With three young children at home, Reading Corps alumni, Kate H. made the decision to leave her teaching job to focus on being a full-time caregiver. After ten years at home, service with Reading Corps helped Kate transition back to the workplace and put her passion for education in action.
With a large gap in her resume, Kate was feeling ready to start something new, but was uncertain about her next step. “I wasn’t sure how to reignite my teaching career,” she remembers. “I wasn’t even sure if it was still what I wanted to do.”
When Kate discovered Reading Corps, she immediately applied because she thought it would be a great way to both give back to the community and do something meaningful with her time. Once she began tutoring, she quickly realized how happy she was to be back in the classroom. She loved helping students build their skills and took great pride in the progress they were making together. “Service showed me that the classroom was where I was meant to be,” she says.
Today, Kate teaches full-time at a school in Rosemont, Minnesota. She largely credits Reading Corps with getting her there. “In many ways, Reading Corps got me back in the classroom much more quickly than planned, “she notes.” As a tutor, Kate built strong relationships at her school and when it was time to focus on renewing her teaching license, she was able to count the hours she spent training for Reading Corps toward licensure requirements!
Looking back on her journey, Kate empathizes with career changers and parents returning to the workforce after time away. “It can be really overwhelming looking at the large gap on your resume after staying home with your kids,” Kate shares. “It felt like I was coming to the table with no skills, but Reading Corps boosted my confidence and helped me prove to myself that the skills I have are an asset to schools.”
We love hearing from Reading Corps, Math Corps and Early Learning Corps alumni and learning about what they are doing today! If you are an alumni, please drop us a line to bring us up to speed on all your new adventures.