Beyond My Years

Building an education network to make change, starring A. Simone McQuaige

• Amplify Education • Season 1 • Episode 11

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Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres absorbs wisdom from A. Simone McQuaige, winner of Amplify's Science of Reading Changemaker Star Award in 2024. Simone teaches Ana about what it takes to support wider change across an entire district, and about the common traits she sees in all seasoned educators. She also shares stories about how her mother tried to convince her not to become a teacher, about learning to be calm and reflect, and about how she thinks about her legacy as an educator. Taking all those lessons back to the classroom, Ana and Classroom Insider Eric Cross discuss creating a teacher network, building buy-in, and student-designed projects.

Show notes: 

Quotes:
“There are a lot of lessons to be learned from ‘back in the day’. It doesn't mean we always had it right. We were learning along the way and we recognize that our students are not the same students that were sitting in front of us ‘back in the day.’” —A. Simone McQuaige

“Seasoned teachers are often looked at as the ones with all the answers, and they may not truly have all the answers, but they've lived experiences that I think a lot of new teachers could learn from.” —A. Simone McQuaige

“When you look at a lot of the seasoned teachers who've been in the profession for quite some time, there's a calmness about them. And you work effectively when you're in that calm space.” —A. Simone McQuaige

“One of the things that I've learned over the years is you cannot make change by yourself.”  —A. Simone McQuaige


[00:00:00] Simone McQuaige: When you look at a lot of the seasoned teachers who've been in the profession for quite some time, there's a calmness about them. You work effectively when you're in that calm space.

[00:00:17] Ana Torres: This is Ana Torres and welcome to Beyond My Years from Amplify. On each episode, I speak with long-time educators who share chronicles from the classroom and some lessons they'd like to pass on to newer educators. I know not everyone has access to mentor teachers. That's why we're so excited to bring you the voices of incredible seasoned educators.

[00:00:43] Ana Torres: Today, I have the honor and privilege of sharing a conversation with A. Simone McQuaige from Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland. I am so excited to have Simone on as a guest for a couple of reasons. She's going to offer some amazing insights into the demeanor of seasoned educators. Simone herself comes from a family of educators.

[00:01:11] Ana Torres: She's got an amazing story to tell about her mom trying to convince her not to be one. We hope that you also are going to gain a lot from this conversation. She has got a playbook on how to be a change agent in districts. Simone is also going to share some specific ideas for end-of-the-year activities and so much more.

[00:01:35] Ana Torres: Now, let's hear from Simone.

[00:01:42] Ana Torres: Listeners, you know, we've had a star-studded lineup of guests. Just looking at our guest trophy case for a second, we've had two National Teachers of the Year. We've had a recipient of a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. And today, we're talking to the educator who took home the grand prize in the most recent Science of Reading Star Awards.

[00:02:10] Ana Torres: Simone McQuaige! Yes, you've heard it. Simone McQuaige was named The Change Maker, y'all, for showcasing exemplary Science of Reading routines and practices. And I'm so excited to have her with us today. Whether or not you're a literacy instructor, you'll have so much to learn from today's guest because Simone is an expert at something truly difficult: enacting change.

[00:02:41] Ana Torres: How do you bring educators together toward a common goal? And how can you gently push a colleague to change their habits? That's something Simone has done during her entire career. And we are going to definitely hear the story of the movement she helped build in her own district. Before I welcome her, let me just tell you a little bit more about Simone. She's listening right now and she's being very patient with me, so I really appreciate it. Simone has more than three decades of experience in Prince George's County Public School System in Maryland. That's actually the same district where she herself graduated.

[00:03:25] Ana Torres: She has been an elementary school teacher, a mentor teacher, a reading specialist, a reading and English language arts instructional specialist. The list goes on and on. She's also been an adjunct professor, and she currently is serving as the supervisor of reading and English language arts K–5. And she is leading the elementary literacy support team in the office of curriculum and instruction. So, just so you know, I am thrilled that this prized educator is with us now.

[00:04:03] Ana Torres: I want everyone to welcome Simone McQuaige. And the audience goes wild, Simone. 

[00:04:08] Simone McQuaige: Oh my goodness. 

[00:04:13] Ana Torres: How are you? 

[00:04:14] Simone McQuaige: I am wonderful. What an introduction! I've never had an introduction like that in my life! So that is just pretty awesome to hear. Thank you. 

[00:04:25] Ana Torres: First time for everything, Simone. We wanted to make sure we gave you all of your due accolades.

[00:04:32] Simone McQuaige: Thank you. 

[00:04:33] Ana Torres: So excited to have you on Beyond My Years today, Simone. So I'm gonna get started with the hardest question that you're gonna have during this conversation. 

[00:04:41] Simone McQuaige: Okay. 

[00:04:41] Ana Torres: Can I ask you, how many years have you been in education? 

[00:04:46] Simone McQuaige: This is year 34. 

[00:04:47] Ana Torres: Thirty-four! Do you feel like a seasoned educator, Simone? 

