School and Community Winter 2023

Barbara Loyd School district: Gasconade County R-2 School building: Gerald Elementary School Grade level/subject: 1st Years teaching: 10 Years in MSTA: 10 Roles in MSTA: CTA vice president, current president

Amanda Erickson School district: Rich Hill R-4 School building: Rich Hill Elementary School Grade level/subject: 4th, Curriculum Coordinator Years teaching: 12 Years in MSTA: 13 (including SMSTA for a year)

Why did you get involved with MSTA? I originally joined MSTA because in college we were required to in order to fulfill our classroom observation requirements. However, later in my career as I began to realize the purpose of MSTA, I became a proud, involved member. MSTA “advocates and empowers public educators so they can teach.” I don’t know why any educator in Missouri would not be in support of this powerful mission! What has been a recent win for you? A recent win for me has been the positive start to the new school year. I am going to be very candid... before school started this year, I was not in a good place mentally. I was dreading returning to school. At the end of last year, I felt extremely beat down, overworked and burnt out, much like many teachers after Covid. A profession that I once loved was becoming the demise of me. Summer was simply not long enough for me to recover from that. But since school started, I have set healthy boundaries, learned to say “no” and stepped back from some extra responsibilities. I have started to get my joy back. I love teaching. I love standing in front of my students watching the light bulbs in their little minds flicker on. I have a great group of students and am so excited for all we will learn and accomplish this year! What is one of your goals for 2023? My husband and I are expecting our first child in June 2023! My goal for 2023 is to successfully transition into the role of a mom/working professional.

Why did you get involved with MSTA? I was first introduced to MSTA in college before I had to be in the classroom on my own. I knew that MSTA was an organization that advocated for teachers and assisted with liability issues that may arise. The number of resources available and the networking that can be done at conferences and conventions is an added bonus! What has been a recent win for you? A recent win for me is knowing that I see the end in sight (May 2023) to complete my Specialist degree in Educational Leadership. What is one of your goals for 2023? One of my goals for 2023 would be to continue my education by completing my Psychological Examiner Certification. There are many avenues that I would like to pursue to better assist students within my district. I want to make sure that I have the education to follow the path that feels right at the time. Years teaching: 12 Years in MSTA: 12 Roles in MSTA: Treasurer, building representative Why did you get involved with MSTA? My first-year mentor told me to get involved / join something. Being new I asked her what she was involved in, and I signed up to be a member at the new teacher breakfast for our district. At the time, she was the building representative for our CTA and a few years later I stepped into that role. What has been a recent win for you? For me the biggest win isn’t something I have done, but specifically what a building I am working with is doing. They have really been strategic in their thinking on what is best for kids, but not forgetting that their staff matters too. They have flipped their schedule and spent money on full time staff to help support the whole child. You can feel the calmness in their building (even when it’s not calm) and they truly have the team approach. I know this happens all over in multiple buildings; I have simply had a front row seat to watch this play out. What is one of your goals for 2023? My goal is simply to continue to grow as an educator. Stepping into a new role this year outside of the classroom has really challenged my thinking about our approach to education. I am diving deeper into trauma, how the brain develops and how to have a trauma lens when teaching. Along with learning more, I want to be able to share what I am learning with those in the classroom and help support them. Jennifer Goss School district: Saint Joseph School building: District-wide Grade level/subject: Behavior Interventionist for one year, physical education K-6 for 11 years

20 | WINTER 2023 S&C