Becca Baker
Current Position: Training Manager
District: Anna ISD, McKinney ISD, Allen ISD, Brownsboro ISD
Campus: Rattan Elementary, Wilmeth Elementary, Green Elementary, Chandler Elementary
Educator in: Texas
Subject: 2nd Grade-5th Grade Math, Science, Reading and Social Studies
Time Period: 10 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
This is a marathon, not a sprint! Take it all in stride this year.
Amy Brown
Current Position: Chief Product Officer
District: Cobb County, Glynn County, Jefferson City
Campus: Glynn Academy, Pope High School, Jefferson High School
Educator in: Georgia
Subject: High School Math
Time Period: 7 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help from veteran teachers at your school. Teachers love to collaborate and share resources.
Elizabeth Buchanan
Current Position: Account Executive
District: Fulton County Schools and Gwinnett County Schools
Campus: Esther Jackson Elementary (FCS) and Chesney Elementary (GCS)
Educator in: Georgia
Subject: 1st grade and 3rd grade
Time Period: 11 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Getting to know your students and showing them that you care will decrease the amount of time you spend on disciplinary issues in your classroom.
Dodie Carmichael
Current Position: Enterprise Customer Success Analyst
District: Bellflower Unified School District
Campus: Mayfair High & Middle School
Educator in: California
Subject: 1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th grade English and World History
Time Period: 22 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
1. Ask questions, plan with your colleagues, and work with a mentor. 2. Spend the first two weeks teaching students to be in control of their own actions in a consistent classroom environment. 3. Have positive expectations, have fun, and don’t forget to bring your sense of humor.
Josh Fendley
Current Position: Vice President of Academics
District: Garland ISD
Campus: Pearson Elementary
Educator in: Texas
Subject: Math
Time Period: 8 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Listen to your team leads and instructional coaches.
Megan Gailey
Current Position: Enterprise Customer Success Manager
District: Irving ISD
Campus: Sam Houston Middle School and Townsell Elementary
Educator in: Texas
Subject: Math, ELA, and Elementary
Time Period: 8 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
You can't do it all and that's okay. You are doing an amazing job regardless of how long your to-do list is! Try to focus on the things that must be done and make a plan for the rest.
Kanon Hess
Current Position: Account Executive
District: Lewisville
Campus: Camden Hill Montessori
Educator in: Texas
Subject: Montessori
Time Period: 4 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
It’s ok if you don’t get everything taught you had planned in the week. It’s important to make sure your students are learning at a pace that is right for them. It’s also important to remind yourself that your classroom might be the only safe place for your students. Create an environment where every student feels safe, seen, and appreciated. Their voices matter and it is our job to echo it into this world!
Reina Hildreth
Current Position: Success Manager
District: Hillsborough County Public Schools
Campus: Sickles High School and SLAM Tampa
Educator in: Florida
Subject: Middle and High School Math
Time Period: 6 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Build relationships with your students. They never forget a teacher they loved to learn with! Be kind to yourself! Allow yourself to make mistakes, learn, and grow throughout the year.
Lana Johnson
Current Position: Senior Academic Manager
District: Dickinson ISD, Bishop CISD, Driscoll ISD, Calallen ISD, Bastrop ISD
Campus: Education Service Center – Region 2
Educator in: Texas
Subject: Academic Math
Time Period: 31 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Relationships are the most important factor in learning. Care enough to connect with your students, to have high expectations, to follow through, to reach out to their parents, to find out why…why they are tired or late or angry…Teaching is one of the toughest jobs in the world, but it is also one of the most important and most rewarding! You DO make a difference!
Brett Kushner
Current Position: Director of Enterprise Customer Success
District: Hillsborough
Campus: SLAM Tampa
Educator in: Florida
Subject: 6th Grade ELA & Principal
Time Period: 7 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Be as planned and prepared as you can be, but it’s okay if things don’t go the way you want/expect them to go. Use every opportunity to improve your teaching practices by learning from mistakes and be open to feedback from those around you.