[00:04:52] Simone McQuaige: You know, when I think about what "seasoned" is, I used to always say a seasoned educator was one that's been in the game for a long time.

[00:05:03] Simone McQuaige: But what I've learned is, although I've been in the profession for quite some time, there are still moments I feel like a new teacher learning all over again. I think a seasoned teacher is one—a truly seasoned teacher—is one who never stops learning. 

[00:05:21] Ana Torres: When do you feel, Simone, that it hits you, like, "I've got a lot to share here.

[00:05:26] Ana Torres: I want to give back." When did that hit you, Simone? 

[00:05:30] Simone McQuaige: Wow. It's hit me at different points of my career. When you get to the 30 mark and you're with this notion that, "Oh, I can retire." You start to really think about everything that you've done and you ask yourself, "Am I finished yet? Is this it for me or is there more?"

[00:05:50] Simone McQuaige: And there are a lot of seasoned teachers who feel like there's still, there's still more work to be done. You have this vision for where you leave your district and your work. It's interesting when you talk about seasoned, too, because I always tease my staff with a story and it usually starts with, "Oh, back in the day."

[00:06:16] Simone McQuaige: And, "Back in the day, we did this. Back in the day, we did that." 

[00:06:20] Ana Torres: That's seasoned teacher talk, isn't it? 

[00:06:22] Simone McQuaige: Exactly. Exactly! And they always laugh. But what I tell them is there are a lot of lessons to be learned back in the day. It doesn't mean we always had it right. We were learning along the way, and we recognize that our students are not the same students that were sitting in front of us back in the day.

[00:06:44] Simone McQuaige: Our students have access to more than we could ever have dreamed. And so, with that, we kind of talk about what that means. And it's interesting when you're talking about seasoned. The piece that sticks in my head is during the pandemic when we started to use technology differently. That was a learning curve for a lot of teachers across our district.

[00:07:12] Simone McQuaige: A lot of our seasoned teachers sat back and became learners and a lot of our newer teachers took the lead. Seasoned teachers are often looked at as the ones with all the answers, and they may not have, truly, have all the answers, but they've lived experiences that I think a lot of new teachers could learn from.

[00:07:34] Simone McQuaige: There are great benefits to seasoned teachers across this great nation, and I think they are kind of the people who are holding it together for a lot of our new teachers trying to juggle all the things that make up education today. 

[00:07:55] Ana Torres: Wow, Simone. I think you've eloquently given all of seasoned teachers their flowers with that statement of "seasoned teachers have been having to kind of hold it together, but we're just not the experts in everything."

[00:08:12] Ana Torres: And I think it hit back to what you said when you first got on the call is, "Literally, we've got to be lifelong learners." Seasoned teachers for me just means you've got more experience, but there's always so much more to learn. And I also appreciate the fact that you said the word "listen." Listening is super important in this profession, isn't it?

[00:08:34] Simone McQuaige: It is. 

[00:08:35] Ana Torres: Even though this is a profession of talking, right? We're talking all the time. We're talking to students. We're talking to parents. We're talking to our colleagues, you know? But it is also important to listen. I do want you to think back over your 34 years. What is the best piece of advice that you've ever received, Simone?

[00:08:58] Simone McQuaige: The first advice I received was to be myself. And when I first heard that, I said, "What exactly does that mean? There are curriculum; there are protocols; there are structures within the building. What do you mean? I have to be like them!" And so you could lose your identity really quickly. And the kids relate to the person that they see each and every day.

[00:09:27] Simone McQuaige: So I would say, always be true to yourself, and who that person is. The second piece of advice along those lines was to be reflective about your practice. You can do the job each and every day. But it's when you sit back and reflect on what you've done that you can truly see how to build or where's your next direction.

[00:09:59] Simone McQuaige: It's those quiet moments. And I know sometimes when we talk about just the field of education, a lot of teachers are going, "Yes, but where is that quiet moment?" It is so important that I've learned, just to, to find those moments where you can be still. And just kind of reflect on what it is you've done, where you feel you need support and be honest about that.

[00:10:29] Simone McQuaige: I had the great benefit of joining this profession at a time when all I did was to look to my family. I am from a long line of educators. I would sit and hear all of their stories. But I would listen to the teachers that I had worked with who have taught this grade level for many years and learned about some of the things that they were doing.

[00:10:58] Simone McQuaige: That didn't mean that I needed to do every single one of those things, but I learned what was a best practice for them. I also learned mannerisms. When you look at a lot of the seasoned teachers who've been in the profession for quite some time, there's a calmness about them. And you work effectively when you're in that calm space.

[00:11:24] Simone McQuaige: So learning exactly how—part of it is their classroom management, but part of it is just who they are. 

[00:11:32] Ana Torres: But you were wise enough to know, to observe, like you said, observe mannerisms. So yes, you were surrounded by them but you were wise enough to really be a kind of an astute learner. And learn to be who Simone is today.

[00:11:50] Simone McQuaige: Exactly. 

