Respect your roots.
From preferring to “play school” instead of dolls as a child, in this post you’re able to read all about my journey as an educator, as well as a tribute to my own educators who have guided me along the way.
“My classroom=my getaway”
This photo was taken by one of my students in April 2012. This is also when I posted the photo to my Instagram page, and it is still there to this day with the caption, “My classroom=my getaway…always smiles while I’m here <3”. I know I’m one of the few people who still has photos on their Instagram from nearly a decade ago, but it is for moments like this when I feel memories are important. Often times, I find myself scrolling back through old Instagram posts or the daily Facebook memories, in awe of how far I’ve come.
I remember several years ago when I was still a teacher, my AP gave me the “most reflective award” after my teaching observation post-conference, and I honestly wasn’t surprised. I have always been a reflective person; sometimes too much, and to my detriment. Scrolling through my various social media pages & looking at my progress over the years can sometimes lead to me glazing over the fond memories and instead, fixating on the not-so-happy times in my life. But I try not to stay in that place too long, allowing the happy times like the photo above to be a reminder of all the good that widely outweighed the bad.
Being able to see my growth over the years has caused me to reflect, relate, reminisce, and—when needed—release. I think about not only my journey to becoming an educator, but my own journey throughout grade school, and how I even ended up where I am today. I had an amazing time growing up; elementary school to high school were probably some of the best days of my life. However, they weren’t always a breeze.
Unbeknownst to many, I dealt with bullying, peer pressure, and internal feelings of not being good enough. These are the moments that I’ve been working to release over the years. These are also the moments that defined my advocacy later in life and in my career, leading me to make a personal vow to protect my students from these issues. My students (affectionately known as “my babies”) know that I love them deeply, care for them beyond words, and will always & forever be there and ride for them.
A photo shoot with me and some of my favorite former students; they just so happen to be a part of the very first class of students I taught back in 2010. They all were graduating from high school and headed to various colleges, while I was graduating with my masters and headed into school administration. Class of 2017!
Reflecting more on my past, grade school was where I began being molded into the educator and person I am today. During this time, I encountered some of the most amazing teachers and greatest educators to ever grace this earth. From my kindergarten teacher, Ms. Keena Parsons, who gave me what was probably one of my greatest lessons in life—time-out on my first day of school, ever =); to Mrs. Friday, Mrs. Hendricks, & Mrs. Cooper in elementary school at Shiloh Institute of Learning; then on to Jacksonville Commons Middle School, which was my first time in public school and where I met Mr. White, as well as my #1 mentor, encourager, and reason I am who I am in education today—Mrs. Kay Bratton; then on to Northside High School where I met literally the coolest of teachers, such as Mrs. Lopes, Mrs. Whaley, Mrs. Pierce, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Staley, Mrs. Sharpe, Mrs. Gillette, Mr. Cecil, Ms. Matney, and the late Principal Albert James—who was the ultimate motivation in my desire to become a principal someday.
Mr. James was an alumnus of Hampton University, and after I told him I wanted to become a principal just like him, he told me, “You make sure you go to Hampton, and achieve that goal of becoming a principal”. Although I chose a different HBCU (and the greatest one, known as The North Carolina Central University!), I am so humbled to honor Mr. James’ legacy by living out every lesson he modeled for me as the stellar principal he was. I will always and forever cherish his life and leadership, as you can see within the Facebook tribute I made in his honor on the eve of my first day of school as a new Assistant Principal in 2017.
In order for me to talk about my present and future as an educator and school leader, it was most important to me that I honored and reflected on my past as a student, once traveling the same journey as the dear hearts that I educate today. It was imperative that I remembered the passion and purpose those educators poured into me each day, so that I can continue paying it forward and pouring that same passion back into my students.
As an educator myself, I have had quite the journey. As a junior at NCCU, I started as a before-school counselor at an elementary school in Wake County, and I believe this is where I discovered that elementary was the furthest thing from my calling =). In 2010 as a senior at NCCU, I began my student teaching internship at Githens Middle School in Durham Public Schools. I taught 6th grade ELA and math, where Ms. Allison Johnson & Mrs. Sharon Griffith-Selby were the best mentor teachers I could’ve ever asked for. At the completion of my internship, I was blessed to be offered a contract and my own classroom right at Githens, which led to me walking across the graduation stage with a job! I received my Bachelor of Arts degree, cum lade, in Middle Grades Education with a double-concentration in Mathematics & English; shoutout to some of my amazing NCCU School of Education professors: Dr. Gerrelyn Patterson, Dr. Dorothy Singleton, Dr. Philliph Mutisya, Dr. Jeanette Beckwith, Dr. Clarence E. Davis, and Dr. Tom Scheft. I, then, remained at Githens for the next 4 years, migrating from 7th grade math, to 8th grade math, to being the 7th grade math lead, before I sought to challenge myself by transitioning to teach high school.
