Marcus Whitfield, School Counselor November 1, 2020 By wpengine When I joined Friendship, I was wowed by the convocation experience—the whole production, the investment in students and staff. What do you like about being a counselor? I like that, in addition to their teachers and principal, I’m a person that students can talk to in their times of need. I’m a student advocate. They come to me and tell me their problems. I listen, offer suggestions, and sometimes a broader perspective. I also support teachers and parents with strategies to meet social-emotional needs. I especially like working with our middle schoolers. I see these students a lot. During the pre-teenage years, students can especially struggle. They might also get into conflicts with each other. I sometimes act as a mediator to help them navigate their differences, whether they’re at school or at home. What has it been like to switch to remote counseling? It’s difficult to not see students in person on a daily basis. Zoom is the way we communicate. I go into Zoom classrooms. I meet with students, teachers, and parents via Zoom. It is a little challenging, but we have to adapt. Are there any ways that you’ve found helpful for students to improve their mental health during this pandemic? Students should establish and maintain a routine. They should try to eat meals at regular times, and put themselves on a sleep schedule to ensure they get enough rest. Also, it’s helpful to include a positive or fun activity in their schedule that they can look forward to daily or weekly. Schedule movements or exercises into their routine. Lastly, I encourage students to take breaks from social media periodically. Can you talk about your journey to becoming a counselor? I went to North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. When I first started as a freshman, my major was Elementary Education. I switched my major to Business and graduated with a degree in Marketing. After graduation, I started working at a bank for a few years. I found myself doing the same thing, day after day, and it wasn’t fulfilling at all. I eventually got the urge to work with children again. I enrolled in a career-switch program in Richmond, Virginia, for professionals who wanted to become teachers. It was on weekends, Friday evening and all day on Saturday. I would also volunteer at schools tutoring on the days I was off from the bank. Shortly after I finished that program, I moved to Maryland and taught fifth grade for two years. I taught middle school Science for a year. Then I transitioned into special education for a few years. Recently I decided to pursue a Master’s degree in counseling psychology to become a licensed counselor. What has your experience been like at Friendship Ideal? When I joined Friendship, I was wowed by the convocation experience—the whole production, the investment in students and staff. I was also drawn to this organization because it was started by an African-American male, Donald Hense. Friendship is a great organization to belong to. At my campus, Principal Speight invests a lot in his staff as well. When we return to school in the fall, he ensures we’re optimally ready to receive students. He takes several days to ensure our minds are in the right space. There’s a lot of team building and sharing of our experiences with each other, and afterward, we are a cohesive unit. After this, we move into the academic side, but he takes a few days to build us up as a family.
Brandon Buffin, Math Teacher & Instructional Specialist July 30, 2020 By wpengine I like the vision at Friendship and the high expectations for our scholars – to get to and through college, and to be an actively contributing citizen. We actually make sure scholars get to and through college. What was your journey to your current role? My journey started after I graduated from Virginia State University in May 2007. I taught second grade in Richmond’s Southside for two years. Then, I made my way up to D.C., teaching at DCPS for four years – first and third grade. I taught in PG County Public Schools for a number of years. This is my 12th year in education. I recently received my Masters in School Administration last May from Trinity University. In addition to teaching and cultivating our scholars, I am grateful for the opportunities to build teacher capacity at Friendship Southeast. Currently, I am in a hybrid position teaching 3rd grade math as well as the math instructional specialist. I like the vision at Friendship and the high expectations for our scholars – to get to and through college, and to be an actively contributing citizen. We actually make sure scholars get to and through college. This is different from other school systems. We put forth more of a conscious effort to ensure our scholars are goal-oriented and on the path to being productive and contributing citizens. This vision is what keeps me at Friendship. When I first arrived at Friendship Southeast, one thing that blew me away was that the librarian, Ms. Gray, and her team took our third grade scholars on a college trip. They went down to Atlanta and visited different colleges and universities. I thought this was so impactful – to implant this idea that “you’re going to college” from an early grade. I thought, “Wow, I don’t see any other school systems starting to do this in elementary school.” This is just one example of why I want to be here. What do you like about working with the elementary school age group? I love teaching elementary scholars because they’re like sponges. They soak up so much knowledge, and they’re very inquisitive. They’re willing to hear what you have to say, and they’re also going to ask questions because they want to get deeper into the content. That excites me. When the light bulbs go off, it always reminds me of why I love teaching. What strategies do you find most effective? I’ll talk about multiplication