[00:11:50] Ana Torres: And as I'm hearing you share these things, I want to hear a little bit more about you. You mentioned two pieces of advice already. You mentioned being reflective in practice, which those of us who are the folks that want to continue in the practice and continue evolving and learning, we do that on a constant basis.

[00:12:09] Ana Torres: But you also mentioned about being still. Has there been a specific moment where doing either of those things has helped you specifically? 

[00:12:20] Simone McQuaige: Both, I would say throughout my career. It's nothing that I have said, "Oh, I only did this here." I was talking to a colleague the other day and we were just sharing like old memories of things that we did within the classroom. And I shared with her that, you know, at a certain point over the course of the year you as a teacher are responsible for all of this content, and you are trying your best to get this content in and meet your pacing guidelines and so on and so forth, but at the end of the year—and it's not just the end of the year, but I'll use the end of the year as this example—at the end of the year or toward the spring of the year, you start wondering or questioning yourself. "Did they get everything that they were supposed to get this year?" "Was I an effective teacher?" "Are there gaps?" "What would I do differently based on everything that I've learned this year?" As you start to plan—because in many schools you start to plan for the following year in the spring—and so one of the things that I did was to have a reflective activity, even for my students. So I came up with this kind of task where the kids had to create their own game. And they had to create their own directions. And I did this for a couple of years, but it was more like a performance task in a sense. They could choose any content based on what they learned over the course of the year. And these were second and third graders. They would create this game and we would invite students that were previous second graders, third graders, to come down and they would be able to participate in playing the game. But we'd also bring some of our first graders over.

[00:14:26] Ana Torres: Oh, wow. 

[00:14:27] Simone McQuaige: And so, in my classroom, I had all of these children involved in these games. And we also invited our parents. And to see the kids—when we really talk about sharing the thinking and being able to be mediators in the game—it just really spoke to me about a bigger piece. And that was, no matter how much content they put into those projects, the sense of community that they had.

[00:15:07] Simone McQuaige: I was like a fly on the wall. I could, I try not to be this crybaby, this teacher that wells up at every single moment, but you can't help it when it's your kids. 

[00:15:18] Ana Torres: But I think as seasoned teachers, that is what we do. 

[00:15:21] Simone McQuaige: That is, exactly. 

[00:15:23] Ana Torres: That is part of what we do, Simone. That resonates with me on many levels.

[00:15:27] Ana Torres: Go on. 

[00:15:29] Simone McQuaige: They called it a learning party. 

[00:15:31] Ana Torres: Oh, I love that. A learning party. 

[00:15:34] Simone McQuaige: You could see the excitement of the kids. You could see the excitement of the parents and the kids are still learning but they're actually just showing you all that they had learned over the course of the school year. And I was like, "This is powerful stuff."

[00:15:55] Simone McQuaige: And not every teacher gets to see that. It is bigger than, "Here's an assessment that you take at the end of the quarter." There are those moments where you kind of have to create them yourself. And I was just, in that moment, I felt like my job is done. I did have an impact on the lives of these children this year, and they are leaving the school year with a sense of accomplishment. True accomplishment. 

[00:16:30] Ana Torres: It's more than just impacting your class. You impacted that entire school. You were already impacting and creating change even at that time, Simone. You were already doing that. Probably subconsciously, because now you're purposely and intentionally doing that in your role and we're going to talk about that in a minute.

[00:16:53] Ana Torres: I want you to think back and think—think to who our listeners are, Simone. Our listeners are newer teachers that want to have access to seasoned teachers like you. What do you think the biggest key to a long and happy education career [is]? Long and happy, Simone? What would that be? What would you say?

[00:17:14] Simone McQuaige: One particular moment that I will treasure. In our district we had new teacher trainings, like a lot of districts. And one of the persons that was presenting during this new teacher training worked at a school that wasn't very far away from mine. And there were about 40, 50 teachers in the room. And, later that fall, she decided that that she was going to reach out to the teachers that attended that session.

[00:17:49] Simone McQuaige: And she just decided we're going to have a networking session. And so a group of us came together and we just started talking about our practices. That was 34 years ago. 

[00:18:07] Ana Torres: Wow. In the beginning of your career. 

[00:18:10] Simone McQuaige: At the beginning of my career. We still remain friends. And the people that we met along the way are also friends in the profession.

[00:18:22] Simone McQuaige: They have retired and come back and, in some instances, tutor some of the students in our district. But when you think about kind of that building of relationships, that piece is where it started to resonate with me. That something about this relationship thing is, and this networking thing, and finding these people with the same compassion you have for education, that are just as hungry to learn and share.

[00:19:04] Simone McQuaige: And so when I think back to how I've kind of worked over these years, it has been a constant relationship-building experience. Even as I moved from school to school. And so when I talk about those relationships, they run deep and they have just been so supportive of me through the good times and the bad times.

[00:19:39] Simone McQuaige: I would not ever say that education—working in the field of education—is always positive on each and every day. There are those moments where you feel like there are a few dark clouds and some people don't have that network to kind of keep them going, to guide them, to stand in the gap for them. 

