Igniting A Passion

By Max Smith, Region 10 ESC Digital Marketing Specialist

CARIN MCSPERITT’S Head Start classroom at Central Elementary is bustling with activity as students take turns rotating around different stations. Some sit on a small couch and read a book, some try their hand at solving puzzles, while others demonstrate their artistic talents while painting.

In the middle of it all, McSperitt bounces from station to station, helping each of her students to get the most out of their experience.

“I love that I am their first experience with school, and I do all I can to ignite in them what my teachers inspired in me; the desire to discover, to learn, and to improve,” McSperitt shared. “As teachers, we hold such great power.”

Teaching Head Start is a role that McSperitt would have never imagined being part of just four years ago. After teaching for more than 20 years, McSperitt admits that her passion was starting to dim.

Fortunately, now-retired Central Elementary Principal Chelsea Capehart saw her potential, and transitioned her from a 2nd grade classroom into a Head Start teaching position. While McSperitt didn’t initially view the change favorably, she credits the support she received early on from the Head Start program.

“The Head Start office staff checked on me frequently, especially the first few days of school, reassuring me that I would be successful,” McSperitt said. “Region 10 did and continues to do an amazing job of providing professional development specifically for early childhood education and the Head Start program; I felt like I had plenty of assistance at my fingertips.”

Thanks to the Head Start teachers and Instructional Assistants, it wasn’t long before McSperitt felt right at home in a Head Start classroom.

“The Head Start teachers and the Instructional Assistants work together as a group and go above and beyond to help each other whenever needed. After three weeks, I settled into the routine and I was actually enjoying myself,” shared McSperitt. “By the end of the first year, they would have had to take me out of that classroom kicking and screaming. I had found my spark, my passion, for teaching again.”

Now serving as the Team Leader for Mabank’s Head Start teachers, McSperitt tries to ignite that spark in each of her students. She has brought in members of the community for her students over the past year, from local firefighters to farmers and their cows. She believes these opportunities allow her students to build connections, expand their vocabulary, and learn about future possibilities.

Most significantly, she worked with a group of teachers to create a successful grant proposal for $2,500 for a sensory path at Central Elementary.

“We feel that by providing a sensory path for the students in our school, we are creating a culture of acceptance and awareness of students that may have different learning styles and needs,” McSperitt explained. “Students will be able to step out of the classroom, move through the sensory path, and give their bodies and brain the reset they need to be productive and successful in the classroom. Many students struggle with proprioceptive issues. By providing a safe location in the school for them to achieve a calm state, those students may find more success in the classroom.”

For Region 10 Head Start Site Facilitator Kimberly Wilson, McSperitt has been an asset to the Head Start team.

“McSperitt is someone that you can always count on,” shared Wilson. “She is early to arrive, and most days she is the last to leave. She not only holds herself accountable for doing what is best for kids, but she also encourages her peers as well.” McSperitt’s efforts to share her passion with her students was

recognized this year, when she was named the Teacher of the Year for Mabank ISD. Crediting her own teachers who ignited her passion for teaching, she encourages all teachers to share their passion with their students.

“My fourth grade teacher, Quannah Steiner, ignited my passion for educating others when she allowed me to read and work with first grade students. Ever since that time, I knew I would be a teacher,” McSperitt said. “I’ve had amazing educators in my life, and I find that it wasn’t in the content they taught, but in how they made me feel. I strive daily to be like those educators and bring out the best in my students. They allowed their passion for education to burn brightly and shared it with their students. Remember, when you share your fire, it doesn’t dim your light; it makes the world a brighter place.”