Now that my KFP year is coming to a close, I’d like to revisit a few of my thoughts from June 27, 2013, ten months ago.

In my Kenan fellowship, I hope to gain friendships. 

I have been so privileged to be part of a group of such wonderful people. After my Home Base peers and I presented at our final conference, we stuck around for quite some time chatting about our projects, our personal lives, and giving input on a Fellows’ daughter’s wedding dress choice. Although we’re spread out across the state, I very much value their expertise and have already called on them in times of confusion, exasperation, or need of support.

I hope to gain cutting edge knowledge and skills.

Definitely! From my experience exploring assessment options in Home Base to trying out the applications and techniques I learned about in KFP PD, I am a lot more likely to dive right in and try new things. I find myself tweaking little things here and there–reviewing an assessment to check for rigor and finding that I need to butcher it (more often than I care to admit), or planning to have students post QR codes by family photographs that link to a descriptive paragraph. I’m also less stubborn. Previously, I never would have flipped a classroom. It just doesn’t fit my personality. But I’ve tried a few lessons and see the worth in it. I know that not only is it possible to innovate, but that I’m willing to. I’ve found ways to use BlendSpace (previously EdCanvas) and PhotoPeach just because I saw them in action in Ed Talks and want to know how my kids will react to them.  I also pass on what I learn. An upper-grade composition teacher incorporated infographics into a lesson on persuasive writing from a Kenan PD day. A lower-grade teacher gave a benchmark on Home Base with the knowledge I gained in my project on creating and administering assessments through the Student Portal. Being on the forefront of the Home Base roll-out was helpful in a single-school LEA. Sometimes we don’t feel ‘in the loop’, so it was great to be aware of features changing dates.

I hope to learn how to advocate for myself, my school and my students. 

Advocating for my students and school was never hard, but now I have more to lobby for. For instance, seeing how much of a tech deficit we have stacked against the number of opportunities for technology to be incorporated, I’ve begun discussions with our IT Coordinator and administration to consider a Bring Your Own Device policy. I’m not certain it will come to fruition, but I’m certain it’s important to try, and I have as evidence that it can work the testimonies of Kenan Fellows who currently or previously worked in schools with similar policies.

Advocating for myself is a bit tougher.  I still feel incredibly small. Even after the third PD day meeting with Eric Guckian and Congressman Price, it’s tough to believe that teachers can affect change in their own field in North Carolina. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll be blocked out of a career that I love simply because I can’t afford it anymore. As time goes by and conditions don’t change, that reality becomes increasingly likely.

But at the very basest, I hope to find the best lesson plan for day one in a kindergarten Spanish classroom.

Kindergarten students can now greet someone in Spanish, say their name, count to 20, identify 11 colors, name 6 family members, describe their outfits, sing the seasons, and much more. Some lessons ideas I got from uploading resources to Home Base (like the song “Vengan a Ver mi Granja” to learn animals), and some I picked up from colleagues (like stuffing a tied-off glove for students to ‘shake hands’ with as they practice meeting a new person in Spanish).

As a charter school teacher, I feel a bit isolated from public schools and the decisions that affect us all.  It’s a very different feel from my years in public schools, and I wanted to feel ”tuned in” again. 

I definitely feel tuned in again. I know teachers of many disciplines in my own county, and across the state. I’ve used Kenan Fellows as liaisons to collaborate with Spanish teachers in other schools, so I don’t feel as isolated. Seeing the loss of good teachers from the state and hearing of the pressure I feel echoed by such talented individuals has made me feel part of a movement, and rallied me to use my voice as a teacher. Knowing the dedication that a Fellow has for his or her work amplifies the motivation that is already fueled by co-workers, students and their families and spurs me on. I will miss our gatherings and will be wondering what next year’s KFs are learning at NCCAT and how their externships are going, but I think the skills and mindsets I’ve acquired will carry on.