[00:20:03] Ana Torres: I mean, I have never heard of someone who literally initiated their career and is still friends with the same people 34 years later.

[00:20:11] Ana Torres: That's beautiful. But what about those who may be thinking, "How do I do that?" Any advice on how newer educators, how they can build those successful networks? 

[00:20:23] Simone McQuaige: Well, one of the things that we try to do in our district is to encourage teachers to start to build those networks from the very beginning of that new teacher training.

[00:20:34] Simone McQuaige: We also have multiple opportunities, professional development opportunities, where we intentionally build in time for teachers to share their experiences and learn from each other. There are many times when we end the session and I have to tell the people, "The session has ended today and we're going to be leaving in the next 30 minutes," and they're still working and talking with one another.

[00:21:03] Simone McQuaige: Part of that is creating opportunities for teachers to come together. That is the way you build these long-lasting relationships and how you truly, truly survive in a profession that has constant change. When you're alone, you kind of feel like you're not getting all of the supports that you need. 

[00:21:26] Ana Torres: But it sounds like it has to be intentional though, Simone, right?

[00:21:29] Simone McQuaige: It has to be intentional. 

[00:21:31] Ana Torres: Has to be purposeful. I think that's amazing advice. And start at the beginning of your career. You know, kind of, that's a practice and a skill you kind of have to have in the beginning, but also leaders have to create those opportunities. I want to shift us a little bit to something kind of funny that Simone and I kind of talked about prior, but I want you to be flies on the wall to this little funny conversation.

[00:21:58] Ana Torres: You're listening to Simone, who is a 34-year seasoned teacher. But Simone mentioned to me that her mother actually tried to discourage her from becoming a teacher. Can you share that story with us, Simone? 

[00:22:14] Simone McQuaige: My mother always heard me talk about wanting to be a teacher. And just like many kids, you come home and you mimic your teacher, right? 

[00:22:26] Ana Torres: And your siblings. 

[00:22:28] Ana Torres: Guilty, Simone! I'm guilty! 

[00:22:30] Simone McQuaige: [Laughing] Your siblings are your students or your dolls and she thought that I would grow out of it eventually. 

[00:22:39] Ana Torres: Why did she think you would grow out of it? What was the problem with that? 

[00:22:43] Simone McQuaige: Well, she thought there was so much more out there. She really wanted me to possibly look at going into the field of technology because at the time there was a great, you know, shift in the use of computers. And she was like, "That is the cutting-edge career and I really think you'd be great in that."

[00:23:07] Simone McQuaige: And so I was like, "Okay, I like computers, but that's, that's not what I want to do." So she thought, "I'm going to bring you to work with me one day. And if you see what I deal with in teaching my kids and managing my classroom and all of that, you'll probably," she thought, "she probably isn't serious about this."

[00:23:31] Simone McQuaige: I fell in love. 

[00:23:33] Ana Torres: So that was a terrible idea, wasn't it? If she thought it was going to discourage, that was the wrong thing to do with a person like Simone who was set in her way there. 

[00:23:45] Simone McQuaige: Very much so. 

[00:23:47] Ana Torres: There's so much more from Simone McQuaige coming up. Please stick around until the end to hear some great takeaways and practical tips from Classroom Insider Eric Cross.

[00:24:00] Eric Cross: She actually laid out a framework for how to be an effective changemaker and so I actually listened to this part on repeat. 

[00:24:06] Ana Torres: That's coming up later. Now back to Simone.

[00:24:14] Ana Torres: You're known as a change agent. And you are known for building a movement across your school and across your district. So let's kind of start at the beginning and setting the scene for me a little bit. What was happening in your community and why was change so important? 

[00:24:34] Simone McQuaige: Well, I can say just like many districts across the nation, we were a district that was a balanced literacy district.

[00:24:43] Simone McQuaige: And we had been a balanced literacy district for 20 plus years. And so we needed to shift some of our practices. Some of our practices were evidence-based, but not all of them. And so how do you take a district with 140 elementary schools, where you have been working to make sure that everyone understands the curriculum—your administrators, your special educators, your ELD teachers, and central office personnel. So everybody's on one page and then you say, "We're going to do something different." And so part of what we had to do to start that work was to look at building a collective. One of the things that I've learned over the years is you cannot make change by yourself.

[00:25:40] Ana Torres: Agreed. 

[00:25:41] Simone McQuaige: And you have to have people who have the same belief system as you do. And so we started with intensive professional development with letters, and then we looked at providing other professional development opportunities. But what we needed was a way to bring everybody together. It's when you're talking about professional development, everybody has this definition.

[00:26:11] Simone McQuaige: I've seen all the memes, all the things that are like, "Oh, this could have been in an email." I'm not talking about that kind of professional development, but we're talking about the kind of professional development that people have time to invest in the learning. And where teachers are treated as the professionals they are.

[00:26:35] Ana Torres: Oh, I love that. Love that. 

[00:26:38] Simone McQuaige: And so they have the time to hear the research. They received materials—actually books from some of the researchers—where they can immerse themselves in a full day, where there's comfortable seating, everything they need for their learning to happen, is in place. And so we instituted a conference, a two-day conference.

