Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500661
June 2023 isea.org • ISEA Communiqué 2 GET TO KNOW ME GET TO KNOW ME Zipporah Smith Position title and school/ district: Middle School Career and Technical Education Educator, Des Moines Public Schools Tell us a little about yourself: Growing up in the Midwest as a transracial (a biracial Asian child adopted by white parents) student in predominantly white communities, I was uncomfortably aware of ways in which educational spaces are often not places where inclusive communities are intentionally cultivated. These experiences and the influential educators in my life fueled my passion to become an educator and mentor. I graduated from Iowa State University in 2005 and earned my master's degree in Culturally Responsive Leadership and Instruction from Drake University in 2018. I began my career as an elementary teacher for Des Moines Public Schools in 2005. In the fall of 2021, I moved to middle school to teach my favorite subject, social studies. However, due to changes in my building's enrollment and teacher shortages, I found myself in the most unexpected role- teaching CTE! Throughout my career I have sought ways to build a deep sense of community within my classrooms, district, and state. I have worked to increase opportunities for educators to support one another in their social justice journey through workshops, book studies, support groups, and organizing. How are you involved with the union? I serve on my DMEA's executive board as the ethnic minority representative. In this role, I chair the Multicultural Committee. I can advocate for better recruitment, working, and retention environments for educators and staff of historically resilient populations. In addition, I serve on ISEA's Multicultural Committee as a member. We have been working for years to create a stronger network of support across Iowa for our members. What's one skill you think everyone should have? Listening to understand. I do not say this as an educator who wants my students to understand new concepts. Rather, I make this statement as a human being that has often encountered situations where the listener has been too focused on the point they're trying to make that they miss out on the point the other person is trying to make. Where's your favorite place in the world? My favorite place in the world would be wherever my husband and two children happen to be. A bonus would be if we are together outside on a beautiful, sunny day. I love being in the mountains, by a lake, or just outside in our yard. If you could add anyone to Mount Rushmore who would it be; why? Prior to being a middle school CTE teacher, I taught social studies and I am passionate about learning the history behind iconic American symbols. Knowing the history of greed and how the sacred land was forcibly removed from Lakota, I would have to say that I would want to remove the carvings that are there in lieu of adding another. Who would you most like to swap places with for a day? This is a tough one. I think I would want to swap places with either of my children for a day. For the youngest, a 19-month-old, I love the idea of being able to have the hardest choice of the day be either jumping on a trampoline or playing at a water table. My oldest, an 8th grader, is navigating some very tough years. I would love to take their place for a day to relieve them of the stress of being a teen in 2023. What's the coolest thing you're working on now? I would have to say the coolest thing I am working on currently is the co-authoring of the DMPS's new middle school CTE and Financial Literacy curriculum. I have a deep-rooted passion for working with curriculum and standards. I believe it comes from wanting to see people who looked like me in the curriculum, beyond building railroads and WWII, when I was growing up. Being adopted, I wanted to learn about the history of Asian Americans and Asia, but it was a story that was never told. The standards have many connections to social studies and the aim is to give all students, no matter their background, the foundational skills needed to envision their secondary and post-secondary experiences. Zipporah Smith A tip of the cap Congratulations to Carlisle Education Association member and NEA Director alternate Josh Baxter for being named "Educator of the Year" by the Iowa Association of Alternative Education. Baxter is an alternative services teacher at Carlisle High School. Congratulations to Mallory Willis-Howe who was named 2023 Iowa State Outstanding Earth Science Teacher by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers. Willis-Howe teaches at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids. A tip of the cap to Keokuk Education Association members Danielle Vogel and Jamie O'Connor who were named McDonald's Outstanding Educators. Local McDonald's restaurants began the program to celebrate area teachers and honor them for their dedication to their students and their craft. Well done to ISEA Uniserv Director Jeremy Kunz who was nominated for a Tip of the Cap mention by PASS member Stephanie Sheldon with these words: "We would like to give our ISEA Rep. Jeremy Kunz a shout out that we feel we have had one of the best ISEA reps. to serve us. We are PASS: Prairie Association of Support Staff and are a newly formed union group created this school year. PASS members quickly grew to trust Jeremy who's shown us he is passionate to help us achieve the best results for PASS. Mr. Kunz has continually made himself available and is exceptionally well-informed and up to date in his field. We are grateful and have felt confident through his guidance to present our requests to our district. Thank you, Jeremy!" Josh Baxter Jeremy Kunz Mallory Willis- Howe