Somewhere near the beginning of my teaching career, I came across a quote from Nicholas Kristof that still resonates with me to this day. He states, “Something is profoundly wrong when we can point to 2-year-olds in this country and make a plausible bet about their long-term outcomes – not based on their brains and capabilities, but on their zip codes.” His statement not only is a harsh reality that continues to be a problem nationwide, but it drives me to continue showing up each day to help make a difference.

Ribault High School in Jacksonville, Florida is where I was first introduced to the word “truancy.” If you’re unfamiliar with the word, it essentially describes the action of staying away from school without a valid reason. For my students, their reasons were unfortunate but more than justified. Many of my students had personal issues that forced them to be away from school more often than we both would’ve liked but I, as their teacher, never once allowed them to play the victim role or sell themselves short. Though chronically absent, when they did show up, my expectation was to make every second count.

Quail Hollow Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina is where I learned the power of exposure on young minds. The mission of the program I worked for was to close the opportunity gap by adding real world apprenticeships into the curriculum. By the end of that one school year, my students had completed four different apprenticeships. They were exposed to career fields that they might’ve never heard of before and had a new sense of motivation to diligently prepare for their future. No matter how old we get, we continue to dream and want more for ourselves than maybe what our current situation can provide for us. It doesn’t always matter how good we are at our jobs in the very beginning. In my experience, it’s more about what steps we’re taking to improve and half the battle is simply showing up to do the work.

Uplift Pinnacle Preparatory in Dallas, Texas is the newest campus where I am making a difference, this time with elementary school students. My students are so young but have so much potential. For them, learning is still fun and challenges are met with excitement rather than groans. I don’t just have the task of growing their brains with knowledge but molding the social-emotional aspect of their lives as wells. Though I am old enough to be their parent, I can learn as much from them as they can from me.