome type of strategy to be able to

(45:10):
take both breaks implement something that theyenjoy. Also, we need to learn
from them. I remember one timethis year it was very humbling. I
asked my students, what will makeme a better teacher to you? And
you know some of the responses thatI received it humbled me. You know,

(45:35):
I couldn't get upset or man oranything like that. I just had
to receive it and do it.And they responded a lot better. Okay,
Alyssa, UM, I know itsounds pad, but education students,
as my colleagues have said, theyneed to know that we care about them.
And if they know that we careabout them, they're never be more

(45:57):
visiting what we tell them. Andso you know right now it is hard
harder teaching because there are lots ofeducational gaps that must be addressed in order
for students to be successful. Iteach math math bills on prior knowledge,
and so I have to make surethey have their prior knowledge are they're going
to continue to be lost. Sowe have a we have an education session
in which I have my students identifytheir career aspirations and then we look at

(46:23):
where mathematic skills fit into those careeraspirations. And by getting them to internalize
their desire to close that gap,it makes it easier for me to meet
them where they are. And theatnment of charter schools allows me to literally
if I need to go back tokindergarten to get them up, I can

(46:43):
do that with them one on oneon in small groups as needed. But
they have the self efficacy built withinthem that they want to get it because
now they understand, oh, thisis going to help me be what I
want to be as an adult.I know that there was some extra funding
that was provided federally to help schooldistricts try to overcome the learning laws.

(47:10):
What have you experienced, And I'mjust anybody can respond to this. What
have you experienced in terms of theimpact of those fundings at your school?
Have you seen additional resources or etc. That could help you address the learning
laws issues? Um, if youdon't mind, just answer, particularly for

(47:31):
our network, but to go backto the idea of what we are in
our network are doing. One conceptthat we really instill is to fail forward,
to teach kids resiliency, and toteach kids that failing is okay.
I think in a lot of schools, UM, there is a stigma around

(47:52):
failing, and that stigma rides ourkids really hard. And that idea of
if you fail, this will happenand you can't come back from that really
does something to our kids. AndI know it did something to me when
I was growing up. You know, whenever I missed a shot or didn't
catch a football, or you know, I didn't I missed the tackle,

(48:13):
or I you know, I'm avery bad multiple test taker, and so
whenever I was like, oh,I think I'm going to fail this,
I just completely gave up. Andso one concept that I teach my students
is around failing forward um that youyou have to try in order to fail,
and that sometimes you do fail,but what do you do after that?
And so teaching that really resiliency.In my network, we've we've done

(48:37):
a bunch of different things. We'vecreated um SCL programs, We've done tour
programs, We've created math small groupsfor kids to come after school. We've
done enrichment programs before school, sothat students not only are getting the LA
and math hope that they so need, but they're getting it in a different

(48:59):
way that meets our needs. Andso that's one of the ways that we
in my network have been using Okay, thank you and then talking about the
impact of the pandemic and all onstudents. There seems to be now a
significant increase in the number of mentalchallenges that students are having after upon a

(49:25):
pandemic, and some and not juststudents, could be teachers and other school
staff. What do you see,what are you doing first of all in
your classrooms to address the mental challengesthat students are confronting as a result of
the pandemic, And then a largersense your schools and what do you think

(49:45):
we should be doing as a nation. Pretty much, you're trying to address
the mental health issues that students arenot experiencing. Behind that, I want
to ask U Andrea, No,this is going to be Jamar and Cello.

(50:07):
But then anyone else wants to chimein, let's chime in. Okay,
do you want to go first?Basic? Okay? So, something
that I actually did to address thepandemic issues and the way that it's negatively
impacted our students is I actually wentinto counseling. So besides teaching after school,

(50:29):
I'm completing my graduate program about halfwaydone for school counseling. So with
school counseling has provided me with abroader range of knowledge and the sense of
being able to identify trauma, beingable to identify anxiety, things like depression,
to see what are the external andinternal factors and motivators of our students.

