When I began my educational career over 22 years ago, I thought I was prepared to be a “good” teacher. I had been working professionally in my content field for a while, completed all the coursework for my first master’s degree in education, and had completed appropriate certification in the grades I was teaching. What else did I need? Those first five years of teaching were great. I was receiving excellent marks on evaluations, my mentor teacher was raving about my success, and I was given leadership responsibility within the school – I thought I was doing a really “good” job. And I was… in the eyes of school administration. According to the evaluation rubric and measuring up against the school system’s standards, I was doing an excellent job!! Right around that five-year mark of teaching, I began to question how “good” of a teacher I really was… something was not feeling right. Am I really a “good” teacher? This was the big question I wanted to answer. All the indicators I was being measured by told me I was an excellent teacher, but I began to question if those indicators were an effective measure of success – the right kind of success. Are the right areas being evaluated and in the right way? Are we driven by student success or standardized test success? Are we designing a course of study for the student or a pathway to life-long success and accomplishment? Are we searching for system-wide validation or individual student achievement? Not every student learns the same, so why are we being asked to assess them the same? These are just a few of the questions I was asking myself. Well, by the end of that year I had the answer to my big question… I really was not a “good” teacher, but I was successful at meeting school expectations… and that is not the same thing as being a “good” teacher. I made the decision to move out of the full-time teaching position I was in at my current school. I then made the transition into administration and parttime teaching in an Independent school where I knew I would have the opportunity to become a GREAT teacher! And there is where my journey as an educator really began…

Upon arrival at the Independent school, I attended a week-long new staff training session along with about twenty other new teachers, staff, and administration – that week was transformative! Over the course of five days we spent most of the time talking about the school’s history, mission, and purpose. We participated in small group sessions led by alumni, veteran teachers, administration, and current students. We looked at data-driven strategic plans and connected them back to the mission and purpose. We were given specific tools to use with the students that helped define the culture we were hired to protect and uphold. We were taught to make ALL decisions with the student on the forefront of our mind. If we were asked to enforce a policy that we did not believe served the student well, we were told to bring it to the administration. As you can imagine, I did this on several occasions. Each time I tested this “policy,” positive change occurred. So, is this what it feels like to be a “great” teacher? Yes!!

Understanding that the job is really about serving as a mentor to students… advocating when necessary… leading from the heart while serving as a disciple for the mission… teaching valuable life-skills alongside content material… and creating an experience for them that promotes a love for learning…wow – what a great feeling! That sixth year of teaching was a true turning point for me – I am forever grateful for the leadership of that Independent school!

Over the course of the next seventeen years, I have continued to acquire tools and learn skills that have helped me to be a better teacher each day in each step of this journey. I eventually moved out of the classroom and into full-time administration so I could share my experiences with teachers in hopes of offering that same pivotal moment for that “good” teacher and encouraging them to step into being a “great” teacher. My focus is to serve students by mentoring teachers with the hope of moving from “good” to “great” both in the classroom and out of the classroom.

Today, in my 22nd year of education, I believe in heart-led leadership and connecting families to a mission-driven education. I believe in the combination of faith and academics while promoting community service as a teaching tool. I believe in fostering a learning culture where the students take ownership over their pathway. I believe in preparing students to be successful in all aspects of their life while partnering with parents on the journey. I believe in Independent education and I believe in educators answering the call to serve in this field. Finally, I believe in the potential of our students today!