10 minute read
Mentoring the Next Generation
We all have that teacher who made a huge impact on our lives and don’t often get a chance to reconnect.
Two educators at Dysart Schools got that chance through the Ready2Teach Educator Preparation Program. Dr. Cheryl Martin and Zachary Raubolt were both eagerly awaiting introductions for the Ready2Teach program this past summer. Dr. Martin was beginning her new role as the Instructional Specialist for the program. In this role, Dr. Martin supports, coaches and teaches first-year teachers. Dr. Martin has been an educator for Dysart since 2001 and has taught various grade levels and subjects. She’s been an Exceptional Student Services Specialist for Special Education and has her doctorate in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis in Special Education. Zachary Raubolt was also beginning a new role as a Willow Canyon High School Special Education teacher in the second cohort in the Ready2Teach program.
Ready2Teach is a district program supported by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) that provides an alternative pathway to teacher certification. Staff within the two year program have already obtained a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and are employed as fulltime Arizona teachers with an Alternative Teaching Certificate. Participants in the program are paired with an instructor who provides extensive guidance and supports them along the way. Introductions for the second cohort of the Ready2Teach program happened in May 2024.
Dr. Martin and Zach exchanged glances as she was introduced as his instructor within the Ready2Teach program for the upcoming school year.
“He’s looking at me and I’m looking at him and thinking that guy looks familiar,” shared Martin.
“He comes up to me and says, ‘I’m Zach Raubolt, Mrs. Martin, you taught me in 5th grade at West Point Elementary School.’ ”
Cheryl was overcome with emotion as memories of Zach as an energetic 11 year old in her class came flooding back. Zach was in her 5th grade class at West Point Elementary School back in 2011 where she taught for 16 years. She was touched that he remembered her as a teacher and honored that she now had the privilege to guide him in his own journey as a Special Education teacher.
“I balled, I’m sitting there crying in the meeting, it just took my back,” said Martin. “Now I’m teaching him again but I’m teaching him to be a teacher.”
“I immediately knew right away, she recognized me. It’s funny as I was a personality in class, and I stood out in classes sometimes,” said Zach.
Zach first met Dr. Martin when he moved to Arizona in 2011 from California. Changing schools in 5th grade was an adjustment, and he was sad to leave his friends in California, but Mrs. Martin’s welcoming class atmosphere made the transition a bit easier. He participated in the Wildcat Network News which was the morning announcements program at the school.
“The Network News and working with Mrs. Martin that first year at West Point really brought me out of my shell,” said Zach. “I’ve always been outgoing but being new to the school and being involved in the news helped my communication skills, and taught me how to be accountable. I learned how to speak loudly and clearly, and it was great to have something to work towards outside of the normal classwork.”
“Moving was hard and having that support from my teachers was always nice when I was younger,” shared Zach. “Seeing Mrs. Martin during that introductory meeting brought back a lot of memories from being younger and was a full circle moment as I went to school in the district from middle school at West Point, then Valley Vista High School and now at Willow Canyon as a teacher. It’s a real big step in this program, and she’s supporting me through it.”
Dr. Martin’s classroom provided a community where Zach could learn and grow and also work with a student with special needs. This was one of Zach’s first experiences working with special education students. He provided support for a special education student and would sit with him in class when he needed help and walk with him to his next class. Additionally, Zach’s Mom, Angela, has been a paraprofessional in the Special Education program at Willow Canyon and he would help with the Best Buddies Club, which is a a national organization that builds one-to-one friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, offering social interactions while improving the quality of life and level of inclusion.
“I love working with those kids and I planned to get a Master’s Degree in Special Education and this opportunity presented itself through Ready2Teach,” said Zach.
Zach worked at Willow Canyon in a supportive role as Personalized Learning Tutor who assisted students in completing elective courses online through iSchool. Here he worked with students one-on-one that were on the spectrum. Zach was in this role for three years as he was pursuing a Secondary Education degree at Arizona State University (ASU) with a focus on social studies.
“I always wanted to do something that required me to move and talk a lot,” said Zach. “I enjoy working with the kids here, it’s great to make those connections and I wanted a job where I could help others.”
During his student teaching, he taught social studies and co-taught English with Jamie Atchley for the 20232024 school year at Willow Canyon. Co-teaching is a collaborative approach to instruction in which two teachers work together to plan and then implement instruction for a class that includes students with disabilities. It was in the co-taught classroom where he found that he wanted to continue teaching special education.
