(child murmurs angrily) - [Nkanga] Hmm hmm, good decisions, good decisions.

(child murmurs angrily) - [Nkanga] So Nicholas and I are gonna just take a quick walk.

(bell rings) Wanna show it to me?

(child murmurs angrily) (bell rings) Can I come hold your hand?

Will you hold my hand?

- Hmm hmm.

- [Nkanga] Do you wanna hold Ms. Bennett's hand, or you wanna be a help- - No, don't do that.

- [Nkanga] But we're not gonna hit ourselves.

- [Chelsea] Come hold my hand.

- [Nkanga] Can you be Ms. Bennett's helper?

(bell rings) (pensive music) - I have personally and very much unapologetically committed myself to working within certain communities.

(pensive music) The concept and the idea of public education is aspirational, if done perfectly, it should work.

But we have quite a bit of social constraints that can't get us from reality to aspirational.

(pensive music) If you care about what tomorrow is going to look like, if you are concerned with not only your neighborhood, not only your city or your state or your country, but if you're concerned about the global world, then we need to shake this up.

We need to bring about massive change.

It's not easy.

Like you don't wanna enter education if you just wanna chill out.

You wanna enter education, especially within our city, if you care about living beyond an island of yourself.

And if that's where you're at, then this is the perfect profession.

(pensive music) (traffic lightly whirring) - So teaching at Curtis, the neighborhood doesn't necessarily have as many resources as other neighborhoods do.

Sometimes we come in and the kids aren't, they're not ready because maybe, they haven't eaten breakfast yet.

Sometimes they need clean clothes when they come in.

And here at Curtis, we're all a family.

So as soon as the students step foot in the door, they're taken care of.

(pensive music) And that's really what I took from the residency program.

Whenever I see a need from my students, I need to step up and take care of that need for them whenever I can.

(reflective music) And so here at Curtis, there are a lot of teachers that care and were able to develop that caring teacher style, that strong teacher style by being a part of the CTR.

And so I really feel like because of that, Curtis is thriving when it comes to teachers that really care about their students.

And if it wasn't for the CTR, I don't think we would have as many capable and caring and loving teachers as we do at Curtis.

(children chattering) - [Nkanga] Are you having a rough day?

Yeah?

I wanna make sure that you're safe so you gotta have your mask over your face.

Come on, friend.

Come on, friend.

Come on, friend.

We're just gonna go to lunch.

What's going on today?

We're just having a rough day.

- [Nkanga] Do you wanna take the elevator with us and we can go to lunch like that?

Can we try that?

- Yeah?

- [Nkanga] And then all your friends are gonna see you and they're gonna see you coming out of the elevator, which is a pretty cool thing, right?

Or not.

Or not.

- [Nkanga] Carter, come this way.

We're going this way, friend.

(lively music) - In traditional student teaching, you spend 12 to 16 weeks with a group of kids.

In the CTR, they're spending an entire 40 weeks and they spend it at an AUSL school.

All the AUSL schools are turnaround schools.

All 31 of us were turnaround schools.

So we serve a similar population.

- I always just thought about how many of our teachers, best of intentions, great hearts, come into a classroom under-prepared.

So the residency model of AUSL, of getting extraordinary teachers, having them mentor young, aspiring teachers, many of whom are career changers.

So this is not just a whim or a fancy, putting those two things together, a chance to have a year of residency, a chance to learn from the best, a chance to bring in great talent from all kinds of different walks of life, for me was just an extraordinarily powerful idea.

And to do it in the most underserved communities here in Chicago, which is always the South and West sides.

- You have a new teacher that has never taught and never had a population like Curtis, it's gonna be overwhelming for them.

And if they don't have a tenacity or a mindset for it, they won't be able to, one, be successful, but two, stick it out, right?

And so the residency presents a different crop of folks from me because they know what the reality is.

They have been doing this for at least 40 weeks in a school with a similar demographic as mine.

- One of the students in the high school when I was in the CTR program, had a child and a family to take care of.

And he reached out to my mentor and let her know that he needed food for his baby.

And she went out of her way to make sure that he had what he needed to take care of his family.

It really moved my heart to see my mentor being so selfless.

So I applied to be a mentor this year and I was lucky enough to be chosen.

It has been honestly one of the most rewarding opportunities since I've been a teacher.

(reflective music) - Good morning.

- Good morning.

- [Ms. Bennett] Good morning, good morning.

- [Woman] Are you famous Ms. Bennett?

- No, partially, partially, sometimes.

Every other day.

- Every other day.

