Another school year is coming to an end. WOW. It starts out slowly and then finishes fast. This has been a big year of new for me. I changed schools, I had my Kenan project to implement, I had a new network of educators, and of course, new students. Now, looking back, that is how every school year starts, new students, new colleagues, and new ideas to implement and engage learners.

When I think about the Kenan Fellowship, I change it’s name to Kenan Friendship. The room of strangers in June at NCCAT have turned to friends and colleagues. I knew that was going to happen, it usually does when you get a cohort of people together over many months. But this is a different friendship. We lift each other up and cheer each other on, We share ideas, we share excitement, we share laughter. But at the bottom of all the sharing, we share the most important thing: Public Education works in North Carolina. We know it does and we have proof… our students.

In today’s world of high stakes testing and EVAAS scores, it is a challenge to take a risk and make change. It takes courage. It takes support from administrators who know that all students can learn and are much more than their EOG/EOC scores or subgroup performance. As part of this amazing group of K-12 educators from across the state, we are empowered to do something different. To try and try again. To learn from our mistakes and each other.

Am I a different kind of teacher after my Kenan experience? Not really. I always was including STEM and the 4Cs in my classroom. I knew the importance of teamwork and communication. I would challenge my students to think critically and ask why. But now I teach with the knowledge that I am not alone in my ways. I have 40 other educators who are doing the same thing I am, trying new things every day to reach just one more student. I can collaborate with the elementary teachers, but more importantly, I know middle and high school teachers who think like me and will soon be teaching my third graders. Working with them, I feel I can better prepare my students for the challenges ahead of them.

The Kenan network is powerful. Knowing that I have a way to find answers. I can turn to NC State, businesses and educators for help. Public Education needs this community of collaborators to continue to challenge and graduate North Carolina students who can think and take risks. My wish would be that every educator could have this experience to know that we need to change our thinking and teaching. And when we change, we are not alone. We have our network of Kenan Fellows to support us.