[00:27:10] Ana Torres: When did this happen, Simone? 

[00:27:11] Simone McQuaige: August 2023. And then we did another one February/March 2024. These conferences provided teachers an opportunity—not just teachers. Our classroom teachers, our paraprofessionals, our special educators, central office partners, administrators, executive leadership to come together and all be in the same place for the learning.

[00:27:40] Simone McQuaige: Now, I wasn't able to have everyone in my district there, but we had about 700 people there. 

[00:27:47] Ana Torres: And I like what you say is, "We're learning together." 

[00:27:51] Simone McQuaige: Thank you. 

[00:27:52] Ana Torres: So it sounds like you were changing mindsets. 

[00:27:54] Simone McQuaige: Definitely. 

[00:27:55] Ana Torres: Not the PD we're used to—the "Sit and get," and "You will do," and "This is what you must do." So this was transformational, was it not, Simone? 

[00:28:06] Simone McQuaige: It was. It was. It was truly the catalyst to the awakening that happened in our district. 

[00:28:14] Ana Torres: Ooh, the awakening. 

[00:28:16] Simone McQuaige: We talk about this, I never want to send the message that, "Oh, if you do a conference, they will come and all will be well." This was definitely a layered experience over the course of the school year.

[00:28:30] Ana Torres: Thinking about the newer teachers that are listening to this, what do you think are the biggest lessons and tips for building that buy-in? That's the important part. How'd you build the buy-in, Simone? 

[00:28:42] Simone McQuaige: The people that started with me with the initial training, they were standing in the gap right there with me.

[00:28:49] Simone McQuaige: So this wasn't just elementary reading. I had support from our secondary colleagues, ELD office, our special education office, our Title One office, our equity office, our family engagement office. So we could go on and on and on. But when you have started to, or been in a place to build those relationships where people can hear about the work that's happening, and want to learn more about the work because people are getting information from different places, it gave us an opportunity to help support any clarifications that were needed. When you're making change, people need something to anchor those learnings on. And so we needed to support them by putting information in their hands that explained how all the pieces come together. And I think as a new teacher, I would definitely say, in many districts there are professional development opportunities, but there are a lot of free opportunities. So becoming a member of a lot of different listservs or distribution lists. Amplify has a wonderful set of podcasts available for teachers at any time, but there are also resources available that teachers could utilize, and many of them free. 

[00:30:15] Ana Torres: Right. And Amplify appreciates that shout out. 

[00:30:19] Simone McQuaige: You're quite welcome.

[00:30:20] Ana Torres: I want everyone to know that, and if you didn't hear the beginning of this, Simone received a big award from Amplify for the work that she is doing as a change agent. Can you tell us the story of how you learned about receiving this prestigious award? 

[00:30:35] Simone McQuaige: Oh my goodness. If I can even go back a little further, I saw the advertisements for the award and I thought, "Oh wow, I hope to be able to apply for that one day."

[00:30:50] Simone McQuaige: I thought, "I hope to be able to recommend myself." And so we were at Plain Talk last February and I happened to say something to my team, and they just had this weird reaction on their faces. And I kept going, "What? What's wrong? What's, what's happening?" And my colleague said, "Oh, don't worry about it. We're recommending you."

[00:31:11] Simone McQuaige: And I was like, "What? You are? You guys are recommending me for that?" 

[00:31:15] Ana Torres: And I believe that you did it in that same pitch, that same voice pitch that you have, the same excitement when she heard about it at Plane Talk, which is an annual literacy conference. 

[00:31:25] Simone McQuaige: I was so teary eyed because, you know. You know how hard you work and anybody who's an educator knows you don't get an award every year. You don't get an award every 10 years. Your award or reward comes in different ways. And so I was just touched with the thought. And then when I received the nomination, I was, I was over the moon just being nominated. I was. Certainly there are lots of people across the United States who I'm sure are worthy of this award. And when I received notification and we had the ceremony, the whole ceremony was virtual. 

[00:32:08] 2024 Science and Reading Star Awards Celebration Host: Welcome to our 2024 Science and Reading Star Awards Celebration. 

[00:32:12] Simone McQuaige: I was not expecting the—I think there were about a hundred or two hundred people on the call, but I was not expecting so many people from my district to turn out for that call.

[00:32:28] Simone McQuaige: And they were leaving messages in the chat. 

[00:32:31] 2024 Science and Reading Star Awards Celebration Host: You only need to look at the webinar chat to see the litany of people chiming in. And it's just a testament to how wonderful Simone is. 

[00:32:41] Simone McQuaige: And I—I could hardly talk.

[00:32:44] Simone McQuaige: [Audio of Simone during Awards Ceremony] 

[00:32:45] Simone McQuaige: "Thank you, Liz, and the entire Amplify team. I'm truly humbled and honored to receive the Changemaker Award."