- [Female Teacher] Yesterday was day one, how did it go?

- Good, very good.

- Yeah, you enjoyed it?

- Yes.

- Welcome to Curtis.

- So I want you to think about a student that you have, a student that you came in contact with, maybe even talk.

Think about what you think that student's cognitive processing style.

Do you guys remember from last week?

We talked about a processing style.

- [Nkanga] Would you like to be my neighbor?

- [Chelsea] I would love to be your neighbor.

Won't you be my neighbor?

- [Nkanga] I know I was gonna break into it.

I was gonna break into it, like two seconds.

- [Chelsea] Please, won't you be my neighbor.

Okay, would you like to go first?

- You want me to go first?

- Yes.

- [Nkanga] Okay, I chose the love of my life.

- Enoch?

- Do you know who it is?

Well, okay, so first of all, I am obsessed with Enoch.

Like that's a whole different level.

Like I need help with that one.

My motivation for becoming a teacher (chuckles).

The pandemic.

- This is truly an unprecedented situation.

- It's going to disappear.

- [Reporter] Its statewide stay-at-home order.

School closures.

- I am looking at a three-year-old who is now learning via a screen and I'm watching what's happening in my world.

(siren wailing) I began teaching her at home and realized how much I loved it.

(reflective music) Do I continue this path that I've spent so much time with and I've worked so hard for?

Or do I do what I'm telling my daughter to do, which is take chances and dream big and start over?

And I chose the latter.

So I'm here.

(reflective music) During the summer, we had a lot of time together as a group.

We took four classes in five weeks, which is incredibly insane, but probably one of the most challenging academically fun things I've done, if I can say that, then everything changed and we started actually teaching at our sites.

And I realized how exhausting it is to be a teacher who teaches with intention and purpose.

So we're gonna start off by practicing our morning song.

Right?

Okay.

So it goes.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning to my friends.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning to my friends.

You will get the talking stick and then you will talk.

I want everybody to raise their hand if they know why we're using the talking stick.

We have to respect each other's what?

Voices.

So when somebody is talking, should the rest of us be talking?

- No!

- No.

So the week is Monday through Thursday.

I'm here the entire day.

I'm working with different students and respected as one of the teachers in this building.

An urban environment is obviously absolutely different from a suburban environment.

I think that there's different stressors.

There's different situations that would take place.

And I think that as a teacher, walking in here, you have to acknowledge that.

You have to know that when your students are walking in, that there's more that they're dealing with than what's at the surface.

Good morning, sweet girl.

How are you?

Good, did you wanna get in front of Janirah?

You don't.

Are you okay?

Did you wanna get in the back?

What's wrong?

You tired?

Okay.

Did you not sleep?

No?

Okay.

(reflective music) It's gonna be okay, you're totally fine.

Janirah, come on.

Janirah, what is going on?

I don't wanna call mom and I don't wanna call dad 'cause you had such good behavior this morning.

(child murmuring) You didn't get a sticker?

- [Child] I want a sticker.

- Well, that's okay.

Do you know that we give stickers in the afternoon too?

So can you show good behavior in the afternoon and then we'll make sure to get you a sticker?

Yeah?

Okay.

- I just think teachers are some of the most altruistic people on the planet.

No one goes into education to make a million dollars.

I always say that talent is everywhere opportunity is not.

I think our job in education is to bring opportunity to where that talent is.

And that's the underserved, the disadvantage, the most violent parts of Chicago.

We all need each other.

We all need each other.

We all gotta look out for each other.

And at the heart of that is the the heroic effort of teachers here in Chicago and across the country.

- I... Yeah, sorry.

I love, I'm so sorry.

I love being a mom.

When I walk into this classroom, I see her like in them and I see them and her and these kids, they matter.

They deserve teachers who truly believe that they're capable of anything.

And that regardless of your environment, regardless of your history, regardless of what the world tells you you are, there's absolutely no limit to what you can do.

And as a black mom living in this world right now, I fully believe that black children matter.

And to have this opportunity and to have this program where those who are in it can see the possibility of a better world, it's everything.

It sincerely is.

I'm so thankful for those who've not only cared enough about Chicago kids to put this together, but also trusted enough that there's enough good people in the world who will say, I'll sign up.

I'll do it.

Whatever comes with it, I'm ready.

And I feel that if more people dedicated themselves to organizations like this, our world would look really different.

(reflective music) (dramatic music) - America's children just suffered another pandemic related setback in Chicago.

- Here in Chicago, a bitter standoff over Covid safety concerns between Chicago public schools and its teachers union.

