Teacher Dreams Do Come True

In February 2012 I was asked to participate at the national ECET2 conference in Scottsdale, AZ. ECET2 stands for Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers. Aside from the beautiful venue and the thrill of escaping the chilly Kentucky air, I was amazed by how well we were treated. This was the first conference I attended where someone wasn't trying to sell me something. We were told  that we were important and needed. We were sung to, fed amazing meals, allowed time to make connections with teachers across the country, and treated professionally. All of the plenary and breakout sessions were relevant to my teaching. All sessions were led by teachers. There were many sessions to choose from and I had difficulty choosing sometimes. My colleagues and I kept looking at one another and wondering how did we get here.  It was sad that we were so surprised by the attention. Indeed, we left the conference and felt "celebrated and elevated". On the flight home, I began to dream about what it would be like if an ECET2 conference could happen for Kentucky teachers.

Eleven months later my dream started to come true. It began with a tweet. Within seconds of wishing for a Kentucky version of the conference, we had a planning team pulled together. While many logistics needed to be worked out, we were on our way to bringing ECET2 to our Kentucky colleagues.

On January 25, 2014 the dream became a reality as the first annual ECET2KY was held at the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky. Despite a wicked snow storm, teachers gathered to be elevated and celebrated.

Like the national version of ECET2, we had a mix of break-out sessions and plenary sessions. We had our very own emcee in Mickey Campbell, a Lexington teacher, who playfully and professionally guided us throughout the day.

We were first greeted by Barbara Bellissimo, the executive director of The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky. The Fund served as the sponsoring group for the conference and supported our planning team with resources and encouragement. She praised the work teachers are doing in Kentucky and pledged to support teachers and innovative teaching practices. 

In the first plenary session, Irvin Scott from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation opened up our conference and told teachers that isolation is the enemy of improvement in our profession. He encouraged us to reach out to our colleagues to problem solve issues affecting our students and schools. 

Next, I spoke to the group about UP³. Teachers need to Get Up. We need to remember why we started teaching and find ways to rejuvenate so we can continue the work. Teachers also need to Team Up. It's important that we connect with one another for support and growth. Finally, teachers need to Speak Up. We need to find our voices and share our experiences with those outside of education.

During lunch we heard from Megan Allen, the 2010 Florida Teacher of the Year. Megan reminded us of several things. School is like a rock to our students, a place of stability and safety. Teaching moments are important and can't often be measured on a bubble test. We need to look within our classrooms for solutions. Finally, we need to build on our commonalities and use our voice to speak up about our experiences.

Our closing speaker was Josh Underwood, a Kentucky science teacher. Josh reminded us of the importance of saying yes to learning and leadership opportunities. He reminds us that we need to broaden our circle to include teachers of all content areas. He told us that there is power in a unified effort and that teachers' voices matter. 

In between the plenary sessions, we attended breakout sessions and met in colleague circles to discuss teacher leadership. The breakout sessions explored how teachers can improve their practice through collaboration, leverage their voices, become teacher leaders, and communicate with policy makers. 

For me, the most rewarding times were sitting in the colleague circles and watching teachers encourage one another. My teacher soul was fed as I watched connections being formed. This is tough, rewarding work and sometimes teachers need a lift. One teacher said she was glad to know she has a group of teachers that she could reach out to when she needed support. This support is important and necessary for effective teachers to remain teaching. Sometimes the support is a kind word, e-mail, or tweet. Other times the support is more tangible, like pushing a colleague's car out of a snowy parking lot. 

Teachers, it is important to dream, and dreams can come true. My ECET2KY dream came true with a lot of help from colleagues and community partners like The Fund, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,  the Center for Teaching Quality, and the Hope Street Group. 

I am looking forward to what my colleagues dream up while we are waiting for the next ECET2KY. If you are on Twitter you can follow the conversation at #ECET2KY.