Dec-20-Jan-21-Advisor

EXCELLING

10 CEA ADVISOR DECEMBER 2020 - JANUARY 2021

MEET CONNECTICUT’S 2021 TEACHER OF THE YEAR Rochelle Brown ensures students see themselves reflected in her classroom library

The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, Rochelle Brown—who used to read to her friends on her parents’ back porch—grew up hearing the expression, “What is yours will be yours.” As she moved from being that six-year-old girl to the woman at the head of the class sharing the magic of books with her students, she understood what it means to see her dreams become reality—in essence, to have what is hers. Earlier this year, Brown—a Windsor elementary school teacher for the past 21 years—was named Connecticut’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. “It’s been amazing,” she says of earning the title. “It’s an honor I was not expecting. I go to work every day doing my best for my students, and it is mind-blowing to be recognized in this way. It has also opened the door to meeting so many inspiring educators from around the state and the country. Teaching is an honorable profession, and I am proud to be the voice for Connecticut teachers.” Having taught second and third grade, Brown currently teaches kindergarten at Windsor’s Poquonock School. “The growth you see in kindergartners from the start of the school year to the end is incredible,” she says. “Kindergarten is an exciting place to be. Something I tell my students every day is that I want them to grow in their confidence and be the best people they can be. They are always supported in my classroom, and I make sure they feel nurtured and that we infuse fun into their learning.” A reawakening Brown grew up in Hartford’s north end and was encouraged from a young age to take advantage of every opportunity available to her. She participated in weekend academies and summer programs, and eventually, through Project Concern, attended school in Granby and Simsbury. “I was one of the few students of color in those schools,” she recalls, “and while I never took for granted

At far left and far right, CEA President Jeff Leake and Vice President Tom Nicholas congratulate Connecticut 2021 Teacher of the Year Rochelle Brown and Paraeducator of the Year Maria Sau, both of whom teach in Windsor.

the opportunities that were not afforded to many of my peers, my thoughts about education deepened. I began to wonder why I had to leave the city I lived in for a better educational experience.” As a high school student, Brown spent hours of her free time tutoring elementary school students and carried her desire to help others with her to the University of Rochester, where she majored in public health. Then, in her senior year, an unexpected opportunity presented

class in children’s literature—put her back in touch with stories she had always enjoyed, and her love of children’s books was reawakened. She began to notice, however, that many of the books she was studying lacked diversity, just as they had in her formative years. “I remembered my own days of being in school and not feeling represented in the curriculum or learning materials,” she says. “After graduating, I knew I would have to

experiences may differ. Now, in my 21st year as an educator, we have a staff that’s more reflective of the community where I teach. One of the biggest rewards of being a teacher of color, especially in a district as diverse as Windsor, is that I get to bring my experience to my students—Black, white, Asian. I can share with children of all colors who I am and embrace who they are.” Aside from her work in the classroom, Brown serves as Equity Committee co-chair both at her school and districtwide. She has offered professional development opportunities for her colleagues, taught summer school, spent weekends traveling from state to state to provide cultural and educational experiences as part of an afterschool program for boys of color to address the achievement gap, and taught a U.S. citizenship course through Windsor’s continuing education program. She is also active in her union. “I’ve been a building representative for 14 years,” she explains. “Our union works so incredibly hard to make sure we have the best working conditions and representation we could possibly have. As someone who benefits from that, I feel that the most sincere way I can show my appreciation for all the behind-the-scenes work of the Windsor Education Association and CEA is to be a representative myself. I am there for my colleagues, always ensuring that they are knowledgeable about their rights and responsibilities as professional educators, and I am a voice for them.”

“One of the biggest rewards of being a teacher of color, especially in a district as diverse as Windsor, is that I get to bring my experience to my students—Black, white, Asian. I can share with children of all colors who I am and embrace who they are.” Connecticut’s 2021 Teacher of the Year Rochelle Brown

itself: the University of Rochester’s Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development was offering a graduate program in teaching and curriculum to students of color. “Although I had no formal teaching experience, enrolling in the graduate program would ignite a passion within me,” she says. “I thought of that old Jamaican saying and felt my true purpose.” Her graduate studies—including a

make a priority of ensuring that all students felt valued and included.” That’s when she began collecting children’s books—ranging from folk tales to biographies and realistic fiction—that depict racial and cultural diversity. Her collection now includes hundreds of titles. “I go to the bookstore just about every weekend in search of books where the children I teach are really represented. I look at who my students are, the children sitting before me—Black, white, Portuguese, Indian—and I want them to feel important and valued. The very act of allowing students to feel seen, heard, loved, and acknowledged is necessary to their success and progress.” She adds, “I am always looking for stories that are authentic, written by authors from that particular experience, so if I am looking at a book about Jewish traditions, for example, I will look for authors who write from that experience.” Brown has created an Instagram profile, @kidlitlove8 , to bring awareness to multicultural children’s books and the importance of representation for all children. Giving back As a teacher of color, Brown knows what it’s like to look around and feel underrepresented. “When I started out in my career, I was the Black person in my building,” she recalls. “Sometimes when that happens, you’re called upon to be the representative of all Black teachers, even though our

Connecticut Approves New Curriculum with Spotlight on Black, Latino Experience On December 2, the State Board of Education approved the African American, Black, Latino, and Puerto Rican Course of Studies, a new course for high school students championed by Representative Bobby Gibson and Senator Doug McCrory and supported by CEA. Providing public comment for the first time before the Connecticut State Board of Education was 2020 Teacher of the Year Meghan Hatch-Geary, who said, “I am excited and proud to speak in support of the Black, Puerto Rican, and Latino curriculum that I played a small role in writing this past year and that was presented for approval. I’m also proud that the legislation itself was unanimously supported in a bipartisan effort to improve the truth-telling that has to happen in our classrooms. As public educators, the role we play in our students’ lives is essential to shaping a healthy, functional, more equitable democracy. We need to have courageous conversations, and I believe this curriculum will facilitate those. Connecticut should be proud to be one of the pioneers on this journey. This is a curriculum that lets all of our children know that they are seen, that they matter, and that their identity is central to the identity of this country.” For the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years, the State Department of Education is charged with conducting audits to ensure that the course is being offered by each local and regional board of education.

Rochelle Brown is Connecticut’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.