(50:49):
So it's been giving me the opportunityto understand them at a deeper level.
Because I'm able to understand them ata deeper level, I'm able to
differentiate and I'm able to individualize anykind of instructional plan within my classroom.
Laws to ensure that I'm still fulfillingtheir needs not only academically but also emotionally
as well. Good luck with thatnow. I guess we as educators or

(51:15):
all counselors in some sense, butto take it to that next level is
amazing. One of the things thatI do in my classroom and I spread
that wealth, is we do somethingcalled restorative practices restorative circles, and so
this gives kids the opportunity to addressissues they may be coming to your classroom
with, or just issues that theymay be feeling in their community. And

(51:37):
I'm fortunate enough that I live inthe community that I teach in, which
is so impactful because whatever's happening inthe neighborhood for that day, for that
week, I also have experienced itand can talk to the truths that what's
happening, and I think that's sopowerful for our students to be able to
relate. So restorative circles is oneway I think having students and teachers to

(52:00):
space to be able to address theissues that they're that they're coming to school
with. We have a twenty fourhour or forty eight hour role where if
a teacher is having some sort ofeither a traumatic situation or a problem.
Even with a staff member, wehave forty eight hours to talk about it.
But I think the other side isthat teachers need that space to be

(52:23):
able in that safe space. AndI say that safe, safe, safe
space, because we say it's asafe space, and then it's not a
safe space. And that's huge tobe able to address issues that they're feeling.
In the teaching profession, we heara lot of know, but we
don't tell our students no, right. So as professionals, we get the

(52:44):
no from individuals who are calling theshots for us, but we don't tell
our students know. And that needsto change and we have to band together
as teachers to be able to saythat, because if one teachers the outlier,
right, a lot of teachers shedaway from that outlier, so which
means we're not seeing the same thingtogether as a whole unit. And so

(53:06):
that's some of the things that we'redoing and some of the things that we
could do to change the way thatwe are essentially being handled as teachers.
I wanted to add to that inour class when we do a lot of
huddle ups, you know, givingchildren strategies to work out and work out
their own problems, but they haveto be shown. We have a lot

(53:27):
of class meetings several times a dayjust to check on their hearts, see
how they're doing, see how theycan navigate through their problems. And with
our huddle ups, it's almost likefootball who have the team. Our group
of kids who are having a problemaround each other have one person on their
knee explaining, seeing what's going on, so giving them strategies. They actually

(53:47):
get excited about it. Okay,awesome. I'd like to add. At
our district, we have what wecall lifeli attributes, and part of those
attributes are being selfware and globally conscious. And what we do though, is
we actually train our students in thoseattributes so they having situations come up,
they know how to deal with themand how to how to, you know,

(54:09):
act respectfully to others as they're dealingwith the situation, as well as
to deal with others who are alsogoing through problems. And then we also
model it. Like in my classroom, I purposely make mistakes so the students
can see how obviously fun. LikeJamar said, we have to teach them
how to fail for it. It'sokay to fail, but it's not the
end of the game. And sothat helps alone, helps your mental abilities

(54:31):
to keep going and know that Iindeed am someone worth the in in the
world. And the only thing Iwould build is I think we're demanding too
much of our educators, you know, be the therapists, be the psychologist,
be the socialist, social worker.Sorry, that was not an intentional
joke. It's terrible. It's notthe abuilding to make that comment. That's

(54:54):
just an error. I am Canadianbut dual citizen. But I think with
the educators up here are doing isincredible. Right when Nathandle does in his
classroom a coach roundtree, does youknow if we could have a conflict corner
in this building and probably be helpful, But we're asking too much and then
it's too burdens and too stressful andyou don't last. And so I think

(55:16):
public public partnerships, private public partnershipsin which mental health professionals are available to
schools at a much higher rate inperson as part of a community representative of
the student population being served, isincredibly important at the system level. So
every school's access to mental health servicesthat can respond quickly can build relationships don't
operate on a school day. Youneed to visit with a family's home in

(55:37):
the evening to work with the parents. Because you're working with a child,
you've got to work with mom ordad, or uncle or aunt. And
so these system wide issues can't solelybe on the backs of teachers. We're
asking too much. They're already doingenough. And so if we can have
that kind of professional expertise in servicea couple with the kind of approaches that
educators of this panel are taking intheir classrooms, then we actually see change.

