Welcome to my site!

Hello and welcome! I’m so glad you’re here. Every Friday, I will write a new blog post. Most will be related to instruction, school leadership or education policy. However, for this first post, I’d like tell you a bit more about myself and why I do this work.

I didn’t take school seriously as a child. Throughout elementary and middle school, I acted silly, talked out of turn and day dreamed a lot. Math was hard for me and by third grade I had developed the belief that I just wasn’t a “numbers person.” My best and strongest teachers didn’t come my way until high school and college, so the task of teaching me to believe in myself (and learn) fell to my parents, especially my mom. Long before “grit” and “growth mindset” were foundational educational terms, my mom stressed that hard work and repeated practice were the keys to success. She would not let me stop practicing math. Ever. One of my clearest memories from childhood is the nightly multiplication drills she forced upon me using a tape recording she had created. The concept was simple: she would present a math problem, pause for just enough time for me to blurt out the answer and then fill in the correct answer. I resented this routine as a kid, but I am deeply grateful that her belief in my potential was so limitless. I am certain that her unwavering support is why I sincerely believe that every child can learn if given the chance.

My dad, a public defender for the state of Indiana, also strongly influenced my decision to become a teacher. I often accompanied him to work during my school breaks and, while I observed him with his clients, one thing always struck me: most were people of color. One day I asked my dad to explain why and I’ll never forget his response. He told me that as a white child growing up in a middle class community, I benefited from privileges that not all children automatically receive - strong schools and teachers, excellent healthcare, healthy food, and stable housing. He went on to explain that when a child’s opportunities are unequal from the beginning, gaps form early and quickly influence one’s options and outcomes. Mid-way through college, I began to consider a career in law, so I spent part of a summer assisting my father at work. My primary responsibility was to help clients who couldn’t read fluently understand their charges prior to arraignment. Each time I helped a client decode a text, I found myself contemplating why someone hadn’t taught this person how to read long ago. This question didn’t make me want to be a lawyer. It made me want to teach.

I graduated from Bates College in 2004 and began my teaching career in New York City with Teach For America. I was placed in the South Bronx, New York. There, I taught 5th and 6th grade at one of the lowest performing middle schools in the state. Those first two years of teaching were incredibly hard. My students were amazing: bright-eyed, hard-working, and so capable, but they were fighting against an strong current. Every school they had ever attended had school lacked resources and strong instruction. When they joined my middle school class, most were reading at least three years below grade level and the majority lacked basic number sense skills. I worked so hard to try to catch them up by offering tutoring before school, after school, and at the local library on the weekends. But whatever I possessed in grit and work ethic I lacked in content knowledge and teaching skills. I did my best for my students, but most were still behind at the end of the school year. In short, I failed them. I keep in touch with many of “my kids” to this day. Of the 40+ students I taught those first two years, only one, to my knowledge, made it through college. That is not okay.

In 2006, I moved to Boston and joined Brooke Charter Elementary School as a Kindergarten teacher. From the moment I joined Brooke, I could sense that there was something special about the organization. Everyone who works there goes above and beyond in order to ensure that all students reach their maximum potential, and the students are shattering the achievement gap as a result. I spent 14 wonderful years at Brooke in a variety of capacities - as a founding teacher, founding K-8 Principal, ELA specialist and, most recently, as the Principal of our new high school - and have helped the network grow into one of the strongest charter networks in the country. I can say with complete certainty that any school can perform at high levels if the right supports are in place. I am incredibly excited to share what I have learned with any district or school leader willing to put in the work to see their student reach similar levels of success.