Welcome to the 644 Feet Blog! Each blog will reflect on the responses from the interview and pay particular attention to ideas that could be implemented with staff members in order to enhance school culture.

Here are the prompts you’ll hear outlined in each interview:

1. Tell us your teacher stats (how long/where/what)
2. Tell us something we might not know about you.
3. Why ____________ (content)?
4. What’s the hardest thing you’ve overcome in your career in education?
5. How’d you overcome that?
6. What’s your fondest memory a staff?
7. Why does this mean so much to you?
8. What’s one thing you wish we did as a staff?

Now I’d never ask my peers to answer questions I wasn’t willing to answer myself, so here are my responses to each of the prompts you’ll hear each episode:

Tell us your teacher stats (how long/where/what):

The 2019-2020 school year marks my 14th year teaching.  I started at a charter school in Westminster where I taught everything from 7th to 12th grade ELA.  This year is my 3rd in SVVSD and my 2nd at Frederick High School. Right now I’m teaching AP Language, English 12, English 10 and Student Council.  

Tell us something we might not know about you:

I’m super introverted.  While at school I’m super up and outgoing and high fives and hellos for everyone, it totally drains me to have that kind of extroverted energy at school.  When I get home, I pretty much put on my pjs and cuddle with my kids and need to not talk to anyone for awhile while I regroup and recharge emotionally. I really do feel that extroverted at school, around students, and I’m excited to have that energy at schools – it’s not a fake energy.  But it’s certainly not how I am outside of school naturally.  

Why English?

My mom was an elementary school librarian for over 30 years, so my love of reading books started very early.  I had an incredible 6th grade ELA teacher who basically led us in literature circles for an entire year, allowing us choice and voice in reading for the first time.  Then, in high school, I had a lot of novels I had to read that I did NOT love. Or even like a little bit. I did love Beowulf.  I started college as an elementary education major and spent one week volunteering in a school in the middle of winter in Northern Wisconsin and changed my major to Secondary English Education the same week.  It was English or math. I was on the fence until I took a literary criticism class and was blown away when we read Hemingway’s In Our Time from a different critical lens for each chapter.  That solidified my love of textual analysis and using literature as both window and mirror for students to connect and reflect.   My professor of that course was the toughest and smartest I had all through college and had a huge impact on me loving to think so deeply and not know an answer to something right away.  

What’s the hardest thing you’ve overcome in your career in education?

I don’t think anything rivals losing a student.  That’s happened way too many times and each time it happens I feel personally responsible or that I should have known or like I should have known what to do before it happened. 

I’ve also had a few times when I had to take a few days off and think about why I teach or if it’s the right field for me.  I had a student say some really awful things about me on social media once that had a big impact. Two staff members at a previous school went through the loss of a child and we were all deeply affected.  Those are top times when I simply wasn’t sure how we’d get through things, but we always did.  

How’d you overcome that?

The only way I got through any of those times was because of the amazing friends I got to work with and the leadership supporting us.  Open and honest conversations with my principals and colleagues about what we were going through, spending time together, and supporting each other through all those times was the only thing that helped me get through all of it.  It certainly helps that my husband has been a part of the staff that I’ve worked with too because we can better support each other through things. 

What’s your fondest memory with a staff? 

I don’t think it’s just one specific memory but the traditions and celebrations we started as a staff at the charter school where I started my career.  A bunch of us (15 or so) were all hired the same year and we were all just starting out- so we became very close. We’ve attended each other’s weddings, been in each other’s weddings, gone to baby showers, and started a Friendsgiving that’s been going for 10+ years.  We’ve seen each other through some of the most important events of each other’s lives and despite many of us moving on to work at different schools, the memories we’ve created together started because of our love for teaching and our ability to have fun doing so. My first year teaching we started a prank war with each other and that was pretty amazing.  Some of the most fun I’ve had at school was in our teacher’s lounge at lunch each day. So when I think about my fondest memory with a staff, it always involves that group of teachers and us working together to create some new tradition for the school or for us as a staff and group of friends. 

Why does this mean so much to you? 

I think those memories mean so much, especially right now in my career, because it’s been hard to feel isolated as I’ve tried to easily transition to a new school after so many years in one place.  When you step away from a situation you have the space to think about all the amazing parts of it and keep those dear, but do away with the parts that were rough. I can look back on those memories and feel happiness about the specific people and events that are so dear to me and how positive our school culture felt because our leadership, our students, our parents, all of us- we knew the teachers genuinely cared about each other so it made it very obvious that we were all in it together.  

What’s one thing you wish we did as a staff?

I wish we laughed more together.  This is such a hard career and there’s always so much to get done and there’s a long list of things we need to overcome, but I wish we all found things to laugh about more easily together in larger groups.  Or that we worked more mindfully on creating events that gave us the opportunity to laugh together more easily. I hope that the stories that come out of these interviews help bring out funny stories and provide ideas for connection-building events.  The idea of community and the impact it has on school culture is so important for me, and I know it’s important for so many of us. Finding the time and place for us to build connections is difficult, but I hope that starting this blog and reflecting on each episode of “644 Feet” will help generate connections and ideas for enhancing our building’s staff culture.