- When conversations about returning in person started happening, it was scary.

I was immunocompromised.

And so that added an extra fear on top of all of it.

And honestly, my safety wasn't even really the focus.

My students' safety was my focus.

I wanted to make sure that they were gonna be safe in the classroom because if anything happened to them, it would break my heart.

- [Reporter] With only 33% of children, ages five to 17, fully vaccinated, new pediatric cases are rising across the country.

With Omicron cases, soaring and no real end in sight, schools across the country are faced with tough decisions on classroom safety for both students and staff.

Erica?

- This whole situation and the comments that teachers were receiving.

- This whole thing is nonsense.

But here's what I would say is worse than nonsense, Lawrence.

It's child abuse.

- Just was disheartening.

But it wasn't necessarily the comments themselves that hurt.

It was more so that people actually thought like this, that teachers are out here not caring about their students.

- We have sacrificed our children at the altar of fear and power and all the other ugly human sins.

And the Chicago Teachers Union, who knows what they want.

Lawrence, I don't know what they want.

Money, power?

All I know is they do not want what is best for our children.

- I don't think there's been a harder time teaching in America in decades and the impact of Covid and remote learning and teachers trying to figure out how to do that and worrying about their own health and safety and worrying about their own children and how they're learning.

These are set of pressures that no one could have anticipated, you know, three, three and a half years ago.

And so it is never been a more difficult time for all those teachers who are staying in the classroom, staying with it.

But we are seeing, you know, too many folks retiring, too many folks leaving.

I worry about the teacher shortage going forward.

And so whatever we can do to attract and retain extraordinarily talented, committed people, always critically important but never more important than it's today.

(pensive music) - I get up at 3:30 - 4:00 in order to knock out some work and then I get her up typically by six.

Her favorite breakfast.

Juju, what's your favorite breakfast?

- French toast.

- French toast.

(gentle music) I clean.

(water running) Are you almost done?

- Hmm hmm.

- Okay.

She puts things together.

Whatever she can't finish, we finish together.

- Perfection.

Can you go pick your book?

And if you're gonna bring a stuffy, go ahead and put it next to your backpack.

- And at 6:45, like we need to be walking out the door.

(reflective music) You tired?

Yeah, you're super helpful, though.

(elevator bell dings) (reflective music) You wanna press it?

Oh, good job.

I was gonna press five, for no reason out of habit.

(reflective music) Whoa.

Mornings are long.

(cellular notification beeps) And emails start early.

I think that this is all very hard for her.

There's been tears.

There's been a lot of mom guilt.

A lot of mom guilt.

And I won't...I say that all the time.

And I say that to myself.

Like, I won't let myself slip in motherhood.

I hate talking about it because there's nothing in the world that gets me that emotional but Julianne.

She's a good kid.

Like just a good kid.

And she has like good heart, you know?

She cares like a lot.

And when she sees me, it's like, man, she loves hard.

She loves hard.

And she forgives easily.

- Nkanga is a trooper.

Nkanga honestly comes in ready for class every day with this smile, ready to receive the students in a warm way and to know everything that is on her plate, anybody would be amazed.

She is a full-time grad student.

She's also handling being a mom.

And also working full-time in the school and being present every day for the students.

(reflective music) - Good morning, Marshawn.

Ooh, you're gonna say nothing for the rest of the day?

Guess who's my best friend today?

- Marshawn.

- Marshawn.

Who remembers what they want it to be?

Jacob, what do you wanna be?

Ooh, all of this energy?

I receive it though, I'll take it.

Why are we using the scary voice?

They weren't understanding the lesson that I was doing.

They just weren't grasping it.

So trying to find a way to like do it better today and capture not only more engagement, but more interest and just teach it better.

So yesterday, it was a tough day.

Idris and Christian?

Woo.

(laughing) Christian, are you listening?

- Hmm hmm.

- Christian, look at Ms. Nkanga.

So we're gonna control our bodies, okay?

Christian?

Christian?

Christian, calm down, okay?

Your brother is the teacher right now.

Okay, go ahead, Idris.

You guys are so past this.

So I need to start hearing voices.

You know this by memory, T-H. (sobs) It was hard.

My face probably showed it.

Idris, go ahead and sit down, okay.

Head up.

(upbeat music) Christian, you got this.

So you have S-H. What's the word that we use to remind us of that sound?

Nmm hmm hmm.

Christian, pay attention to what you're doing, okay.

We're gonna focus.

