My life as an educator - The Beginning

After graduation in 1996, I worked for Chicago Public Schools as a 6th grade Language Arts/Social Studies teacher at Disney Magnet School. It was a school with open walls. Each floor had several pods with 6 "classroom" sections with open space in the center for combined activities. There was also an actual room if needed in each pod. This experience proved to be a great training ground for me as a first year teacher. I was mentored simply by the fact that I could easily observe veteran educators in our open space. We worked like a team. If any of us were sick or at loss for a lesson, someone was always there to support us. I wish that more teachers had this opportunity to not feel isolated or unprepared.

After this first year, I was selected to relocate to be a part of a team to go into the second lowest school in the city to provide a comprehensive art program. The principal heading this effort asked me to go and see the neighborhood, but to not go at night. Really?! Of course, I went in the dead of the night and observed young children walking the streets late at night and interesting characters gracing the corner. Welcome to the West side of Chicago. Of course, I accepted the position. Why? I wanted to re-connect with theater and dance outside of attending auditions or singing in a band.

Let me describe Howland School of the Arts. There were still rotary phones in the office in 1997. They had old desktop computers with dust. There was an abandoned section of the school that had been boarded up and cut off from the rest of the students. If you listened at the wall, I swear you could hear the rodents that had made their home in the abandoned section. The classrooms had hard wood floors with circles from old permanent desks that had since been removed. When you raised the windows it opened far enough that an adult and a child could topple right onto the street. (very tempting at times) It was so old that a film wanted to use the school as is because it looked like an elementary school version of Lean on Me.

The new staff had to merge with the staff. It was difficult at first because the entire school had been abandoned and addled with poor leadership. This resulted in low morale, poor student achievement, and a steady decrease in the arts. Soon, we were all in accord to work towards the re-building of a school with great possibilities. We all agree that the children deserved nothing less from us.

This began a journey that I will never forget. It was the first time that both of my pathways seamlessly connected and merged together.

And then the possible became possible. (I know, I still have not shared what happened 6 months after I started teaching in Philly. Stay tuned)