November 2021

November's  Marigolds Are...

Mentor Carrie-Anna McCoy and 

New Teachers Charlie Vue, Roni Herndon, and Jackie McGee! 

Each month, New Teacher Support highlights mentor-mentee pairs or administrator teams who represent the type of work that builds educator resilience and provides the support new teachers need and deserve in their first years of teaching. Due to our unique year, we got a bit of a late start in sharing this work this year. But we refused to let that completely deter us and we're looking forward to a lot of celebrating from now until the end of the school year!

Read on for a chance to get to know this month's recipients as we continue to nurture and grow our Marigold Community! 

Meet Mentor Carrie-Anna McCoy

Tell us a bit about yourself (personal, where/what you teach, what drew you to this profession, how long mentoring)

My mother was a dedicated kindergarten teacher in Sonoma County for 38 years.  I used to enjoy going to school with her and being her helper when I was a child.  Then in high school, I had an amazing teacher, Mrs. Bader, who inspired me to be a math teacher.  Even after 18 years in the classroom and 3 years of mentoring, I am still learning.  Teaching CPM and going through distance learning really broadened my view of how to make math more engaging, visual, interconnected, and conceptual,  rather than simply learning rules and algorithms.  I strive for my students to understand math.  Each year, each class, and each student is different. 

What do you like best about mentoring? Do you have a favorite mentoring moment you’d like to share?


I really enjoy talking to my mentees and sharing the lessons I have learned over the year and having them share with me what they have learned.  There are quite a few things I have taken back to my classroom.  In a way, we all mentor each other!  My favorite moment mentoring was when I was able to take one of my mentees around to see other teachers in the district.   I wish we could have more days getting outside of our classroom and watching other teachers do what they do best.  Observing during student teaching is one thing, but when you are in charge of your own classroom completely, observing takes on a whole new life and is eye opening. 

This month’s habit is Take Care of Yourself. In her book Onward, Elena says “Physical self-care and well-being are foundational for many other habits. When your body is cared for, you’re better able to deal with emotions and rough spots. It might be hard (or unrealistic) to do every day all of the self-care things you know are good for you. Manage your vices, find the middle way, and strive for balance.” 


What is ONE way you strive to take care of yourself on a consistent basis? Do you stick to the same bedtime every night? Find ways to exercise or get outdoors each week? Share a non-negotiable strategy you have of attending to your physical well-being.  How does this strategy help you in your day-to-day interactions as an educator? 


I do not take work home with me!.  When I first started teaching I graded EVERYTHING. Every homework problem, every warm-up, etc.  My first year, I realized in October that if I didn’t change how I was doing things, I would burn out.  Over the years, I have learned how to have a successful math learning environment without having to grade everything.  Learning is about making mistakes.  If we grade everything, students have a fear of getting it wrong and tend to not want to try it in a math class.  I encourage mistakes and we talk about them.   When I go home, I focus on my family and my well-being so that when I arrive to work the next day I am happy to put my efforts back into my students. 

Positive Self-Perception is this month’s disposition. Elena says “Resilient people aren’t overly critical of themselves, don’t strive for perfection, and set boundaries. With positive self-perception, we take responsibility for choices, actions, and mistakes. We accept ourselves as we are.” 

What is ONE way you show yourself compassion in those tough moments of teaching? How does your ability to do this translate into your mentoring/teaching practice? 

I have been there before.  I have had days that make me want to pull my hair out.  My mom taught me that every day is a new day.   Mistakes will always happen, life will get hard at times, but tomorrow is always a fresh start. 

Meet New Teacher Charlie Vue

Tell us a bit about yourself (personal, where/what you teach, what drew you to this profession)

I teach Math 7 and Math 8 at Martin Luther King, Jr. Technology Academy. Building relationships with students and seeing students have their “ah-ha” moment is the best reward as a teacher. Teaching for me is like being a mentor and coach for students to seek help and learn from. 

What do you like best about teaching so far? Do you have a favorite teaching moment you’d like to share?


I like seeing student’s growth as a person and their knowledge. 

This month’s habit is Take Care of Yourself. In her book Onward, Elena says “Physical self-care and well-being are foundational for many other habits. When your body is cared for, you’re better able to deal with emotions and rough spots. It might be hard (or unrealistic) to do every day all of the self-care things you know are good for you. Manage your vices, find the middle way, and strive for balance.” 


What is ONE way you strive to take care of yourself on a consistent basis? Do you stick to the same bedtime every night? Find ways to exercise or get outdoors each week? Share a non-negotiable strategy you have of attending to your physical well-being.  How does this strategy help you in your day-to-day interactions as an educator? 

One way I strive to take care of myself on a consistent basis is to exercise regularly. A non-negotiable strategy that I use will be trying to eat a healthy diet. This has helped me concentrate more during school hours and be less tired throughout the day. 

