Teachers across the Commonwealth have been giving up their free time - nights, weekends, their much-needed time off from work - to plan an Elevating and Celebrating Exceptional Teachers and Teaching convening in their region. Curious about why? What drives them to continue going above and beyond for their fellow teachers and students? The following blog was a collaborative effort between two members of the Ohio Valley ECET2 KY planning committee. Sarah Yost is a Hope Street Group State Teacher Fellow and National Board Certified Teacher. She currently serves as the ELA Lead Teacher at Westport Middle School in Jefferson County, dividing her time between reading intervention, teacher support and instructional leadership. Missy Callaway is a Goal Clarity Coach and Butler Traditional High School. Among her many achievements, she is a member of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Teacher Advisory Council (2014-2016), a National Writing Project Fellow and a Core Advocate for Student Achievement Partners. When asked why the two teachers joined the Ohio Valley ECET2 KY planning committee, this is what they had to say:
Yost: When I was first approached about planning ECET2, I had a lot of reservations. For one thing, I was unable to attend the January conference because of the blizzard that trapped me in Louisville. Everyone I spoke to about the conference said it was amazing — one of the best they'd attended — and I was more than a little disappointed I hadn't driven in to Lexington the night before. Not having experienced the state-wide ECET2, I worried that I wouldn't have a clear vision of what the conference should be like. Additionally, I'd never planned a conference before, and I was concerned about managing logistics and funding, which are not my strong suit. Still, I wanted to participate on some level, because teacher voice and leadership is my passion.
Callaway: Like Sarah, I was snowed in for the January conference. I met Karen Handlos from The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky when we participated in the Teacher Voice convening together in January 2014. I was more formally introduced to ECET2--and asked to join the planning team-- when I met Kip Hottman and Meme Ratliff this past July; we’re part of the Kentucky team for the Teacher Advisory Council for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Yost: When Meme Radcliff said she would take the lead, I felt confident that the conference would be amazing, and I was excited to help her plan the speakers and agenda for the conference. Meme is such an impressive teacher leader; she has both the larger vision and the detail-oriented, iron-willed work ethic to get the job done. She empowers the teachers around her by leading through example — she is a model of what teacher leadership should be.
Callaway: Meme, I quickly found, is a force of nature! What I found in the remainder of the planning team is an interesting synergy. We have varied backgrounds, interests, and experience levels, but our collective experience and shared vision brought us together, and gives Meme a deep “bench” from which to draw.
Yost: Working with Meme and our ECET2 regional planning team, I'm reminded regularly of why I wanted to help plan this conference in the first place. There are so many amazing, hard working, brilliant teachers out there who too often work in isolation in their schools and classrooms. The power of ECET2 is the power of collaboration — it is the power of building a teacher-leader community that both inspires and empowers teachers to continue working when we are tired and worn down by the daily grind and too little encouragement or recognition. The power of ECET2 is to bring teacher leaders together for support and give us the strength we need to carry on with this meaningful work that has the power to save lives.
Callaway: I’ve been involved with several teacher collaboration groups--but I’ve found in planning ECET2 that this group not only celebrates teacher leaders--it empowers them. Teacher leaders set the agenda, name the participants, and create the experience. Wow! This is teacher leadership in theory--and in awesome, synergistic, powerful practice.
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