(56:00):
But right now, I think ourapproach is demanding too much of educators
who are already stretched too thin.And I would like to add I think
that at our school, our studentsattend Navaho Language and culture, and that's
something that is I believe, isreally helping our students to really get through
a lot of the challenges. Hearingsinging songs and Navajo language and having their

(56:23):
we have a phenomenal Navajo educator ora language teacher, and hearing them speak
it. Even for myself as anadult, I'm not a fluent speaker,
but I can understand it and there'sa lot of meaning behind it. Of
what can be spoken, and sothat opportunity for our students to hear that,

(56:44):
to learn more about their background,their culture, and then take that
back into their home and share thatwith their families. I think is really
important, and it's helping to healboth the child and the parents and the
families themselves. So in their tribalcommunity, with other communities that have their

(57:04):
languages that are not maybe something thatis encouraged within the school systems. I
think that that would be something thatwould be very beneficial and helping for helping
people to heal. Awesome. Awesome, So we almost better to wrap up.
This question is one that is kindof broad based and philosophical, but

(57:27):
I think it has a deep meaning, and that is what is your hope
for the teaching profession and for publiceducation in general, for the future public
education? And if we have enoughtime, I have a follow up to
that, but I'd like to eachof you just to respond to that.
As you look at where you are, your experiences and what you would like

(57:51):
to see in the future, whatdo you see what is your hope for
the future of the teaching profession andpublic education in general. Andrea so I
asked the far as like kinda lastNow, I think creating more spaces,

(58:16):
more schools. I love in NewMexico the charter sector and how it allows
for the creativity and the innovation ofthe passion that people bring to understanding the
needs of our students and what itis and their desires, and if we

(58:38):
can create schools and models around helpingto build schools within the communities that the
students come from UM so that they'renot having to leave their family and they
don't have to leave their space tohave access to high quality education. I

(58:59):
believe that if we have if weempower our teachers, if we create policy
that allows teachers to be creative andhave alternative approaches, and there's more support
systems, what I would like isfor more charter schools within tribal communities that

(59:22):
allow our Native people to be incharge of their education and what they want
for their students. Okay, okay, listen well, I would like to
see all educational institutions come together asone cohesive unit. There is no one

(59:44):
child. There's no one size fitsall child. I mean even one size
fits all clothes or not tailored toreally fit all, and so all educational
institutions have something to offer to eachtype of child. So if we can
come together as a cohesive unit,because it's really about the child, it's
really about educating the child and buildingin for a successful future. So if

(01:00:05):
we can all come together and putall the best stuff together and do vers
fry five children, take it backof what you're saying about not one side
fits all. Is that one ofthe reasons why you support charters that charters
are able to tell you okay,yes, most definitely, Okay, who's

(01:00:28):
next year? It's yellow. Well, my aspiration on my hope for the
educacy education system to come is acommunity that respects empowers teacher, whether it's
you know, financially or giving thefreedom within the classroom to win better curriculum
that is not only data driven,but it's also best for everyone in the

(01:00:52):
classroom. And that is you know, administrators, that is parents, That
is first and for most and themost important students because their well being is
also extremely important. And this waywe can all work towards a community and
towards a goal together. Awesome,Awesome, David, Yeah, I think

(01:01:15):
my greatest hope is that in mynext twenty years done twenty hope to do
forty that teaching is the thing todo. Yeah, there's nothing better in
America you could do as a professorand then choose to teach. We got
a long way to go to getthere. We're kind of the opposite and
of the spectrum right now. Butthat's all right. You know, there
was a moment, I think duringthe JFK administration where the Peace Corps was

(01:01:37):
the thing to do, and therewas a moment under Obama when teaching in
the inner city was a thing todo, and there was These were powerful
moments with a lot of energy andmomentum in our space. And I'd like
to see that come back. AndI'd like people believe their undergraduate degree programs
or any of the post secondary optionsthey were pursuing and say, Wow,
the best thing I could do rightnow in my community, and I think