Positive Self-Perception is this month’s disposition. Elena says “Resilient people aren’t overly critical of themselves, don’t strive for perfection, and set boundaries. With positive self-perception, we take responsibility for choices, actions, and mistakes. We accept ourselves as we are.” 

What is ONE way you show yourself compassion in those tough moments of teaching? How does your ability to do this translate into your teaching practice? 

One way I show myself compassion in those tough moments is by seeing how close I achieve my goal for the day. When everything seems to be going wrong, I will look back into the notes that students have given me throughout my education career. I use this strategy in teaching because I know students will eventually have a hard time learning but it is about the great things they have done to be where they are now. 

Meet New Teacher Roni Herndon

Tell us a bit about yourself (personal, where/what you teach, what drew you to this profession)


What do you like best about teaching so far? Do you have a favorite teaching moment you’d like to share?


While I don’t have a specific teaching moment that is short enough to share, I will say that I am in awe with my students every day. My favorite thing about teaching is seeing those lightbulb moments in my students. The moments they believe in themselves and of course the moments that they realize that math isn’t intangible or unenjoyable. 

This month’s habit is Take Care of Yourself. In her book Onward, Elena says “Physical self-care and well-being are foundational for many other habits. When your body is cared for, you’re better able to deal with emotions and rough spots. It might be hard (or unrealistic) to do every day all of the self-care things you know are good for you. Manage your vices, find the middle way, and strive for balance.” 


What is ONE way you strive to take care of yourself on a consistent basis? Do you stick to the same bedtime every night? Find ways to exercise or get outdoors each week? Share a non-negotiable strategy you have of attending to your physical well-being.  How does this strategy help you in your day-to-day interactions as an educator? 

This is the toughest part of life for me. I am often in service to others. I would say that one thing I have mastered after many years is how to leave work at work. I don’t take my teacher bag out of my car and now can optimize every second of the workday to finish things so that I rarely have to plan or work at home. This has helped me tremendously keep the balance at home and brings more peace which then makes me feel more grounded and ready to work. It also limits the amount of burnout that I used to feel when I would work at work and then all night at home. 

Positive Self-Perception is this month’s disposition. Elena says “Resilient people aren’t overly critical of themselves, don’t strive for perfection, and set boundaries. With positive self-perception, we take responsibility for choices, actions, and mistakes. We accept ourselves as we are.” 

What is ONE way you show yourself compassion in those tough moments of teaching? How does your ability to do this translate into your teaching practice? 

One thing I always keep in my mind is that it is never personal. It is rare that a student just doesn’t like me. I understand the middle school age and understand how one thing can throw off their whole day. If I keep in mind that it is not about me, I don’t tear myself down and I know that I have a fresh start every day. I often just stop my class and talk to the students, give them advice, and sometimes crack some jokes when things aren’t going according to plan. It may not translate into my teaching practice, but it translates to the student-teacher relationship building that I have gotten down to a science. Relationships are the most important to me and if I take the time to treat my students as human beings with emotions and address that, then they respect me enough to persevere through themselves even when math seems daunting. 

Meet New Teacher Jackie McGee

Tell us a bit about yourself (personal, where/what you teach, what drew you to this profession)

I am Jackie. A mom of 4, a wife, and a middle school math teacher at FC Joyce. I was sucked into education by a former principal who observed me teaching a class on his campus. I was a substitute teacher in law school at the time. 

What do you like best about teaching so far? Do you have a favorite teaching moment you’d like to share?


I love the relationships that are formed over time with my students. I love laughing with them, educating them in math and having those ‘ahh ha’ moments with them as well. 

This month’s habit is Take Care of Yourself. In her book Onward, Elena says “Physical self-care and well-being are foundational for many other habits. When your body is cared for, you’re better able to deal with emotions and rough spots. It might be hard (or unrealistic) to do every day all of the self-care things you know are good for you. Manage your vices, find the middle way, and strive for balance.” 


What is ONE way you strive to take care of yourself on a consistent basis? Do you stick to the same bedtime every night? Find ways to exercise or get outdoors each week? Share a non-negotiable strategy you have of attending to your physical well-being.  How does this strategy help you in your day-to-day interactions as an educator? 


I am still learning to take good care of myself. I'm working on a consistent bedtime, but I do love to play with my dog, HAPPY! I'm also learning to eat clean. Healthy choices. Using fresh herbs to season food. Baby steps!

Positive Self-Perception is this month’s disposition. Elena says “Resilient people aren’t overly critical of themselves, don’t strive for perfection, and set boundaries. With positive self-perception, we take responsibility for choices, actions, and mistakes. We accept ourselves as we are.” 

What is ONE way you show yourself compassion in those tough moments of teaching? How does your ability to do this translate into your teaching practice? 

I give myself grace. I remember that it is ok to set a priority to things and I try to get it done whatever it is so that I can breathe and go on to the next thing!