Trey Loker
Current Position: Senior Academic Manager
District: Harrisonburg City Public Schools
Campus: Waterman Elementary
Educator in: Virginia
Subject: Fifth Grade
Time Period: 18 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Show how much you care about each student. Let them know they are wanted in your classroom.
Mackenzie Maddox
Current Position: Director of Customer Success
District: Mesquite ISD & Florence Unified School District
Campus: Tosch Elementary
Educator in: Texas & Arizona
Subject: 5th Grade Math and Science in Texas; 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Math in Arizona
Time Period: 4 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Building healthy and trustworthy relationships with your students is the key to class management and gaining respect from your students.
Dr. Sandra Markowitz
Current Position: Enterprise Customer Success Manager
District: Lexington Richland 5
Campus: Chapin Intermediate School
Educator in: South Carolina
Subject: Instructional Technologist
Time Period: 17 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Love+Learning=Growth
Gayle McKee
Current Position: Senior Program Trainer
District: Dublin, Elysian Fields, Hawley, Rogers, Robinson, Calallen, and Anna
Campus: Sue Rattan Elementary in Anna ISD
Educator in: Texas
Subject: School Counselor/ Elementary Self Contained
Time Period: 30 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Don't be afraid to ask! Show yourself grace — if you pour kindness and wisdom into your students, you cannot fail.
Rhonda McNamara
Current Position: Success Manager
District: Hillsborough
Campus: SLAM! Tampa
Educator in: Florida
Subject: Math
Time Period: 13 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Building relationships with your students is key. Once you have that in place, everything else will follow.
Kim Reiter
Current Position: Senior Academic Manager
District: Lubbock, Richardson, Wylie
Campus: Parsons, Richland, Cox
Educator in: Texas
Subject: 3rd, 4th, 6th grade – Reading, Writing, Math
Time Period: 19 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Get to know the students on a personal level and make learning relevant to them.
Spring Renz
Current Position: Renewal Specialist
District: Plano ISD & Anna ISD
Campus: Shepard Elementary & Rattan Elementary
Educator in: Texas
Subject: Kindergarten – 2nd grade
Time Period: 9 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Take everything one day at a time, ask for help, and don’t be embarrassed by a mistake.
Rheanne Renzenbrink
Current Position: Content Marketing Specialist
District: Fort Bend ISD, Frisco ISD, and Prosper ISD
Campus: Stephen F. Austin High School, Centennial High School, Memorial High School, and Prosper High School
Educator in: Texas
Subject: English
Time Period: 10 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
It’s tempting to work around the clock, but burnout is real. Prioritize your health and personal time. You can’t pour from an empty cup!
Melanie Sherman
Current Position: Senior Academic Manager
District: Grand Prairie ISD
Campus: South Grand Prairie, HS
Educator in: Texas
Subject: High School Sciences and CTE
Time Period: 5 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Remember that there is always tomorrow, not everything has to be done today.
Stephanie Sommers-Sims
Current Position: Success Manager
District: McKinney ISD
Campus: McGowen Elementary
Educator in: Texas
Subject: 2nd Grade
Time Period: 1 Year
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Find a mentor!
Tony Spear
Current Position: Senior Academic Manager
District: Plano ISD & Frisco ISD
Campus: Carpenter Middle School & Hunt Middle School
Educator in: Texas
Subject: U.S. History, World Geography/Cultures, Texas History, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)
Time Period: 12 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Always remember that you may be the only bright spot in a child’s life – take every opportunity to show every kid that you care.
Emily Swanson
Current Position: Mathematics Academic Manager
District: Los Angeles Unified School District
Campus: University High School, Venice High School
Educator in: California
Subject: Math and Computer Science
Time Period: 4 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Focus on getting to know your students and building relationships. Remember that the first year of teaching is really difficult for everyone and you are not supposed to have everything figured out. Meet students where they are and find ways to build off of their various strengths that they bring to the classroom.
