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Teach Kentucky is Different! Here’s Why
While there are some individuals who decide as teenagers to become teachers and stay on that path throughout their lives (kudos to them!), most people’s professional trajectory looks a little more crooked and winding. They may think about going into the education field but find that something else grabs their attention in college. For some of them, like Kennita Ballard, the little voice that says “Maybe be a teacher” doesn’t fully silence and ultimately leads them to a meaningful career that is full of opportunity.
Kennita, a Language Arts teacher at Grace James Academy of Excellence in JCPS, grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and went to a high school that offered what is now called Educators on the Rise. “It was a program supporting high school students in identifying if they wanted to go into teaching and exposing them to the world of education,” she says. Even though she was a teenager, the program allowed her to observe in middle school classes and even teach under the guidance of an experienced mentor teacher.
It’s no wonder Kennita considered the education field because even as a young child, she loved school. “School is a place where I felt safe, validated, and seen,” she says. As a very young child, she wanted to be a crossing guard. “I really admired how they prioritized students; their job was watching out for students,” she says. While her appreciation for middle education grew in high school, when Kennita attended George Mason University, she branched onto a different path to get her degree in creative writing.
Still, her feet remained in education in some capacity. She worked as a preschool teacher for high needs students and English language learners for a time and as a teacher’s aide in a Montessori school in Baltimore, Maryland. She even spent time as a volunteer teaching tribal children in New Mexico. “That was eye-opening and beautiful,” she says.
After several years, Kennita decided she needed to make her plan for the next decade and began looking into alternative certification programs. She knew for sure that middle school education, which had interested her in high school, was where she wanted to focus. She applied to several programs in other states, but Teach Kentucky felt different to her.
She liked the intimate nature of the Teach Kentucky program, which meant she wasn’t talking to the assistant to the assistant to the assistant to a higher up in the organization. “I really like how integral the staff and board of Teach Kentucky are to the program,” she says. It wasn’t until she committed to the program and went through it that she realized how the close-knit feel of the organization means greater leadership opportunities for Teach Kentucky teachers.
When Kennita arrived in Louisville, she participated in the Teach Kentucky Summer Institute with other cohort candidates which helped acclimate them to not only the city but also the daily operations of the schools where they would be working. They had an intensive training period that helped prepare them for the school year. Now, eight years after going through the program herself, Kennita serves as one of the mentor teachers who help brand new Teach Kentucky candidates when they arrive in Louisville.
“If you have the heart and the passion for teaching, but missing that piece of being supported and knowing how to apply that passion, Teach Kentucky is the perfect option,” she says.
By Carrie Vittitoe
