End of Year Reflection

This has been an amazing year! I look back and I am pleased with what I accomplished, and the growth I made as a teacher and leader. I immersed myself in my new role as an ESL teacher, which means I attended a lot of professional development. I learned as much as I could about how to support English learners in and out of the classroom. I took this knowledge and developed two separate PDs for my k-2 classroom teachers, as well as, all Berewick educators. I became a CMS curriculum writer, developing curriculum supports for the first grade EL Curriculum. I was asked to be the grant lead at Berewick where I shared grant information with the staff and I even wrote a grant or two for my school. I raised about $200 for different events at Berewick.

In November, I learned that I rank in the TOP 15% for Teacher Effectiveness for the second year in a row! What an incredible high! It made me proud of the work and the journey I took with my previous kindergartners and colleagues. In December, I learned that I did not certify for National Board. This was an unexpected and very sad low. I cried for a full week trying to figure out where I went wrong. I felt like a failure but I regrouped and developed a new plan for approaching National Board.

In January, I was accepted into the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, School Administration program! Another win! One that makes me feel like a fish out of water, and yet I feel called to this program. This was also the month that I began video taping for component 3 (National Board). I wrote new lessons and I felt excited about what my students were going to learn and my own learning journey. The first video made me cry, and taught me that taping kindergartners in the afternoon was probably not the best idea/video. However, by the third video I was done. I had planned thoughtful and joyful lessons that sparked curiosity and engagement. I was on my way to National Board certification.

By March I was done writing and editing my component. I had taken priceless feedback from district volunteers and friends and made it the best it could be, or so I thought. Then school closed on March 16th and school as I knew it would come to an unexpected halt. During this time of uncertainty and reflection I received a surprising email from National Board on April 17th, which stated, “Pearson identified an issue with the algorithm that selected portfolio components for double scoring during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years, resulting in a small number of candidates not receiving a second score on at least one of their portfolio components.” It also went on to say…”You are one of the candidates impacted by the scoring project, and your score has increased as a result of a double scoring of one of your components. After applying the additional score data, you achieved National Board Certification, effective in 2019.” The joy I felt at that moment was immeasurable. That was so unexpected in April, when usually teachers are notified in December. I couldn’t believe it. That moment validated all my hard work and diligence the year before. A dream come true! Achieving National Board certification is in itself an enormous feat, but my good fortune did not end there….
That same month I interviewed for a Title III Resources Teacher position with the Learning and Language Acquisition department for CMS. Since I became a teacher in 2013, I have dreamed of working for this innovative department and I was finally welcomed to do so beginning in July of 2020!!!!!

This year, I have achieved two of my professional goals…National Board Certification and becoming a member of the Prestigious Learning and Language Acquisition Team. I am speechless and humbled!

Every year I wonder, “How will I top last year?” My brain is never content with where I am now, it seeks new knowledge, friendships, and partnerships/networks. One of my new future professional goals is graduating with a Master’s Degree in School Administration. (May 2022) I am not sure about a lot of things these days, with this global pandemic, but I am sure of me. I will keep reaching, keep striving, and keep learning in order to become the best version of myself.