(01:01:58):
I'm so excited to do is toteach kids. That is my greatest hope.
See Java setting me up for sixpre failure actually talking about God,
David, Um, No, we'rewe are change makers for a reason,

(01:02:22):
um. And we're all going tobe up here saying the same thing.
Um. And my biggest thing,just like everyone. That that I can
say is that I just don't wantthis conversation to die. UM. I
think we have all been in pdsright where we've gotten these amazing trainings and
said at our school says we're goingto do them, we were to use
them, and we don't. UM. Or We've had conversations with people around

(01:02:45):
making connections about collaborating, about networking, and we don't. UM. And
so my biggest hope is that thisconversation keeps going UM, and that we
do something with the conversation that we'rehaving and we don't just let it die.
UM. I feel that we aseducators and of charters, we need

(01:03:08):
to continue to set the trend.I think that UM, this is a
moment that should be continue to buildoff what we learned this week. UM.
Also I feel like again continuing tobuild on what we already have by
incorporating or others to buy into whatwe have and to stay true to what

(01:03:30):
we're what we believe in. UM. Charter teachers show up every day for
the whole child. I'm just astrict believer in developing a whole child.
We need to continue to do thatif we want to see some type of
result in a positive way. Yeah, I was gonna say, you're worried

(01:03:52):
about going after one, I'm goingafter all of them. Um, I
don't want us to lose the sparks. Following what everyone up here has said,
teaching is such a powerful profession thatgets so underhanded over and over again.
We'll have these amazing moments, theseamazing conversations, amazing trainings, and

(01:04:14):
then it just fizzles out until we'reready to bring it back up again when
we realize, oh there's a problem, let's do something. I love the
school I work at. I thinkone city and all charter schools have a
firm belief that not all child,not all children are the same. They
have different needs, they have differentexpectations that we need to meet with them.

(01:04:36):
And I think that having those kindof thoughts that we're doing this for
our kids is ultimately our goals.So upping the funding for schools and teachers
in general, recognizing us being letus be part of the movements that we're
trying to make will set us onthe right path. The second part of

(01:05:01):
that question, and just feel freeto respond to it is after saying what
you real hope is, how canyou use your exceptionalism as a teacher to
inspire your colleagues and future generations ofteachers to help fulfill that hope that you

(01:05:26):
had got to jump fast before anybody. Before David goes, I just want
to make sure we're clear. There'sno water. Yeah, but I'm key
just going to be the first.No. I think to be able to
be on this platform is amazing,And I think to be able to have
a voice right and to be ableto do what we're going to do today

(01:05:49):
right is super super important. Um. And I think one of the ways
that I plan to continue this isI'm going to reach out to the individuals
who are here with me. That'sone way to start and share that wealth
with my colleagues and to share whatI learned from each individual that's up here
with my colleagues and with my administratorsand with my curriculum director, so that

(01:06:12):
way we can continue to build andcreate this. I call it a blockbuster.
If you think about when you gointo a blockbuster, you just pick
out a movie, you select agenre or whatever the kids may be.
But why not have that for education? Why not be able to go into
a place where you can find alesson based upon what you're trying to accomplish
for that any given day. Sothat's how I'm going to continue them.

(01:06:32):
I'll leave that beat that David beforeyou got it out. I believe it's
important to advocate for education. TheAdvocacy Leadership Institute group that I'm a part
of has taught teachers and parents howto get out there and just advocate and

(01:06:55):
demand that our students are educated tobe successful. And so I just think
advocating and teaching our students how toadvocate, it's going to make a difference.
Okay, excuse me. I wouldlike to also add on so it
kind of reminds me of the quotethat says I can't change the world,
but I can. It's toss acoin and create ripples in the water.

