About this time last year,
I would have been posting about the end of the semester and celebrating
personal successes along with the rest of my facebook population. This year,
however, I get to celebrate the successes of the 26 little people that are
changing my life. At the beginning of the year some of my students came to me
not even knowing the first letter of their name. As a business school grad,
about the only strategy I could think of was to put the letter on a PowerPoint
slide and say “it’s A.” (Have no fear; I did not actually do this). Fortunately
after learning a few accurate strategies and having an amazingly talented
co-teacher, 70% of our students will go into 2014 reading ABOVE the average kindergarten reading
level. I am incredibly proud of them for persisting to learn each day
regardless of the challenges they all face on a day-to-day basis. Overall the
year has taught me many things about children, and about the education sector.
The industry is so fascinating to me and it is incredible how much opportunity
there is for improvement. Going into 2014, I will capitalize on what I can do
to further my growth and what skills I can use to help not only my school but
the education sphere.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Twinning: Thing 1 and thing 2
It has been a long time since my last blog post; I
definitely overestimated this thing they call “free time.” We recently had our
fall literacy fest, where each of the teachers dressed as book characters and
read their books to all of the kindergarten classes. Naturally my co-teacher
and I chose Cat in the Hat and found thing 1 and thing 2 onesies from target. The
kids freaked out when we jumped up from behind the library in our matching,
firetruck red onesies! Not only was it Halloween but now their teachers were
dressed like giant fuzzy "things"…it was quite the day. :)
Andre Agassi cuts the ribbon!
October 23rd was the official opening and ribbon
cutting of KIPP Destiny elementary in Dallas. We were joined by KIPP founder
Mike Feinberg, the Dallas Mayor and world renowned Tennis Player and Olympic
medalist Andre Agassi who funded the KIPP Destiny building. Two of my students
were apart of the ribbon cutting ceremony and were able to officially cut the
ribbon. When my principal informed me that Andre Agassi would be coming to my
classroom to film the media clip, I nearly died! We were featured on several
news channels (thankfully not the part where my kids asked Andre, “who are
you?”) That’s kindergarten for you. It was an absolutely incredible day and I
have a feeling my students will relish it for years to come. The look on their
faces when they found out they were on TV was purely heart-warming. The support
for the new school from the community leaders and KIPP was incredible. I feel
so blessed to be apart of this experience.
The team and family are some of the most talented, dedicated
and amazing people I’ve met. We’ve heard so many great things from parents…
“It is such a blessing that you
guys came here. I am so proud of my son and what you are doing for him!”
“What y’all doing here is so
powerful. Y’all put your money where your mouth is, and bring it!”
Articles from the event:
Videos from the event:
Pictures of the event
Andre speaking at the ceremony
Mike Feinberg speaking at the dedication ceremony
Andre visiting our "Texas Tech Red Raiders"
Eller Alum Spotlight
So blessed that
the Eller College featured my blog and my journey in their college blog. Eller
provided me countless opportunities and has been immensely supportive of my
journey in the education field. Read the post here!
Monday, September 16, 2013
A Rendezvous with The President
Last night I had the sincere
privilege of meeting President Bush and Mrs. Bush at a private event they
hosted for the Dallas Teach for America Corps. It was an absolutely incredible
experience, one that I will relish for the remainder of my life. We were able
to explore the George W. Bush Presidential Center at SMU, which is relatively
new. It had a structure salvaged from the 911 twin towers that you were
encouraged to touch. There was a situation room in which you could listen to
the opinions of different law officials and policemen to decide what to do in a
national emergency and compare it to what Bush did. We got to visit a replica
oval office; that President’s chair seemed quite comfy. ;)
After we toured the
museum, we shook the President’s hand and headed out to the patio. It was a
pleasant surprise however, when Mrs. Bush pulled up a chair at our table for
dinner! We talked about our teaching experiences and how she enjoyed being a
teacher herself back in the day. President Bush was good humored and down to
earth in his speech. He thanked all the Corps members for teaching and for
persisting despite the challenges we have all already faced. The most amazing
part was when he brought up his immense support for KIPP and mentioned that he
was in Texas when the first KIPP School opened in Houston 20 years ago. He gave
a shout out to one of our KIPP Advisors and thanked him for his work with KIPP
in the Dallas area. It was truly moving to hear President Bush’s support for both
the Teach for America and KIPP mission and our work. He said something that I
will never forget. Possibly the best transition into motivation Monday that I
will ever have in my life again. “If it wasn’t hard, you wouldn’t be here. You
took the risk when many did not. And that shows me what kind of people you are,
and the character you have. Thank you for what you do.” -President George W.
Bush
Saturday, August 17, 2013
The start to “The Beginning”
KIPP Destiny is now
officially open for change. All the summer training, professional development
and classroom setup… and it was time. On Monday I may have felt like I was
drowning, much like comedian Jim Gaffigan describes having four children
“Imagine you are drowning and someone hands you a baby.” Well… imagine having
24 of them. However, despite the
realities of classroom potty accidents and teeth being lost by the second, by
Friday I fell in love with each of my kippsters.
An essential piece of the
KIPP culture is establishing a relationship with our kippsters and their
families by going on home visits. My co-teacher and I were able to go to
several of our students’ houses the first week of school and get to know our
kippsters and their families. These visits have already made such an impact on
our classroom and have enabled us to show our parents that this work is a
partnership and that we will combine forces to be this change.
We asked our parents about
the dreams and goals they had for their kids this year and in the years to
come. I will never forget the way their faces lit up when talking about their
child’s education and how I felt knowing that I would be helping make these
dreams possible. One of my parents in particular spoke about events that led
her to stay in Dallas and described it as “I just believe there was a reason we
were supposed to stay. I just have such a good feeling about KIPP.” I remember
the goosebumps that appeared as I pictured her daughter with a college diploma.
Every day I feel so
thankful and blessed to be a founding teacher and to be apart of the legacy
that KIPP Destiny will persist to achieve. I could never have imagined that I
would be ecstatic to wake up every day at 5 AM (after I get over the fact that
it is 5 AM) to get to the school to work with my inspirational team, amazing
co-teacher and see my kippsters.
My co-teacher has been
such an inspiration to me and I am beyond excited to see what is to come from
our partnership this year. She is such a ray of sunshine and brings upmost
positivity to every challenge along the way… even when we decided to conduct
the ever popular shaving cream activity ambitiously early for our students.
Yep, I am talking about the one where you allow them to spread shaving cream on
their desks and draw shapes and equations to practice using manipulatives. But
then in reality what happens is they decide to clap their hands and shaving
cream splatters onto all of the student’s new uniforms… how did I not see this
one coming?
Can’t wait to see what the
next week will bring and the growth that will continue.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Project Apartment
After moving from Phoenix to Dallas, then to Houston, then
back to Dallas, then Vegas… phew… we are finally settled in our Dallas
apartment! Mom flew out to help me get organized and create this adorable
set-up mostly from consignment in just 2 days! I do not know what I would do without her. Thank you
Mom!
Living Room & Kitchen
Bedroom
Closet
Bathroom
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