Founding Story
Here’s What Happened.
Hi, I’m Sam, a math educator with a passion for teaching. I’ve had other titles along the way and in between, but I started my career as a math teacher, and I’m back to the classroom. I’m determined to make teaching a sustainable and fulfilling career.
My teaching super power is empowering young mathematicians to build confidence as problem solvers and believe in themselves. My business super power is creating solutions that benefit both parties, particularly when it comes to partnerships between schools and teachers.
I began teaching high school math straight out of college. After five years in the classroom, I pivoted careers and joined a tech startup. Then I become a parent. Thinking about education from a new lens, I felt compelled to return to the classroom. It seemed like every school within a 50 mile radius of KC had a math teacher vacancy. So I made my list - what does my ideal teaching position look like?
Here’s what I came up with:
One Prep using the new and engaging Desmos curriculum
Discretionary Budget - A budget for supplemental curriculum, tech subscriptions, student supplies, teacher materials, etc. I didn’t want a cumbersome process to get the stuff my students and I needed.
No Extra Duties
Max Class Size of 20 (If it was going to exceed this, there would be a cost per additional student)
Paid as a contractor - Tax benefits and wage negotiation.
Part Time Schedule - I knew there would be a learning curve returning to teaching. I wanted time to grow professionally, observe other teachers, and take care of my family.
How’s It Going?
Well, teaching is hard work. But I’m happy with my position. I feel that my students and I are learning, work-life balance is good, and my pay is fair. And to be honest, that’s enough for me to stay in the classroom longterm.
However, I know that my students are capable of so much more. My ambition for them is to graduate high school with their general college math requirement complete. I can’t accomplish this without a strong math department. There are two key parts to make this happen:
Co-teaching. We can’t afford to waste time. Some students need 1-1 interventions some days, some need behavior support, some might need a small group, and I need to be able to take a day off every now and then. In order to fill in gaps, bring students up to grade level, and keep the lessons rolling, we could use another math teacher with us every day.
Looping. The students today have been dealt an unfair hand. They’ve had a year of interrupted learning, a virtual year, constant churn of teaching. What they need is a consistent teaching style and someone that knows their learning style and unique needs and skillset. We need to take the average student from 3rd grade to 11th grade in 3 years to prepare them for college math their senior year. I know my students, school and I are capable of accomplishing this, but I think the looping is going to be key to make it happen.
Hence, we need more math teachers. Not just for my students, though, all across the Kansas City metro. I also have two young children, and niblings in the school system. I want to make sure that they have quality educators when they get to middle and high school. This model is working for my school and I, and I believe it can be replicated. I know there are other teachers out there like me that want to be in the classroom. We just have to be willing to negotiate with them to bring them back and keep them in the classroom.