In 2014, I began teaching Maths 1 & 2 at Jordan High School in Durham Public Schools; but only for one year, as I was soon accepted to the Master of School Administration program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill! I began my school leadership studies in 2015, in which I worked my first semester of grad school as a Math 1 & 2 teacher at Graham High School in the Alamance-Burlington School System. Then, during my second semester of grad school, I took it back to my old stomping grounds at Githens Middle School as a 7th grade math teacher; no better way to end the teaching portion of my educational career than right where I started =).
Additionally, I worked as a tutor at Sylvan Learning Center from 2013-2016, tutoring grades elementary-high school in English & Math. And let’s not forget that I served as cheerleading coach at Githens and Jordan from 2010-2016. I know; I was hustling! Also while working in Durham, I acquired the most phenomenal mentors, who are all powerhouse women in K-12 EDU: Dr. Alisa McLean, Dr. DeShawna Gooch, Dr. Stacey Wilson-Norman, Mrs. Darneise Massey, & Mrs. Lesleigh Mausi.
In 2016, I began my principal internship at Knightdale High School of Collaborative Design in Wake County Public Schools, where Dr. Dennis Carrington & Mrs. Stacy Reel were both the epitome of leadership and were truly my rocks during a very unique learning experience. After successful completion of my principal internship, I graduated from the Peabody School of Education at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2017, under the unmatched professorial & educational leadership of Dr. Jim Veitch, Dr. Ann McColl, Dr. Stan Schainker, Dr. Martinette Horner, Dr. Derrick Jordan, Dr. Eric Houck, Dr. Kathleen Brown, Dr. Kengie Bass, and more.
Literally three days after my graduation, I had an interview at McDougle Middle School in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, where I went on to be named Assistant Principal—the first AP interview I went on! Working with Principal Robert Bales and the MMS staff was truly life-changing for me. Mr. Bales is the most innovative, progressive, and equitable leader I know; I learned a great deal as his AP and will forever cherish him. Additionally, McDougle is a very special school and will always hold a dear place in my heart.
A monumental highlight of my time at McDougle was working alongside Dana McCullum to pioneer “Men in Black” (MIB): an advocacy and academic support group for African American male students. At McDougle, there were roughly 50 African American male students out of a total student population of about 700. Through MIB, these black male students were given a safe space to be and express themselves.
Twice a month, we hosted African American male guest speakers who were leaders, scholars, and professionals in the community. In addition, we also attained two $5,000 grants to financially assist in exposing the boys to cultural landmarks such as the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C., as well as visiting Morehouse College and the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park, both in Atlanta, Georgia. As a result of MIB, our African American male students felt supported, safe, as well as achieved enormous growth and proficiency on their End-of-Grade Reading and Mathematics Exams.
From there, I finally found the courage to follow a dream of mine and educate abroad. In May 2019, I accepted a position to be the Middle School Coordinator at an American-based school in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. As the Middle School Coordinator, I oversee all administrative affairs related to the middle school: academics, discipline, teacher evaluations, master schedule, and everything in between. I’ve only been here since August, but felt ready to take on the next challenge in my career. God opened a door, and I’m walking through it with confidence & expectation of greatness. Stay tuned for what’s next very soon! =)
I think back to my first address to the McDougle MS staff as their new AP. I talked about being the type of teacher to students that they needed when they were younger. I reflected back to my time in 6th grade—new school, first time in public school, unfamiliar faces, yet a glimmer of hope and promise within one of my teachers, Mrs. Bratton. I expressed to them how Mrs. Bratton is literally the reason I am an educator today, as I mentioned above. Her passion and dedication not only toward me, but toward all her students, inspired me to want to be just like her when I grew up. I, too, wanted to inspire. I wanted to change lives. I wanted to be for my students what Mrs. Bratton was to me. I ended by charging each member of my staff to “be a Mrs. Bratton”; to be who they needed when they were in grade school. To this day, Mrs. Bratton & I still keep in contact, have hours-long phone chats, and even share the same zeal for our beloved sorority.
Mrs. Bratton & I at the closing gala of our Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Boule (National Convention) in Houston, July ‘18.
Fun fact: Mrs. Bratton pinned me into the sorority! =)
In all, paying homage & respect is extremely important to me. The brilliant educators mentioned within this post, and even several that I may have missed, have all aided in the makings & moldings of who I am today—as an educator and a human being. They have all provided me with experiences, opportunity, lessons, and many teachable moments; I’d be remiss not to humble myself and honor the path they’ve laid for me.
To all the educators mentioned above: If you have never heard me say it before, THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU for all the lessons and love poured into me over the years, from kindergarten up until today. I promise to continue paying it forward by touching the lives of my students, just as you’ve touched mine.
And to the rest of my readers, whether you’re in education or not—
Be a Mrs. Bratton. Be a Principal James. Be the change. Be for someone the type of person you need.
Encourage. Inspire. Pay it forward. Change lives.
We all we got. And for some people…
We’re all they have.
