Teacher leadership pathways have created opportunities for teachers to advance and lead without leaving the classroom. All teachers (regardless of what or where they teach) have the support and resources to do their job effectively. Teacher morale is high, and attrition is at an all-time low. The pipeline is booming! Teaching is now treated as a reputable profession by all, and the salaries reflect it. And I’m beyond thrilled to share that teachers are now listened to, respected for their expertise and compensated like professionals. Once we made a serious commitment to take care of our students and teachers, our education system started to turn around. Rebuilding after the coronavirus pandemic of the early ’20s (the most catastrophic event of the century) caused society to reexamine our priorities. Time has passed and the year is now 2050. In this capacity I help empower educators across our state to develop and advocate for policies to advance equity, opportunity and student success. Shortly after serving as the 2019 Arkansas Teacher of the Year, I transitioned into a new role as the Teach Plus Arkansas state director. I spent 19 years as a classroom practitioner, working to build meaningful relationships, teach the whole child, support the most marginalized and ensure that each student I was responsible for was college and career ready once they graduated. Pop-up study sessions would continue periodically throughout high school.Ĭraig’s unexpected death from a car accident served as a wake-up call to fulfill my purpose - to teach, protect and advocate for our most vulnerable. Even with the dolls, stuffed animals and pretend classroom put away, I often found myself using the arts, specifically rap music and drama manipulatives and mnemonic devices to reteach the material that Craig had a hard time grasping from his teachers. But once he began real school, he started to appreciate my “school” more than he realized. There were days when none of that mattered he simply didn’t want to be my student. Craig’s participation in class and how he engaged was heavily dependent upon the lesson, what was going on and how long we’d been playing. I remember using fly swatters or anything that would extend my reach to call on him when he was being “voluntold” to answer questions. Craig, my baby brother and only sibling, would always be my only live pupil. W hen I was little, I used to line my dolls up in my bedroom and play school. For our November print issue, we asked local experts to gaze into the crystal ball to predict what life in the Little Rock metro area will be like in 2050.
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