Currently, I am in my fourth year as a teacher at KIPP Climb Academy, an elementary school in Houston, Texas. My school is a Charter, Title I school in the KIPP Texas District. My school serves about 782 students. Even though we are an elementary school serving PreK3 to fourth grade, we share a building with a middle school serving fifth to eighth-grade students. Compared to other schools in our area, our campus is one of the larger institutions.

This year I teach third-grade reading to 56 students split into three classrooms so that students can have a reading, math, and writing teacher. Writing has been made a top priority in third grade, which was the reason why this year they are splitting classes into three rotations. As a reading teacher, I have had firsthand experience of writing being a second thought because of reading. With there only being so much time in a day for instruction in previous years, I would use writing time to finish a reading lesson which, though it helps students with their reading ability and comprehension, does not help with their writing ability. I am excited to see students grow in their writing, as this will also project growth in their other classes. The additional benefit besides students having writing instructions daily is that classroom sizes are now smaller.

Please reference our public school review and school profile for more information.

Student Demographics

Ethnicity

• 642 (82%) students identify as Hispanic

• 118 (15%) students identify as African American

• Less that 3% identify as American Indian, Asian, or White.

Gender

• 414 (53%) students are male

• 368 (47%) students are female

SES

• 714 (91%) of students are categorized as economically disadvantage

Free & Reduced Lunch

• 84% of students are eligible for free lunch

• 8% of students are eligible for reduced lunch

Mobility Rate

• Hispanic Students- 6%

• African American Students- 1%

School Programming

Growing Academic & Independent iNclusively (GAIN)

• A life skills program at my school called the GAIN Program, which stands for “Growing Academics and Independence iNclusively.” This is the second year that this program has been at my school. The GAIN Program is a special education service delivery option for students with low-incidence disabilities.

Technology Access

• 100% of students have access to a Chromebook.

• Technology is 1-1 for all students from PreK-3 to fourth grade.

Headstart

• Our school has a PreK-3 and PreK-4 program. Students in PreK-3 are able to come for half a day and attend class and are full-time students once in PreK-4.

• PreK is not required in the state of Texas so this program is something many families look for when enrolling their children in a school.

Champions

• Is a before school and after school childcare program parents can enroll their children in so that their children can be cared for if they are working later or earlier hours.

• This is the second year of this program and many parents have taken advantage of the opportunity.

My Roles Outside the Classroom

Grade Level Chair

• Plan and facilitate grade level meetings. This may include reviewing data for subgroups of students and determining grade level supports and facilitating discussion and problem-solving related to grade level goals and student support

• Develop and/or utilize strong data-collection practices to monitor progress towards goals within grade level.

• Plan and execute grade level routines, rituals, and events

• Work in partnership with campus leadership team to ensure strong support and monitoring for students.

Reading Department Chair

• Plan and facilitate department meetings. This may include preparing and lead a Module/Unit Launch Meeting, lead Lesson Internalization meetings within content or grade expertise, and facilitate conversations about latest research and best practices

• Develop and implement vertical alignment of best practices across department

• Develop and/or utilize strong data-collection practices to monitor progress towards goals within grade(s)/department(s)

• Observe classrooms in department content areas and identity key trends and develop professional learning to address trends

• Work in partnership with campus leadership team to ensure strong support and monitoring for curriculum implementation and content development

Quality teaching means that an educator does not just teach their students but also goes above and beyond to improve their teaching craft for their students. When I envision this, I see an educator asking for feedback, working with others to develop different ideas to help students learn, and challenging students academically. In a project called Measures of Effective Teaching with Bill Gates (2013), he stated, “We had observers watch videos of teachers in the classroom and rate how they did on a range of practices. For example, did they ask their students challenging questions? Did they find multiple ways to explain an idea?” (Gates, 2013). These are things that a quality teacher does. Students should always feel challenged in the classroom and comfortable facing these challenges because they know their teacher will support them if they struggle. These are things that I was not pushed to do until my last four years of teaching. Teachers must ensure that their students are well-rounded, not just answering questions and taking tests. Students must be challenged daily, and our responsibility is to help them do that. Quality teaching means you are making sure all students are learning at all times and working to their full potential.

The person who has influenced my thinking most about quality teaching is an assistant principal at my school who was my coach two years ago. Throughout my first four years of education, the most growth I have had has been the year she was my coach; as Bill Gates stated, “Until recently, over 98 percent of teachers just got one word of feedback: Satisfactory” (Gates, 2013). When I heard this, it immediately spoke to me and reminded me why I had had the most growth in the past year. I had four different coaches in my first four years, but this coach is the only coach who has not given me feedback that was not one sentence. She has made me feel like what I am doing matters, and what I need in my classroom to be successful matters too.

This relates to when I feel most affirmed in my classroom. My coach knows I need acknowledgment of things I need to improve on and that I am doing well. I solely focus on what I need to grow on, not my glows, and I have been trying to shift that, and affirming my glows helps me. Another belief I have about teaching is that teachers are constantly learning and growing along with their students. Quality teachers look at what they have done in their classroom one day and use that to improve the next day. Whitaker (2020) stated, “good teachers consistently strive to improve, and they focus on something they can control: their performance. Other teachers wait for something else to change. Great teachers look to themselves for answers” (p. 38). This is important because a quality teacher continuously improves and works toward greatness. I am always working to be a better teacher than I was the day before. A strategy I use to keep this belief alive in my classroom is looking at my student work daily and giving myself and students feedback when they turn in their work. Progress monitoring as I am teaching has helped me consistently strive to improve my teaching. This helps me almost immediately reflect on my actions that day and change or continue what I did in my classroom daily.

Lastly, a student will not want to learn from just anyone; they want to learn from someone who cares about them and their success. Reynolds (2018) stated something that related to my belief, “If I can show kids that I know a little about the world they live in if I can show them that vulnerability that hurts, I will show that” (Reynolds, 2018). This moment in his video stuck out with me because this is so important; students need a reminder that we are human, and bringing in vulnerability does not only do that but builds relationships. Students want someone who will be honest with them, who can be serious but also silly, and who brings joy to the classroom. Strategies I use in my role as it relates to this belief are making sure I make time for all my students. This may mean eating lunch with me for a day where we use this time to talk not about schoolwork but about life. I also sometimes have students stay after school if their parents need support some days, and we use this time to decompress. Lastly, showing up for my students outside the classroom has been most impactful in building my classroom relationships. This means attending games, birthday parties, funerals, and many other things. Students need to see that I care and will continue to care for them, whether they are in or outside my classroom.

As an educator, the most critical aspect of this role is that I am challenging my students and acknowledging their success, developing authentic relationships with students, striving to learn with them continuously, and creating a positive atmosphere with coworkers that embodies collaboration. Every day I want to show up for my students positively. My students are the center of what I do as an educator and the steps I take to help them strive for success.

Anderson, M. (2019). What we say and how we say it matter: Teacher talk that improves student learning and behavior. ASCD.

Edutopia. (2015, August 25). Teacher collaboration: Spreading best practices school- wide [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/85HUMHBXJf4

Gates, B. (2013). Teachers need real feedback [Video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_teachers_need_real_feedback

Real Rap With Reynolds. (2018, June 4). How to build relationships with students | High school teacher vlog [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/HUhSe1iZhU4

Whitaker, T. (2020). What great teachers do differently (3rd ed.). Routledge.