The Educator: Kelsey Clark ’05
College: Yale University ’09
Current: Eighth Grade English Language Arts and Social Studies Teacher at Edward W. Brooke Charter Schools (Brooke Roslindale)
Current: Eighth Grade English Language Arts and Social Studies Teacher at Edward W. Brooke Charter Schools (Brooke Roslindale)
Q: What has your post-Rivers path been like?
A: I majored in English at Yale, but I also took four years of Chinese, so I did the Yale-China teaching fellowship. I went to China for two years and taught ESL, American Literature and some history at the college level. I decided teaching was something I really wanted to do. I applied to Brooke Charter Schools here in Boston. Last year, I taught sixth grade as an Associate Teacher, then I was hired to be an eighth grade classroom teacher. Our school is a no-excuses charter school. We have a lot of low-income minority students and students for whom the schooling opportunities they would normally have are not getting them to where we want them to be, which is college. Brookes is one of the top achieving charter schools and public schools in the state. It’s built around the idea that great teachers can close the achievement gap.
Q: What excites you about your work?
KC: Middle school kids are still figuring out what academic subjects they’re interested in and it’s amazing to watch that discovery. They’re also figuring out who they are as people, how other people perceive them, and what their place is in the world. In the best moments, I get to have a big impact on the formation of their character.
Q: What post-Rivers achievement are you most proud of?
KC: I think just doing the work I do. It’s interesting to learn about my students’ lives and to look at the problems many are facing, then come home from work every day and say ‘even if this was difficult, the general aim is to do something important and to help other people.’
KC: I think just doing the work I do. It’s interesting to learn about my students’ lives and to look at the problems many are facing, then come home from work every day and say ‘even if this was difficult, the general aim is to do something important and to help other people.’
Q: How has Rivers prepared you for this work?
KC: Being at Rivers from seventh to twelfth grade showed me the power many amazing teachers can have on a kid. My teachers at Rivers had such a huge impact on my life, and I hope I can become a great teacher and have a similar impact on my students.
KC: Being at Rivers from seventh to twelfth grade showed me the power many amazing teachers can have on a kid. My teachers at Rivers had such a huge impact on my life, and I hope I can become a great teacher and have a similar impact on my students.
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