One of the most exciting aspects of our work at the Center is seeing the difference a single teacher can make. In all the talk of what’s wrong with education and what’s right with education, one thing I know for sure is that a passionate, focused teacher is our most precious asset and the best chance a K-12 student has of excelling in school.
One teacher can change the course of a student’s entire academic outlook. One teacher can transform a classroom from a dreary, dull place into a bright space of discovery and learning. But it doesn’t stop there. One teacher can spark an entire staff of teachers to step up and pursue their appetite for excellence, which was the reason they got into the profession in the first place.
When I first met Daniela Robles she had just finished her National Board Certification. The experience had changed her. She had settled her doubts and self-questioning and was ready to be not just a teacher, but a leader. She taught at the Mitchell School, a Title I school in the Isaac School District, which was in Corrective Action. Morale was low. Budget cuts were so severe that the school was rationing copy toner.
But Daniela was ready to soar. So when she began promoting National Board and Take One! at Mitchell, it wasn’t just the professional development opportunity the other teachers responded to, it was the changes they saw in her. I’d never met her before, but I could plainly see she was a powerhouse now. According to the Mitchell teachers she’d undergone a real transformation, from a shy and reserved person to an outspoken, confident teacher certain of her purpose.
Daniela’s transformation became the school’s transformation.
Twenty teachers at Mitchell signed up for National Board or
Take One! This in a district that only had three number of National Board Certified Teachers, one of them being Daniela. Feelings of frustration and helplessness turned to conversation about empowerment and opportunity. Mitchell has never been the same since.
But the story doesn’t stop at Mitchell. A brief video trailer made about the Mitchell School helped inspire other schools to follow suit. We are now supporting cohorts at nine or ten schools with about 200 teachers participating in National Board or Take One! All of them have in some way been touched by the experience of this one teacher. And each of them in turn is getting in touch with their power to make a difference as well. That’s exciting stuff, and we at the Center are thrilled to help support and guide these teachers every step of the way.