since I teach third grade math, and that is one of the most crucial skills scholars need to master to be successful. The “rolling numbers” strategy has been one of the most effective methods I’ve used to help scholars multiply. The ease of skip counting allows scholars to find the product once they have the second factor on hand. If it’s done with fidelity, this helps scholars to eventually become fluent in multiplication. Also, of course, I use tools from Eureka Math. The curriculum has been very beneficial during the past three years that we’ve implemented the program. It ensures that scholars not only understand the procedural aspect of math, but also the conceptual. When I was growing up, we focused more on procedural. Now scholars really need to understand why we multiply and to be able to apply that skill to everyday life. Last year, when we started dividing, I wanted to show scholars what it meant to divide, or share. I brought in a big bowl of candy and had five friends share with scholars. That’s when they started to make a connection. We took a word problem and turned it into real life. They made a connection immediately. Another example is when we’re learning fractions – of course, this is the perfect opportunity for pizza! If I divide this pizza pie into 8 slices and take one away, how many pieces are left? What is the fraction? Now, we’re doing math and eating pizza! Are there any fun facts you’d like to share? I’m from Dallas, Texas, and I LOVE horseback riding excursions. When I go home in the summer, I ride for about six hours. We go up to Oklahoma and ride along rivers, have dinner, then just ride out into the sunset. I am also a musician. I play the flute, piccolo, cello, string bass, clarinet and trombone.It definitely affects how I teach. I try to incorporate a lot of kinesthetic things into the classroom. Scholars, especially boys, need to get up and move. They really connect with music. If I teach a new concept with music, I’ve instantly got them engaged and hooked.
Christopher Cruz, Spanish Teacher July 29, 2020 By wpengine One of the benefits I see is that they learn from applying the language and through immersion. They do not need to translate words like adults. If you’re teaching, for example, you would use gestures, images, songs, and then the children will pick up the language quickly. How did you become a Spanish teacher? Have you always wanted to teach? I originally worked for a company called Language Stars, where we had contracts with several schools. Back then, I was also a director at one of the centers and working for Ideal Academy at the same time. When they closed, Principal Speight decided to keep me on board. I’ve always loved working with children; I’ve been doing it for my entire professional career. I’ve even worked with children only a few months old, because at the language center we wanted to start introducing children to languages early on in order to build a solid language-learning foundation. Even if they weren’t using the language, they were gaining comprehension and being exposed to it. For example, if you stated a command, they would demonstrate that they understood. Can you talk more about the benefits of children building that kind of foundation early on? One of the benefits I see is that they learn from applying the language and through immersion. They do not need to translate words like adults. If you’re teaching, for example, you would use gestures, images, songs, and then the children will pick up the language quickly. It is important for them to learn at a young age so that as they get older, they can build upon this foundation from the previous years. In other parts of the world, it is perfectly normal for most people to speak two or more languages. It’s a good idea for us to catch up with the rest of the world in this respect. Do you teach them about different countries and cultures, too? I recently went to Brazil and have since been introducing the Brazilian culture in my classroom. I fell in love with that country. In Brazil, they speak Portuguese – I do not want to limit students to Spanish-speaking countries only. I want them to see that whatever language they choose to learn – be it French, Italian, Portuguese, or whatever – that there are so many cultures to learn about. I don’t want to only teach them a new language, but open the doors for them to expand their cultural knowledge and have more intercultural experiences. I want them to learn that life is not limited to their neighborhood, Washington D.C., or the United States. During Hispanic Heritage month, I introduce them to different Spanish-speaking countries, like Mexico, Panama, El Salvador and the others where some of our students come from. We learn how to make agua fresca and Mexican crafts, which I use to decorate my classroom. What do you like about Friendship? I love the sense of family here. You can go to anyone, ask them for a favor, and they’ll help you. They share resources, and there are plenty of resources at Friendship. Now I am part of a network of professionals that I can reach out to if I need anything. This is a strong community. In addition, our professional development sessions are useful and hands on. Rather than just sitting and listening to someone, we might create a lesson plan or design an activity. We’ll explore what works and what doesn’t for our students. Is there anything I haven’t asked that you want to be sure to include in your spotlight? I just want to reiterate that I love working with all children and specifically with those who are considered “at risk” in underserved communities. Sometimes I think they’re being programmed by the media to believe they can only achieve so much, but I want to show them that their potential is unlimited; there is so much they can learn and achieve. I want them to understand that they’re not going to learn anything if they don’t try.
