My first clear memory of wanting to be a teacher is setting up my bedroom as a pretend classroom when my parents were rearranging my furniture. I lined up the drawers from my waterbed (yeah, that dates me doesn’t it?) and seated my stuffed animals on them in neat rows. I ached to have a portable chalkboard like my teacher did at school, but I made due with my imagination. 

I have very fond memories of my formal schooling. The negative memories are mostly a result of my own actions. I had some amazing teachers that have influenced how I practice teaching. In contrast, I have had some horrible teachers who have also influenced how I practice. My experiences, both good and bad have shaped the practitioner I have become today. 

I started my career in 2008, landing a job as a 5th grade teacher in a highly impacted school in Westminster. I was hired the day before students were slated to return. I had the interview around noon that day and got a call back a few hours later with a job offer. I was asked to return at 5:00 that night for back to school night. My first year teaching was baptism by fire and I learned quickly that all of my training hadn’t prepared me for the realities of running my own classroom. 

After 3 years at what was unofficially referred to as the most difficult school in the district, my career took me down to south Denver and to middle school ESL. For four years I mastered my techniques for teaching with students whose second language was English as well as addressing the unique needs of middle school children. Since then I have gathered many more skills and stories at various schools and grade levels.  

A hard truth about the experience of my career is that it is vastly different from the teachers I looked up to. Economic downturn has meant that each year has been clouded by budget cuts and this means that I have not spent more than 4 years at a single job posting whereas a stable economy prior to the start of my career meant teachers would often be at the same school for decades. That rarely happens now. While first my string of short tenured positions made me feel less confident about who I am as a professional, I have learned to embrace the experiences that have come along with my turnover. I have experience teaching at the elementary, middle and high school levels. I am quick to adapt to new and difficult situations.

A lifelong learner, I decided to pursue my doctorate in education and learn how to conduct valid research. For my dissertation, my focus was around teacher retention. Having experienced burnout myself, I wanted to dig into the “why” behind wanting to leave the profession within the population I work within. This program helped me discern valid research from unsound research and greatly increased my critical thinking skills. 

Like any working professional, my career has had its ups and downs, but the amalgamation of challenges and successes I have experienced have given me the tools I need to be an effective mentor for teachers, parents and students.