[00:32:53] Simone McQuaige: I was reading their messages and they were not only people who were currently in the work, but people who heard I was being recognized, who had retired and moved on, who joined the call on that day. I, I can't. It's just, it will be a moment that I will never, ever forget. 

[00:33:14] Ana Torres: And you shouldn't. Because like you said, it sounds like you were humble enough to know, like you did this work because it was something that motivated you and you're passionate about, but others were watching and you've made such an impact.

[00:33:28] Ana Torres: What a way to celebrate Simone and all of the beautiful work she has done. And another thing we've talked about as we're kind of winding our time down, and I want to make sure our listeners hear this about you, is you're a person...you've mentioned the word legacy. What do you hope is your own legacy?

[00:33:47] Ana Torres: And more broadly, how do you think newer educators out there should think about their own legacies, Simone? 

[00:33:55] Simone McQuaige: As I mentioned before, I think you get to a certain point in your career and you're working and you're, you're just, you know, doing your job. But toward the end, you start to really reflect on your impact and you think about, "Where do I want to—where do I want to leave this?

[00:34:12] Simone McQuaige: Where do, where do I want to see my work?" And yes, I would love to see it in test scores. Yeah, everybody wants to see it in test scores. But I also want to leave, I want to leave my team stronger and supported. When I think about new teachers, I would say right now, spend the time learning your craft. Spend the time learning more about yourself as a professional. Gather as much information within the content as you possibly can because it's going to help you become the better educator. And when it's all said and done, you have to have a peace about the work. And so I think all of us kind of feel like there's work undone because we're in the field of education.

[00:35:07] Simone McQuaige: It's never, ever finished. 

[00:35:09] Ana Torres: Exactly. 

[00:35:09] Simone McQuaige: But I think you get to—any educator—I think you get to a point where you, where you just kind of feel that you have given your entire heart. 

[00:35:24] Ana Torres: Sounds like you want your legacy to be to continue the passion; continue reflecting; continue to be a lifelong learner. Also be still. It's okay to be still. But I feel like I've heard you say this throughout, "Learn your craft. Know your craft. Surround yourself with people that are like-minded and have the same passion." I think about the, you mentioned your network of folks that you've been with since the beginning. That passion has continued. So that's a beautiful legacy to leave. Even without you, that will continue.

[00:36:02] Simone McQuaige: Definitely. 

[00:36:03] Ana Torres: Because of the change agent that you've been. Can I tell you, Simone, your calmness has just kind of like jumped on me. It's very contagious and I loved it. This was an amazing conversation. Now, before I let you go, every single guest shouts out their district. So go ahead and we'll give you your 10 seconds to shout your district out, Ms. Simone. 

[00:36:26] Simone McQuaige: Oh my goodness. Well, I am from gorgeous Prince George's County, where we do our best to support all of our students, our teachers, and our community. 

[00:36:42] Ana Torres: Thank you, Simone, for spending time with me today. I've learned so much from you. 

[00:36:47] Simone McQuaige: Thank you. 

[00:36:48] Ana Torres: And I appreciate you taking the time to be on the Beyond My Years podcast, Simone. Thank you so much.

[00:36:54] Simone McQuaige: Thank you.

[00:37:00] Ana Torres: That was A. Simone McQuaige from Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland. She is the supervisor of Reading and English Language Arts, K–5, and she also leads the elementary literacy support team in the Office of Curriculum and Instruction. She was also the winner of the Amplify Science of Reading Changemaker Star Award.

[00:37:25] Ana Torres: You can find out more information about the Science of Reading Star Awards at Amplify.com/SORStarAwards. And now, Eric Cross.

[00:37:42] Ana Torres: Coming straight from his classroom is my amazing Classroom Insider, Eric Cross. What's happening, Eric Cross? 

[00:37:53] Eric Cross: All the things are happening, but it's been really good. 

[00:37:57] Ana Torres: Let's get right into it. The conversation with Simone McQuaige was so, so good. 

[00:38:04] Eric Cross: It was. 

[00:38:05] Ana Torres: And honestly, I had a lot of takeaways, but I don't want to take away from your time.

[00:38:09] Ana Torres: Wasn't that good? Take away from your time. 

 

[00:38:11] Eric Cross: That was good. That was clever. 

[00:38:12] Ana Torres: And I want to hear your first takeaway. 

[00:38:15] Eric Cross: The first thing that resonated with me was—I'll say it in my way is, "Find your folks." Let me say it in academic language: Build a strong network of supportive educator relationships.

[00:38:26] Eric Cross: And what I mean by that is like a network of like-minded people. We call it professional learning networks. John Hattie said in his book, Visible Learning, he broke down these things that influence student outcomes. He had like 200 things that teachers could do. And number one was called "collective efficacy."

[00:38:43] Eric Cross: In other words, it's like teachers' belief that they can affect students positively. And one of the ways to get that is to be around people who help reinforce your why and help you with strategies. Like we can't do it alone, as much as this is you're in the classroom by yourself. It really is a team sport to do it well.

[00:39:02] Ana Torres: Yes. 

