With over 200 members coming from dozens of schools from across the state, we bring together teachers with different experiences, goals, and passions. What we do have in common is the belief that all students can learn and succeed. It takes dedicated teachers who know if their students are going to grow and learn, they must do so too! Hear what our members have to say about their experience and growth through the Florida Teacher Lead Network.
When I was selected to represent Clay County as the District Teacher of the Year several people told me, "You have a voice in education now, use it!" I thought, of course I have a voice, I use it every day to remind six year olds that glue sticks are not push pops!
I felt three inches tall as I walked into the Teacher of the Year Roundtable in July and kept asking myself, “What am I doing here?” I was in the presence of rock stars. I was blown away by the abilities and accomplishments of the superhuman teachers in my cohort. I may have been the Hernando County Teacher of the Year, but felt unsure as to why I had been chosen. I decided I had two choices at that point, slink back to my hole feeling inadequate or accept the challenge to rise up and continue to improve!
As a teacher and coach for over 37 years I have always been eager to learn and grow. Teaching elementary, middle and high school students has stretched my teaching skills, but did not compare to how I would grow as the 2017 Brevard Teacher of the Year. Becoming a member of the Florida Teacher Lead Network, FTLN, provided me an opportunity to learn strategies to mentor my colleagues and advance my teaching skill set.