The principal, Thom Luedemann, suggested that he participate in the Ready2Teach program since he had a passion for special education and there was an opening in the English co-taught classroom for the 2024-2025 school year.
“Zach is so connected with the community and school and that partnership with Mrs. Atchley was so effective so I knew he’d be great in the Ready2Teach program,” said Luedemann. “He’s competent and capable and he holds students to high standards, and they respect him.”
Launched in the 2023-2024 school year, Ready2Teach began as the district was experiencing a need for special education teachers. The district was seeing less and less teachers coming out of traditional teaching programs. The district applied to participate in an Educator Preparation Program with the Arizona Department of Education. Dysart created the Ready2Teach program and chose to begin small with 13 teachers. The first cohort of teachers was specifically for the Exceptional Students Services Preschool program. The majority of participants were already working with special education students within the district in some capacity but in a supportive role such as a paraprofessional or behavior technician and had not completed their teaching certification or teacher preparation programs. Instead of a traditional teacher preparation program that includes class time and student teaching through an educational institution, the Ready2Teach offers an alternative pathway to certification. The second cohort began in the 20242025 school year to expand to K-12 special education teachers.
“We wanted to work with folks that already expressed a desire to work with students with disabilities but perhaps had barriers that would not allow them to complete a teacher preparation program,” shared Corey Montano, Director of Exceptional Student Services. “Participants are paid as a full time teacher, walk away with no debt, are provided a ton of support, and fill a critical need in the district.”
Zach is unique to the program as he already had a teaching certificate. The majority of the Ready2Teach participants have an alternative teaching certificate and will receive a standard certificate through ADE after completion of the two year program and once licensing tests are passed.
Zach and Dr. Martin met over the summer and during professional development training to prepare for the upcoming school year where Zach would co-teach English 5/6 and Language Arts Strategies at Willow Canyon. They talked about classroom management, lesson planning, and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) preparation.
Once the school year started they identified specific items to work on, and Dr. Martin began weekly visits to Zach’s classroom to observe.
“In those early observations I was just sitting back like a fly on the wall to build that relationship from being a teacher/student to adult peers and I just wanted to identify what we need to work on and how I can best guide Zach,” shared Martin.
“He speaks very well and is eloquent. It is amazing to see so much growth in the last few months,” shared Martin. “He is positive with the students, they are engaged and he commands their attention but in a friendly way.”
In addition to Dr. Martin, Zach was provided extensive support including an Exceptional Student Services Specialist, Teaching and Learning Specialist, content support, instructional cabinet and day-long monthly meetings as a group where participants share their experiences in their role and cover curriculum and goals within the program.
“It’s nice to see and understand that others have struggles and frustrations about the same things and just hearing our success stories with peers in the program is huge,” said Zach. “On days when it is busier or harder I reach out to my mentor or fellow teachers to give me feedback and help lift me up and show how I can improve on things.”
During a recent observation in Zachary’s classroom, Dr. Martin shared with his class that she taught him back in 2011 at West Point Elementary School. They passed around a class picture from that year and Zach touched on his experience as her student and the relationships and atmosphere that she brought to the class.
“The friends I made in that classroom are people that made a huge impact on my life from that moment and those people are still in my life,” shared Zach.
“I taught him as a little kid and now I’m teaching him to be a teacher and when I Ieave, those same strategies big and small will continue,” said Martin. “It’s very rewarding to know that.”
“No matter what preparation you have, it does not fully give you the first hand experience of what is going to happen in the classroom,” said Zach. “Each group of students is different and Mrs. Martin being able to observe and give me strategies with each group is amazing.”
The Ready2Teach program sets teachers up for success because they already have that classroom experience in some capacity and the constant feedback from the support provided allows reflection and then direct strategies for teachers to implement in the classroom.
“There are some days where I ask if I am doing enough?” said Zach. “Mrs. Martin reminds me that this is where I am at today and to give myself grace, and that I will continue to get better with this.”
“The big thing is that Dysart in itself set me up for success from elementary school to high school and then on to college and now they are still supporting me to be a great teacher so that I can continue to teach 20 years down the line,” said Zach.
Within the first four years of the program, the Ready2Teach program will create 26 teachers who will impact hundreds of students and our school communities. The Special Education Ready2Teach programs will continue next school year with a possibility to expand to general education.