[00:39:02] Eric Cross: And if you're like me and you're the only person in your grade level that teaches your content and you're kind of siloed, you have to go the extra mile to find those folks. 

[00:39:12] Ana Torres: I like that. And I like, actually, you're, you're kind of phrasing: You find your folks and you continue that relationship.

[00:39:19] Eric Cross: And, Ana, can I say one more thing about that? 

[00:39:21] Ana Torres: You can. 

[00:39:21] Eric Cross: 'Cause I, okay, so you know that until we met in person for the first time, I told you that I was an introvert and you're like, "No, you're not." And you finally embraced it. But this thing that I just shared for introverts—or those of us who are maybe ambiverts, which is kind of like both introvert-extrovert—it's funny how many people I find like me that are introverted, but we are classroom teachers.

[00:39:41] Eric Cross: We're always up on stage. And I just wanted to find that as like where I get my energy from is being alone or like one-on-one time. This is one of the reasons why I love talking to you so much. 'Cause we can go deep, you know, versus super broad. And when you say that to someone who might be either not as social or reaching out just doesn't come intrinsically, I had a few notes for that. Because I was thinking about myself, like, "How did I do that?" And, one is: Lean into your strengths; find those one-on-one connections. Like, instead of going into a big room, being a social butterfly, reach out to those individual people. Grab a coffee and just sit and rap and go deep. Over time, you'll start building a network of like-minded people.

[00:40:20] Eric Cross: And then digital spaces like Zooms and online forums and things like that can be great spaces to connect. And then colleagues who have similar interests, just building those relationships, reaching out, staying in touch—those strategies really help—for people who are wired like myself—to still build your network, but be true to who you are.

[00:40:38] Ana Torres: So I like that you said that too, because as you know, I am extroverted. And again, as he's mentioning, he's giving introvert folks tips. You can be an introvert and still make connections with folks that find common ground. So I love that. Love that perspective. But I know you have a second takeaway, Eric.

[00:40:56] Eric Cross: Yeah, there was so much. And the second one is when she started talking about a project that she does with her students. And, the way I heard it was basically hand over the tools, let your students design and engineer their own projects. And for teachers—l'm a science teacher, so I'm super biased—but I totally believe in the power of design, thinking, and engineering for all content areas. I mean, creating meaningful activities. End of the unit activities where you have these authentic ways where they can make something or demonstrate their learning. Simone did it with kids making their games with like second and third graders would come down and play the games and then give an authentic audience.

[00:41:35] Eric Cross: So have people from the outside kind of come in—and you could start small with this. And then kind of scale up. I have an activity called "Hunger Games" that I've done. And after we finished ecosystems, students get together in groups of four. They make a website. I work with the math team. They do probability for genetic traits. I work with the English team. They write descriptions and what kids have to do is take two existing animals and crossbreed them, come up with traits and then, then they battle. They battle an oral debate in front of the class. Now that's an activity that I iterated on. I did not create it from scratch.

[00:42:10] Eric Cross: But as far as high engagement, a lot of fun, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary—it's so cool. 

[00:42:16] Ana Torres: I liked even, again, you're using it and putting it in your own words, "Hand over the tools, let students design it." And as you recall, she literally did this because she wanted to be very reflective about her practice.

[00:42:29] Ana Torres: "Am I reaching all students? Are they getting what they need?" That came from the drive of her. I want it to be more than assessing children. But this is a way to assess in a very different way. So the creativity part was the part that resonated with me a lot. And I like hearing about your Hunger Games game, just your excitement talking about it.

[00:42:52] Ana Torres: I can only imagine the creativity that went with it. The students debating; they're using oral language. Were you self reflective in that practice, Eric? 

[00:43:02] Eric Cross: I was...and this is something Simone talks about actually, and it's not one of my points, but I do want to touch on it since you brought it up is that reflection.

[00:43:08] Eric Cross: At the end of this, I always look for what do I want to do again next time? Now, one of the plus sides to me teaching only one semester of science each year—so I have one semester of kids and then another semester—is I get two starts of the school year. So if one of my lessons or activities—I call it the "burnt pancake"—you know, like you did it and you're like, "Oh, that didn't go well." I take notes because I know I'm going to get another rep in January with a whole new group of kids. So having those notes, I like to think I would remember it, but in all honesty, I don't. So I have a Google doc. Hey, next time this, this, and this, and I had a teacher friend say to me, "I want future me to be grateful for past me."

[00:43:48] Eric Cross: So I always try to update my reflection so that future me after a long time period has passed, sees those reflections and goes, "Oh yeah!" So the reflective part is essential on your lessons. And then over the years, you'll build up and up and up until you have something that's just kind of like a movement.

[00:44:03] Eric Cross: Now kids from other schools that come to my school, like they look forward to it. "Are we going to be able to do Hunger Games? I heard about it from my brother. " 

[00:44:12] Ana Torres: And you know, Simone mentioned that too, like just the change in the excitement it created at the school, right? So yeah, I would, you know, maybe we need to reenact this Hunger Games and maybe do this on a different segment, 'cause I'd love to battle you. I would like to be an eagle. But anyway, we'll talk more about science at a later date. 

