Beyond the Chalkboard

Where does one begin with a woman who brings such intelligence, wit, sensibility, eloquence, and compassion to everything she does in the classroom? I met Rhode (her name means “love” y’all!) when I scouted out the French teachers when I started at Falls Church High School (the French major/Francophile in me was intent on finding every francophone in the building). I wasn’t ready guys! Rhode is not human. Besides speaking who knows how many languages, Rhode finds a way to connect with everyone and everything! Her students sing her praises (“Madame is a superstar” is a commonly uttered phrase) and they flock to her room when they need comfort. She gives grace while also pushing resiliency and teaches beyond her curriculum (surreptitiously using the teaching of Black history to highlight the sociopolitical dimensions of language...yes, Rhode is on another level). I am so thankful for this colleague and friend who encourages me in my work, makes our students feel valued, and finds as much...

I didn’t post last week but I’ll make up for it. We’re leaving the FCHS world and making our way to Williamsburg (home of my alma mater) to meet Amy Chen. Where to start with Amy? Amy came into my life when I started my graduate program in Curriculum and Instruction following my undergraduate studies at William & Mary and she was always there to offer words of warmth and encouragement and the motivation to continue when I questioned my capabilities in the classroom (student teaching can be a demoralizing experience haha). Amy was the Noyce Scholar mentor for the School of Education at William & Mary. The Noyce program provides future STEM teachers an opportunity to learn more about successful practices in high-needs schools and Amy did the most beautiful job in organizing opportunities for us to do observe in all types of school settings and engage in conversations with dedicated and passionate educators. In teacher fashion, she would give us the space to engage with the expe...

  Today, Beyond the Chalkboard celebrates Kristen Cunningham. The word that immediately comes to mind when I think of Kristen is “angel.” Whenever I was down or stressed during this virtual school year, I walked into Kristen’s office where she would give me chicken soup for the soul from a distance! Kristen is the department chair for ESOL at Falls Church HS and I am so happy to have someone with as big of a heart as hers in that position. It’s so easy to get lost in labels and blur out nuance when dealing with “special populations” as we often term them in education but Kristen sees every kid for who they are: their strengths, their dreams, their stories. She reminds our community that being an “EL” doesn’t mean a student cannot access a rigorous and engaging curriculum. I can ask her about any of the kids I have and she will tell me everything I need to know about them so that I can tailor my instructions to reach my English language learners. When COVID broke out and many of o...

Today “Beyond the Chalkboard” brings you Gina Rotanelli or as her students lovingly call her, Ms. Ro! Where do I start with Gina? How could I ever team teach again knowing that she would not be my co-teacher in the classroom? I feel like no words would do this woman justice! I was lucky enough to share a classroom with this woman and I’ll just start by saying that having the two of us in a room together was a risky decision because the energy levels were through the roof. COVID robbed us of the chance to finish off the year with our Algebra 1 team taught classes and frankly, I’m still not over it! There were days where we would start laughing hysterically facilitating our lessons (if you haven’t heard the “it’s wrinkly” story, you’re missing out) and our kids would sit there in awe of our lung capacity. We wanted those kids to forget any troubles they had and know that they were safe and loved in our classroom and that was all possible because of Gina. Gina was a big loss for the c...

This week will be a double feature and doing one of these today was necessary therapy during trying times. First up for the week is Nick Hartman. A Social Studies teacher at Falls Church High School, Nick teaches AP Psychology. I love hearing kids come out of his class raving about their mind-boggling debates about evolutionary behavior and seeing the sparks of curiosity flowing from their being in the form of questions, inspired by the varied styles of teaching Nick incorporates into his classroom. I remember thinking “I want to be Nick Hartman’s friend” when I met him my first year at Falls Church and I am so glad that we even get to be senior class sponsors together! We are sad that we can't give the class a typical senior year but we are intent on finding ways to make it special for them! Nick creates a welcoming environment for all his students and what I truly admire is how he has made an advanced college-level course accessible to all learners despite their prior acade...

To kick off the “Beyond the Chalkboard” project, we have Jenna Mollura. A dear friend and a school counselor at Marshall High School in Falls Church, VA, I connected with Jenna from our first interaction, which, to no one’s surprise, was advocating for a student. We were both in our first year and during teacher return week, she found her way to my room to ask if I would be willing to allow an extra student into one of my precalculus classes. She was so sensitive to my teacher bandwidth and did not want to make the class go over capacity without checking in. Whenever people are bored of ruminating over education, Jenna is always there for me to dig into the “make-up” of American education and brainstorm ways to change it for the better. She is never too busy for a student and will bend over backwards if it means equitable access for her kids. I still think about a student she and I shared during my first year and although there were very few constants in this girl’s life, Jenna did her...