Representing Colorado Teachers, What an Honor!!!!!

            Being a Representative

                What an amazing experience meeting all the State Teachers of the Year in Scottsdale AZ last month.  It amazed me how similar we are as teachers, our passion for teaching and wanting to make sure we are providing the best curriculum's possible for our students.  It was also amazing how different each of us are and that was when I realized that any great teacher could have been at this conference and we as the 2014 State Teachers of the Year were representing all the incredible teachers in our profession.  Are we the best of the best not necessarily but we are a great group of representatives, thank you again Colorado for giving me this opportunity.

                Networking and creating a platform for my year as the Colorado Teacher of the Year was a main priority.  My platform came down to educating and getting the word out on how physical activity can impact the brain and how important it is to make sure our students are staying active through-out the day; before school, during school and after school.   I also want to become a support system to novice teachers starting their incredible journey in education, something I think we lack in our profession which is why we lose great educators in the first 3 years.  What really influenced me at the conference is how our profession is very linear.  Once you are a teacher the only professional growth is administration.  I learned about a more lattice growth path in our profession, giving teachers more opportunity to expand in their profession from mentoring novice teachers to expert teachers coaching proficient teachers. More money would always be nice for the movement through our profession from novice to advance beginner to competent to proficient to expert but in my eyes the opportunity to support my fellow teachers and helping them grow into expert teachers so that every student is getting the best education possible.  That would be an ultimate goal for me. 

                If you have any reflection on the professional growth pattern in teaching I would love to hear about it.