Teacher Appreciation Week is in May annually, but at Possip we celebrate teachers and educators year round! Many of our reporters and full-time Possip team members have worked in education as classroom volunteers, teachers, and school administrators. They bring their education expertise into their work– making recommendations for school leaders and teams, helping our partners meet their goals, and creating blog content for school leaders and teachers.
Over the next few weeks, we are going to feature Q&As with current and former teachers on our team to show Possip teacher appreciation!
Meet Possip Reporting Team members, Kory and Beverly!
Kory Von Leue
What is your hope for teachers and teaching?
Without hesitation, this has been the hardest year as an educator, even harder than my first year as a principal. But I’m hopeful that teachers and leaders move forward knowing that not only has this been hard for kids and students across the globe, but they have been so amazingly resilient. My hope is that we use this pandemic experience as a time of transition to shed the practices and mindsets that held students back and embrace the whole child approach that I, and so many teachers and schools across the country, have undergone. Sometimes it’s more than reading and writing, it’s not just “what do you want to be when you grow up”, but “how are you going to be when you grow up”.
What has been a favorite recommendation you’ve left as a reporter?
As a teacher, I’m very critical about every interaction I have with families, and sometimes put off the harder conversations longer than I should, and sometimes second guess decisions. As a reporter though, I love to elevate positive comments and shout-outs to teachers, leaders, and staff. Parents rarely, drive to the school to give the principal a piece of their mind about a positive interaction. Possip allows parents to deliver all of the good news to schools with the smallest of effort. Communicating with families is a two way street and recommending communication strategies or highlighting communication efforts are something that really resonates with me as a reporter.
Beverly Hamm
What is your favorite topic to teach?
Though I am a passionate environmentalist and love teaching science, I really enjoyed working with students in credit recovery and helping them reach their goal of high school graduation.
As a reporter, how does your teaching experience inform your recommendations?
I spent 13 years in virtual education as both a teacher and advisor working directly with families on supporting students schooling at home, so I was really able to relate to both the teachers and parents during the pandemic as they faced the challenges that came with virtual education.
Check out more Possip Team Teacher Appreciation and other team stories here!