(01:07:15):
And I think a great way toput into place what we hope to see
is to teach not just children,but also teach teachers. There's a lot
of times where I come in extraearly in the morning and I teach teachers
how to use a specific program.What's the best way to go about the
curriculum. They're having a challenging timewith a specific student. How can we

(01:07:41):
go best about it to support thatstudent. And I think through teaching everyone
in the building, not just ourchildren, it really creates a movement for
the things that we aspire to be. Be something you love and understand.
Right? I like that? Allright? Anybody else? I would just

(01:08:02):
like to piggyback off. And Ihad an opportunity to speak with Ron Clark,
and I asked them, I said, how do you get your school
to be this way? What doyou do man? And he told me
simply, he says, it startswith one. So if we start from
one charter to the next charter tothe next charter, I think that's the
way we can make it happen.We are the trendsetors. We are the
trendsetors of education. And a greatway that our school actually teaches teachers is

(01:08:30):
we have this mentorship program. It'sa mentor and amentee where they hold some
of their most strongest teachers and theyhave them recruit about three teachers that just
came with into the building and westay with those mentees throughout the entire year
and we teach them the most valuablethings about our school. What's the way
to go around, how to goabout the curriculum, how to do differentiated

(01:08:53):
instruction, how to lesson plan,how to use the Prometheum board. So
I think through mentorship programs where teacherscan partner up within their own schools and
really get to know the school ata deeper level, will also be a
great way too awesome. So I'dlike to add something, Okay, So

(01:09:14):
I believe that just ad advocating empoweringour teachers, especially as a as an
Indigenous teacher, we don't have alot of teachers that are really welcome into
the spaces at times. A lotof it is maybe because we're a little
bit more reserved and we're quieter,We don't say much, we don't put
ourselves out there. But trying tobe a role model, how do we

(01:09:35):
encourage those teachers to know that theyhave something to share. They have is
theirs, their own story is verypowerful. So getting them and getting them
to build the confidence and to joina teacher, to join networks to learn
how to grow within themselves, butalso know that they are role models for

(01:09:56):
our students. And so with that, I believe that just as it's been
here, learning from other educators isvery empowering and very impactful. So I
will continue to reach out to everyonehere as well as other teachers that I
meet along along the way. Awesome, So I think that would be a

(01:10:17):
great teams day. Did you asksomething? I don't know. If coach
wants to let me give it ago, Let me give it a go.
You know, the question is howcan you use your exceptional gifts?
I don't think we have exceptional gifts. I think to use Nathaniel's where we
have exceptional grit. There's a groupof educators with exceptional grit and the one
thing we can do is stay grittyand show up every day. And what

(01:10:41):
impacts of communities when you see Coachin his gym every day you show up
to school and know that he's astable force in your life no matter what
instability surrounds you. That's what wecan all be is gritty change makers every
day and then get out of theway and make sure that the kids voices
and the voice of the families inour community are the story worries that are
being told and amplify those voices withmegaphones. You know. Last Wednesday we

(01:11:03):
celebrated our first graduating class from twentyeleven who are walking the stage in high
School this year, and they're thekeynote speakers, and they're meeting up at
Howard this fall, right twelve yearslater. And the things they're going to
do, we're going to change theworld. But how do we make sure
we elevate their voice and their powerand their strength and get gritty on their
behalf and in service and servants tothem. I think that that's the work

(01:11:27):
we have to do. Awesome,Awesome. I like to add one more
thing, so you okay, no, I'm joking. I don't thank you
for saying that. I was justchoking. But if we're talking about teaching
to the whole child, but let'salso teach to the whole teacher, right,
make sure we make sure that's clear. Okay, Well, let me

(01:11:51):
tell you this. First of all, I have thoroughly enjoyed this, and
I want to thank each and everyone of you for first of all,
you'll exceptionalism as teachers, but theanswers you provide for us today. Thank
you to George Parker in our twentytwenty three change Makers for a meaningful discussion.

(01:12:12):
Immediately following the panel, our changeMakers had the opportunity to meet with
multiple lawmakers and further share their storiesand guidance on how to improve education.
A part of the conversation that stoodout to meet is the importance of investing
in teachers and including them in conversationsand decision making that impacts their profession.

(01:12:32):
And I just want to say thankyou to all of the educators around the
nation. I'm your host, BrittanyBaker, and thank you for listening to
the Get Schools on Public Education podcast.