Concerns and calls to action from N.C. Teachers of the Year

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is Mary Ann Wolf's "Final Word" from the Jan. 22, 2022 broadcast of Education Matters: "Discussion with NC Regional Teachers of the Year-Part 2." Wolf is is president and executive director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina.

Each week on Education Matters, Dr. Mary Ann Wolf offers a “Final Word” of commentary on the state of North Carolina's public schools. This week, as we collectively face another very challenging time in our schools, in our communities, and across our nation, we lift up the more voices of our state’s amazing educators. Here are words from five of our 2021 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Regional Teachers of the Year. Hear their concerns, their words of motivation for their fellow teachers and communities, and their calls to action. We heard from the other regional teachers of the year last week.

Erin Ellington, Northwest North Carolina 2021 Regional Teacher of the Year, Watauga County:

"I am fortunate to teach at Mabel and Parkway Schools here in Watauga County. I teach K-8 music, so I see almost everybody in both of my schools. Just two little pieces of advice, one for families and one for educators.
"Families: We can't do it without you, even if that means a one-liner email thanking a teacher for something, even if that means a “hey” in the carpool line — I see you. We're putting so much out into the world and sometimes you don't know what's going on or if anything is getting through to anybody, and so just those little tiny things make a huge difference. Families, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support.
"Educators: I had no idea before this role about anything policy and decision-making, but I did have a lot of complaints about those decisions that were being made. And so even though it's a lot of extra work, even though it's kind of something that you have to learn yourself — find a way to get involved with your legislators, invite them into your classroom, invite them into your schools, invite them into your district."

Susanna Cerrato, Western North Carolina 2021 Regional Teacher of the Year, Asheville City Schools:

"In teaching third grade, I have my professional learning community and I sometimes forget that I have a responsibility to advocate for anything outside of these four walls. I think as teachers and honestly as families, I say this as a parent of a first-grader myself, I think it's more comfortable and more logical to stay on your path and advocate for yourself and your students. But something that being a part of this group [of NC Regional Teachers of the Year] has given me both personally and professionally is the gift of collective advocacy and the power of unifying into one and seeing how far-reaching that one unified voice can become. 

 "I think that I'd like to urge educators to not be afraid to become that advocate because we are the ones who know how legislation impacts our classrooms and our students. We are the ones who know what lower compensation does to our communities and our ability to serve in the community we live in. We know how these things impact education — so I would like to encourage educators to seize any opportunity to be an advocate beyond just your classrooms and four walls. Get to know your school board, look for opportunities to organize in your school building. Things begin locally — and change happens locally — and teachers have so much power when they find a group with whom they can advocate."

 Cece Sizoo-Roberson, Southwest North Carolina 2021 Regional Teacher of the Year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools:

"Every single teacher needs a group of people that supports them and that pushes them and that challenges them — and agrees with them and then disagrees with them. I think too often we surround ourselves with people that think just like us and then we are just talking to ourselves and we're not challenged.

"You need to find yourself a group of intelligent passionate educators and you need to stay connected with them because in the moments when you don't want to be passionate anymore, all it takes is a text to any one of these people and your fuel is refired. Every teacher needs that — and you can't be the best for your kids if you don't have that for yourself, so get yourself out there, find some people, and don’t make it people who are going to support you in your moments of negativity make it people who are going to push you out of them."

Jen Attkisson, Northeast North Carolina 2021 Regional Teacher of the Year, Edenton-Chowan Schools:

"I teach first grade at White Oak Elementary in Edenton in the first grade classroom. You find joy every day and that the happiness of coming back from our break and the love that I have felt within these four walls has just been amazing and that is part of what fills my cup.

"Seek out educators, seek out the passionate people in your building and in your district and even across your region, find people who lift you up and challenge you to make a change. This group right here, our [Regional Teachers of the Year] has made an amazing influence on me personally and professionally. I think we have been a true example of how a network can really work across our state to reach all of the kids in North Carolina.

"It has been enlightening both personally and professionally and even within my classroom, my kids when I tell them that we have something coming up, “oh you’re going to work with your teacher friends that live somewhere else in North Carolina,” and we’ve found it on the map and it’s just been wonderful, it’s been eye-opening to me to see how things operate in other parts of the state which helps me better serve where I am as well.

"I think it's important for all teachers to have that narrative of what education is like across our state."

Jeremy White, Charter School North Carolina 2021 Regional Teacher of the Year, West Lake Preparatory Academy:

"As we've been going through the pandemic, I've always come with The Four Agreements — which is do your best, be impeccable with your words, don't take anything personal, and don't assume.

"I think we as teachers, and as a community, and as parents — we have to get out of this mindset of “those kids,” “those parents,” “those teachers.” When everyone succeeds, when everyone from everywhere succeeds, we all succeed. There's no competition, I'm not worried about having better reading scores than my teammate, if my teammate is getting her kids where they need to be, that’s great for me, that’s great for my kids, that’s great for me to learn from."