[00:44:31] Eric Cross: I'm down. 

[00:44:32] Ana Torres: He's down for the battle. I'm a little competitive and I know he is too. So stay tuned, audience. Now we're going to close up. What was your last takeaway? 

[00:44:42] Eric Cross: The last one that I heard, and I love this—I actually listened to this part on repeat. I wrote it as, "Build buy-in like a boss." And you went and used this term "changemaker" and a changemaker, educators are changemakers. 

[00:44:58] Ana Torres: Yes. 

[00:44:59] Eric Cross: But you really become effective when you're intentional about that. There's a strategy. And Simone laid this out. She actually laid out a framework for how to be an effective changemaker.

[00:45:09] Eric Cross: And so she was coming up with this idea for a movement. And you could just create it and hope that people come. And that's one way to go. But the way she did it made it effective. And so the first thing that she did is, she had this collective shared vision. She knew that she couldn't do it by herself and she formed this coalition of people. Before anything was created, she went and had these conversations. And the great leaders that I've had in my life, they did the same thing. Before they had a big meeting with important conversations, they had conversations with individual people involved—stakeholders—before everything was announced. And that was like this Jedi move that I learned, you know, over the years. And you can do this with your students.

[00:45:48] Eric Cross: Say you want to launch something experimental. Talk with individual students and get feedback; get their voice. Because then when you roll it out, now you have this momentum and you have this built-in support. The other one is that she linked a bunch of different groups together in her departments.

[00:46:01] Ana Torres: Yes, yes. 

[00:46:02] Eric Cross: That was brilliant. 

[00:46:03] Ana Torres: Brilliant. 

[00:46:04] Eric Cross: And then she hosted this event. 

[00:46:06] Ana Torres: Yes. 

[00:46:07] Eric Cross: And after the event, there was follow up; there were resources. There were things that people had that were concrete. It wasn't just like, I went and I experienced it and that was, it was good. But then you're like a week later, you're like, "What did we learn?" Like, "I don't know. I remember how I felt, but I don't remember what I learned." 

[00:46:22] Ana Torres: Exactly. 

[00:46:22] Eric Cross: There were research-based methods. There were frameworks, exemplars that people can take and do something with. Like those four things. It's essentially a playbook for really creating an effective movement and that could be somewhere in your classroom, or somewhere as big as a district. It's applicable at all levels and really in all industries. This is something that is thoughtful and effective, no matter what industry you're in, when you're trying to make change or start a movement or make improvements. 

[00:46:48] Ana Torres: Yeah, I was thinking the same thing as you were just kind of going through that, Eric. Yes, her movement was literally district wide, but that is something that can be applied in the classroom.

[00:47:00] Ana Torres: Be intentional; be purposeful, right? The impact that you make just even within your own class, within your own, you know, with your students, can transform an entire school. So I'm really glad that you kind of brought this [up] and made this kind of applicable on a smaller scale. What I also appreciated about today is the language that you use and you put it in layman's terms for us. 

[00:47:24] Eric Cross: That's how I understand it. 

[00:47:25] Ana Torres: I know, and love it. Let me just recap "Eric language" here for y'all. So first takeaway: Create a strong network of supportive educators, which in his own words were, "Find your folks." Let students design real world projects that they actually care about. And in "Eric words," "Hand over the tools to them," right?

[00:47:45] Ana Torres: And the third one, build buy-in, but be very methodical, intentional, and purposeful. And in Eric terms, "Build buy-in like a boss." 

[00:47:55] Eric Cross: Like a boss. 

[00:47:56] Ana Torres: Like a boss. As always, you know, it's really great to talk to you. I know that our listeners really appreciate you taking every episode and giving us some just applicable things.

[00:48:07] Ana Torres: We appreciate you, Eric Cross. 

[00:48:09] Eric Cross: I appreciate you. And it was a great conversation. I look forward to the next one. 

[00:48:12] Ana Torres: See you next time, Eric. 

[00:48:15] Ana Torres: Thanks for listening to Beyond My Years from Amplify. I'm your host, Ana Torres. Our Classroom Insider is Eric Cross. Our music is from Andrew Smolin. And next time on Beyond My Years, I'll be joined by Kareem Weaver.

[00:48:32] Ana Torres: You may know Kareem from his work with FULCRUM and the Oakland NAACP. But on this particular episode, we will focus on Kareem's early days in the classroom, which includes his experience teaching in a juvenile justice facility. That's next time on Beyond My Years. Get that episode as soon as it drops by subscribing to Beyond My Years on the podcast app of your choice.

[00:49:00] Ana Torres: That's where you'll also find all of our amazing episodes from Season One. Our website is amplify.com/beyond-my-years. Please help us spread the voices of these incredible seasoned educators by letting a few educators in your life know about Beyond My Years. Until next time, remember to please reach out and say thank you to a seasoned educator who has shaped your life.

[00:49:29] Ana Torres: I'm Ana Torres. Thanks so much for listening.