Jared Stanley

Where are you teaching? What subjects/grade are you teaching?
Currently, I am in my second year within the Alexandria City Public School System, located in Alexandria, Virginia. I am holding the position of a special education inclusion teacher and case manage students in Kindergarten and First grade. While working full time, I am also a part-time graduate student seeking a Master's Degree in Special Education with a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis.

What advice would you give to current students who are enrolled in the teacher preparation program?
Going into college, I was told that you should be open to trying new things and take advantages of new opportunities—there are a lot of experiences that I had the opportunity to partake in at SRU that helped develop me into a stronger teacher, professional, and leader. There are going to be a lot of opportunities within your program which may be challenging; however, the experience and gratification will surpass the time and effort.

What is one positive experience that you have had with a student?
Working in an inner city school, with high poverty rates, and extremely low socio-economic statuses, I try to find the silver lining in everyday. I try to reflect on the positives, but there is a particular student who does stand out. This year, I had a nonverbal, developmentally delayed, and English language learning student come to me on the first day of school that was terrified to be left by their parents. After a lot of hard work, numerous attempts at providing specifically designed instruction, positive support, and some extra genuine concern for this student—he is making incredible progress despite all of the obstacles that have been thrown at him. I take a lot of pride in seeing how far he has come in a short amount of time. He is now attempting to talk constantly, and starting to convey his messages clearly. He has come a long way socially with peers and adults!

What makes a great teacher?
In my opinion, your every motivation at work and school should be the kids. The first year of teaching is definitely hard, filled with lesson plans, countless trainings, meetings, professional developments, prepping materials, etc. All of this responsibility finds itself weighing on you while you find your way through a new school system and come to terms with the reality that you are no longer a student, and that you are responsible for the education of others. There will be obstacles during the teaching experience—but the true mark of success is seeing all of your hard work pay off when your students succeed.