Our members often say that one of the most meaningful aspects of service is supporting students close to home. For some, that means making an impact without leaving the neighborhood!
“I grew up in Miami, and it’s so cool because I used to live across the street from the school that I’m working at now!” says Sparkle, an Early Learning Corps alum and current kindergarten teacher. “I’m looking at the same tree that I climbed as a kid!”
Giving Education a Shot
Sparkle began her path to teaching more than seven years ago, when she was still in college. At the time, she was a sociology major with no plans of becoming a teacher. However, she had always been curious about education and while she was looking for part-time opportunities, she found Early Learning Corps.
“Teaching wasn’t a goal of mine, but I could get my classroom experience and also get paid,” she remembers. “I was like, ‘This is something I could do: Let me try it out.”
Sparkle took to tutoring immediately and made deep connections to the teachers and staff at her school. Outside her time tutoring, it proved to be a hard year: Sparkle lost her mother a few months into the service year. Her close relationships at the school were an important part of her healing.
“The program, Ms. Anderson the lead teacher, everybody was really supportive,” she says. “That teacher: we’re still really good friends.”
The decision to tutor changed the trajectory of Sparkle’s career. Sparkle loved serving in a classroom with four and five-year-olds and helping them get ready for kindergarten. While spending her days engaging students through song, instructive play and other activities, something clicked for her – she changed her major to education and never looked back.
First Steps toward Teaching
After completing her year of service in Early Learning Corps, she returned to the same school as a paraprofessional. The combination of relationships she made and the skills she had gained in AmeriCorps helped kick-start her career.
“[Early Learning Corps] was really the foundation of everything,” she says. “There was no other way for me to get classroom experience like that… It was a really great opportunity.”
Today, Sparkle is a resident kindergarten teacher at Arcola Lake Elementary School, right on the same block she grew up on. Looking back, Early Learning Corps wasn’t just pivotal to her becoming a teacher: It also shaped the way that she teaches to this day.
“I still use everything today in my own kindergarten classroom: the transitions, the songs, everything,” says Sparkle.
A Learning Experience for Students and Tutors
While many future teachers know from a young age what they want to do, stories like Sparkle’s show that you can find your calling at any age, and service is a great way to start! Early Learning Corps often makes just as big an impact on members as it does the students they support.
“It’s a really good program,” she says. “I didn’t know what I was getting into, but it turned out really, really well: Now I’m here! I have my own classroom!”
You can help students learn while learning more about yourself too! Go to join.readingandmath.org to find open positions in your community or learn more about Early Learning Corps on our website.