Friday was such a great day! I was honored to be one of the four recipients of the @VATLL (VASCD) Impact Awards! Thank you @WalterinDC for nominating me and congratulations to my fellow award winners!

As 2024 comes to a close, I’m reflecting on a year of meaningful collaboration and growth. This year has been about creating partnership alignment and refining my work to better serve teachers and leaders. To the superintendents and directors of instruction who trusted me to support your teams—thank you for your confidence and collaboration. Together, we’ve made a lasting impact. A heartfelt shoutout to the amazing organizations that highlighted my work this year: Corwin, Edutopia, ISTE, ASCD, Solution Tree, TCEA, Defined, Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, Innovative Schools Summit, VASCD, Region 10 ESC, and many more. Your support and collaboration have been invaluable! A special thank you to Jessica Grace Allan, Toni Reason, Tom Berger, Jamila Loving, Lauren Ware, Chris Delving, Dr. Kim Richardson, Monica Eckman, Chris Jones, Steven Brown, Tobias Reason, James Autry and Marva Hinton Gibson for your invaluable support—it means so much! To my contemporaries who have inspired and taught me so much this year—Principal Kafele, Sonja Alexander, Coach Victor Hicks, John Hattie, Matt Miller, Kim Sabelhaus Strobel, Dr. Anthony Muhammad, Mike Mattos, DrDon Parker, Coach Carlos Johnson, Yaritza Villalba, and Josh Tovarr—thank you for your wisdom and for profoundly contributing to my growth. Here’s to 2025! 🙌 #Gratitude

Great work!!! So proud of both of you!!!

Yes! @bentlij is a superstar ⭐️

Bentli Lewis (@bentlij) is a leader who is perfect for a #FollowFriday shoutout! #DontBeAfraidtoBeAwesome #beadaymaker @theVAESP @VASCD @NCMiddle @DarrinMPeppard @DrLMNelson @VAeducatorRJW @DonEppsEDU @JonFlores_EP @TAYLOR_does_IT @bentlij

Shoutout to you for saving the day!! 🙌🏽 Thank you, thank you! So good to see you! 🙏🏾

Always good to hang with @Rhoades4Science and @SkipTylerMath with @CTLGConsulting at the @VASCD conference! Their presentations were packed as always. @VAEducatorCMJ

Love the tagline that @VASCD uses with “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” I say this every year…but can’t say it enough…better than most national conferences! You know it’s conference time when you see and hear this to kickoff the opening. @VAEducatorCMJ

I heard several people say that y’all’s session was amazing! So good to see you Katelyn.

Had the best time presenting with @KelGreening at @VASCD on STEMming the Future: Cross-Curricular Data Science for K-12 Educators. Engaging discourse with leaders & educators from across VA, collaboration and innovation at its finest. #DoWhatsBestForKids #EducationLeadership

@VASCD always brings the 🔥 🔥. This year was no exception with an amazing pre-con with @drmarciatate. I had read some of her literature before, but never participated in one of her workshops. She was amazing and great for all educators, regardless of your role. @VAEducatorCMJ

If you had told me in 2014 that one day I’d stand in front of educators and school leaders from across the state to inspire and empower them, I would have told you “I’m good.” But here I am, and I know that the first-year teacher me is proud. Today, I had the honor of presenting at VASCD 2024, a leading champion for those who teach, learn, and lead. I shared strategies for finding work-life balance and, most importantly, for holding onto the joy that first brought us into this incredible profession. The energy in the room was nothing short of inspiring. School administrators and teachers engaged in meaningful conversations about how we can prioritize our well-being while continuing to pour out to our students and communities. To my younger self, who stayed late grading papers, second-guessed every lesson, and dreamed of making a difference—this one’s for you. Every experience you have is preparing your voice for moments like this. Live through it. Thank you, VASCD, for giving me this platform again to connect with and empower the hearts and minds of educators. Together, we’re making this work sustainable and joyful for the long haul.

Enjoyed meeting awesome educators & leaders at #VASCD24 Appreciated discussions across sessions on strategies to engage students in discourse, foster spaces where we lower polarization and increase problem solving. @VASCD

"Do you believe ALL young people can achieve?" #VASCD24 @VASCD

Be sure to stop by the ⁦@Successfulinc⁩ booth today and learn how we can partner to level-up your work with Family Engagement and creating spaces where children, families, and staff thrive! ⁦@VASCD⁩ #vascd24

Sometimes it’s the things you didn’t plan to do that give you the power to have a great day! #ThoughtfulThursday #DontBeAfraidtoBeAwesome @theVAESP @VASCD @thewrightleader @DonEppsEDU @DarrinMPeppard @mosterhoudt @NCMiddle @gcouros @kevenrinaman @FutureReady @MHawley_3

Day 1-VASCD Conference w/ @drmarciatate was a highlight...diving into 12 brain-based practices that help avoid burnout, increase optimism, and support physical well-being. #lifelonglearning #educatorselevate #instructionalcoaching #teachertips #WellnessJourney

Always fills my soul presenting and sharing ways to create a student-centered classroom with @Rhoades4Science. Looking forward to presenting tomorrow about #MathWorkshop at #VASCD24. Come join me for the book signing! @HeinemannPub @CTLGConsulting @VASCD

Thank YOU, @VASCD 🙏🏼🙌🏼

So excited to see my CCES Family at the @VASCD conference. #vascd24 @Successfulinc @samanthanichat @PStepko #ccesdukes #WeAreCUCPS