Lauren Cummings
Current Position: Success Manager
District: Hillsborough County Public Schools
Campus: Schwarzkopf Elementary, MOSI Partnership School, Seminole Heights Elementary
Educator in: Florida
Subject: Kindergarten and First Grade
Time Period: 13 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Focus on building relationships, as connection shapes hearts and drives natural learning. Prioritizing the child over the curriculum ensures learning is always rooted in connection, not just skills.
Joanna Bennett
Current Position: Success Manager - Team Lead
District: Celina ISD
Campus:
Teacher at Celina Junior High
Elementary Digital Learning Specialist at Celina ISD (served Celina Elementary, O’Dell Elementary, and Celina Primary)
Educator in: Texas
Subject: 7th & 8th Grade English Language Arts and Reading, Reading Intervention
Time Period:
Teacher - 8 years
Digital Learning Specialist - 4 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Everyone was a beginner once, even the experts you admire. Give yourself grace as you learn and grow!
Shana Swanson
Current Position: Academic Manager
District: Spring Branch ISD, Katy ISD, Montgomery ISD, Magnolia ISD, Conroe ISD, Tomball ISD
Campus: Spring Forest Middle School, Mayde Creek High School, Montgomery Middle School, Magnolia High School, All Jr High and High School campuses in Conroe ISD, Tomball STAR Academy
Educator in: Texas
Subject: Math
Time Period: 29 Years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Treat yourself with the same kindness and compassion that you treat others.
Gabriella Unanue
Current Position: Program Trainer
District: Hillsborough County Public Schools
Campus: Pizzo K-8, Orange Grove Middle Magnet
Educator in: Florida
Subject: 6th-8th grade Language Arts
Time Period: 5 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Invest in relationships; not just with the students but with your team. No one can be successful in teaching on an island. Embrace paving the road as you go!
Nadine Lynch
Current Position: Success Manager
District: Flour Bluff ISD, Clay County, Mobile County, Onslow County
Campus: Flour Bluff Elementary, Swimming Pen Creek Elementary, Argyle Elementary, St. Elmo Elementary, Sand Ridge Elementary
Educator in: Texas, Florida, and Alabama
Subject: Kindergarten - 4th Grade, Instructional Coach, Curriculum Supervisor
Time Period: 13 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Prioritize connection over curriculum in the early weeks. When students feel seen and safe, classroom management becomes easier and learning happens naturally. Build relationships first, and everything else will fall into place!
Luli Vazquez
Current Position: Program Trainer
District: Irving ISD & Grapevine-Colleyville ISD
Campus: Schulze, Brown, District (IISD) / Timberline (GCISD)
Educator in: Texas
Subject: Math, Science, Instructional Coach, Digital Learning
Time Period: 15 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Build strong relationships with your students and with your team. Relying on others will make your workload infinitely more manageable - and you’ll have a lot more fun!
Miranda Banks
Current Position: Academic Project Manager
District: Leon County Schools
Campus: Gilchrist Elementary School
Educator in: Florida and Georgia
Subject: Elementary Mathematics
Time Period: 10 total years in teaching and educataion
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
You were called to this work for a reason. Find an educator you respect, learn everything you can, and trust that the wisdom around you will help shape the teacher you are becoming.
Shelly Stewart
Current Position: Senior Academic Manager
District: N/A
Campus: The Cottage School, Roswell
Educator in: Georgia
Subject: High School ELA
Time Period: 1 year
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Be flexible. Some of the best learning happens when you adjust to what your students need, when they need it.
Marci Ladd
Current Position: Principal Academic Product Manager
District: N/A
Campus: Montgomery College, Central Texas College, BYU-Pathway Worldwide
Educator in: Maryland, Online
Subject: Mathematics, Religion
Time Period: 8 years
What is your best advice for a 1st year teacher?
Lead with curiosity — it's contagious. Bring it into the room and watch your students start catching it. Let them know their questions are never interruptions; they're invitations. Questions open the door to real learning. When students feel safe to wonder, they become brave enough to grow.