Christopher Cruz July 24, 2020 By wpengine During Hispanic Heritage month, I introduce them to different Spanish-speaking countries, like Mexico, Panama, El Salvador and the others where some of our students come from. We learn how to make agua fresca and Mexican crafts, which I use to decorate my classroom. How did you become a Spanish teacher? Have you always wanted to teach? I originally worked for a company called Language Stars, where we had contracts with several schools. Back then, I was also a director at one of the centers and working for Ideal Academy at the same time. When they closed, Principal Speight decided to keep me on board. I’ve always loved working with children; I’ve been doing it for my entire professional career. I’ve even worked with children only a few months old, because at the language center we wanted to start introducing children to languages early on in order to build a solid language-learning foundation. Even if they weren’t using the language, they were gaining comprehension and being exposed to it. For example, if you stated a command, they would demonstrate that they understood. Can you talk more about the benefits of children building that kind of foundation early on? One of the benefits I see is that they learn from applying the language and through immersion. They do not need to translate words like adults. If you’re teaching, for example, you would use gestures, images, songs, and then the children will pick up the language quickly. It is important for them to learn at a young age so that as they get older, they can build upon this foundation from the previous years. In other parts of the world, it is perfectly normal for most people to speak two or more languages. It’s a good idea for us to catch up with the rest of the world in this respect. Do you teach them about different countries and cultures, too? I recently went to Brazil and have since been introducing the Brazilian culture in my classroom. I fell in love with that country. In Brazil, they speak Portuguese – I do not want to limit students to Spanish-speaking countries only. I want them to see that whatever language they choose to learn – be it French, Italian, Portuguese, or whatever – that there are so many cultures to learn about. I don’t want to only teach them a new language, but open the doors for them to expand their cultural knowledge and have more intercultural experiences. I want them to learn that life is not limited to their neighborhood, Washington D.C., or the United States. During Hispanic Heritage month, I introduce them to different Spanish-speaking countries, like Mexico, Panama, El Salvador and the others where some of our students come from. We learn how to make agua fresca and Mexican crafts, which I use to decorate my classroom. What do you like about Friendship? I love the sense of family here. You can go to anyone, ask them for a favor, and they’ll help you. They share resources, and there are plenty of resources at Friendship. Now I am part of a network of professionals that I can reach out to if I need anything. This is a strong community. In addition, our professional development sessions are useful and hands on. Rather than just sitting and listening to someone, we might create a lesson plan or design an activity. We’ll explore what works and what doesn’t for our students. Is there anything I haven’t asked that you want to be sure to include in your spotlight? I just want to reiterate that I love working with all children and specifically with those who are considered “at risk” in underserved communities. Sometimes I think they’re being programmed by the media to believe they can only achieve so much, but I want to show them that their potential is unlimited; there is so much they can learn and achieve. I want them to understand that they’re not going to learn anything if they don’t try.
