"Growing up, I had my own struggles with school and know what it's like to be excluded. I was held back in 1st grade because I was academically behind compared to my peers. In second grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I have a specific learning disability in math. My mom was my biggest advocate growing up, and she still is. She always gave me a lot of encouragement. She had a teacher tell her that I would never learn to read. As a parent, that's the worst thing you can hear about your child, right? But my mom was a teacher and she knew the system, and she really worked with me. All of that still sticks with me today.
My mom always said, "Krysta, things always take you longer than your peers, but no matter what, you always got there. You need the extra time, but you always get there on your own time. It's not a race." So I think about this at my job at Washtenaw ISD. Every student here is different and every student is learning, and every student will get to where they need to be. We see them as humans. They know and they want to do stuff.
It's amazing to see when something clicks for a student here. I love getting to watch students who struggle learning a certain concept or something new to them finally understand it. It's like a big lightbulb moment, and it's really rewarding to me to get to see it happen and know I was a part of it. All that work they did paid off. It's rewarding because I know how difficult it is to learn something. I'm patient and know that maybe it's going to take a student 200-600 tries, but they're going to get it in time. When that click happens and they get it, wow, it's worth it to me.
What I think is important is that WISD is a safe place. I can build trust with my students. It's important because when students trust their teachers, they learn better. It's my fourth year here, but I feel like my own world has expanded so much. WISD is just really unique. There are just so many amazing programs and students, and we're all in it together. It's cool because we're all learning from each other and in a very supportive environment.
One of the best parts of my days here is seeing my students' faces in the morning. They're happy and want to be at school. They see me and they smile because they know I'm a safe place for them to be themselves and to learn. They feel safe here with me. And they teach me, too. If I use the wrong sign language, they'll correct me. I love it. That means that they know it well enough and they feel confident to teach me and others."
Inspired by (and with special permission from!) the original "Humans of New York," the "Humans of WISD" storytelling project is uncovering what drives our WISD team and why they're passionate about their work in the district and in our community.