I don't scream because, it's not my nature generally speaking, but also because I don't think kids react well to it, just as well as adults don't react well to it.

Like nobody wants to be yelled at.

Remember, what do we do at Curtis, we make good decision.

So go ahead and put it back.

Brianna, that's my third time.

We're gonna move into consequences in just a bit, okay.

Let's not do it again.

What's the sound for R?

Brianna, you got it girl.

What's the sound for R?

Brianna, head up.

- Uh.

- We're not gonna give up on you just 'cause you don't want to do it.

I felt the physical exhaustion by the time the day was over.

Like I felt tired.

Kimora, Kimora, stay right here, Kimora.

So you got a pipe cleaner.

You can make it into a heart.

Do you want me to help you Make it into a heart?

Look at that, sweet pea.

Bye, sweet girl.

Okay, one more class.

Okay.

- I have many theories on why there's a teacher shortage.

The most prevalent theory or my opinion on why there's a teacher shortage is the lack of support for teachers.

The world stopped when all of the teachers went on strike.

The world stopped when kids could no longer go to school.

And everybody was like, what do we do?

And teachers were the people that everyone counted on.

We're responsible for so much.

But the compensation or the reciprocation of that responsibility is not equal.

It's almost like the glass is pouring into the cup, but there's nothing left in the glass.

- Many things contribute to teachers burnout.

I think loneliness, lack of support, degree of difficulty and not getting the help that they need.

I think we undervalue educators.

We underpay them.

We under compensate them.

We under train them.

We don't give them support in the career ladders they need.

- Teacher burnout is real.

We are humans.

We're not like robots.

We get tired, you know?

You hear comments and you hear people saying, well, you're not doing anything.

Or why aren't they doing more?

And you just think about it like, wow, if you only knew, you know, how much goes into planning.

How much goes into assessing.

At the end of the day, I don't do it for the applause.

I don't do it for people to say, you're the best.

I do it because I believe these kids deserve the best.

They deserve someone who cares.

They deserve a quality education, no matter what.

- All the joy, all the reward, all the fulfillment and meaning and teaching comes from seeing others flourish because of the gifts and the skills and the love that you give them.

I think it says a tremendous amount about the character and about the heart of everybody who goes into education.

(bright classical music) - So I actually interviewed and hired Chelsea.

One of the first things I noticed about her is her calm demeanor, right?

She's very calm in all situations.

- What happened to your mask?

- What happened to my mask?

- Yeah, what happened to it?

- I got popcorn stuck in my nose?

- You got popcorn in your nose?

- Yes.

- Oh.

Pinch your nose.

Pull it down, pinch your nose, pinch your nose.

- And two, she just talked with such passion about what she wanted to give back to children, right?

And she had such good ideas and I asked her cause she was living downtown at the time, like, you don't drive.

How you gonna get to a 115th street?

And she was like, I'll make it happen.

- Being a person that has had learning differences herself, being a student of color and feeling like your voice isn't necessarily heard or you yourself are invisible, has given her a voice and given her a perspective that allows her to advocate for others harder.

- I spend a lot of time on my bulletin boards just because it brings positivity into the school building.

And it's just, the truth is it's a little bit harder for my kiddos.

And so even when we're working in the classroom, a lot of times they get discouraged.

A lot of times they get down on themselves about not being able to do things.

- Hey, can we talk for a second?

Janirah, Janirah, you did an amazing job with your vowels.

Did you see that?

And did you see how well you wrote your letters?

So when we come back from math, are you gonna participate?

Are you gonna participate?

Oh baby girl, are you gonna participate for math?

Do you think that you're able to do this stuff?

Do you know what?

Ms. Bennett and I, we think that you can do it.

We really do.

That's why we push you so hard because we know how smart you are.

You are smart.

You are smart, okay?

You are!

Don't shake your head, no, you are smart.

Do you understand?

- But when they are able to see themselves and see that they're successful in doing it, then it's like, huh, I can do this because they can.

(gentle piano music) So it's okay if you don't know, I want you to try it.

That sign says, "Mistakes are proof that you're trying."

So even if you make a mistake, I just want you to try it, okay?

What letter?

- H. - H, Hat.

So what letter is this?

(child murmurs) What letter is that?

That letter is H. And you just told me you didn't know.

So you do know that letter?

So that's Janirah's - [Nkanga] Janirah, this is really good.

- [Chelsea] And then this is Kimora's and this is King's.

- [Nkanga] This is awesome... - Well there's so much that's talked about in education that's all important.

Curriculum is important.

Class size is important.

Length of school day, school year is important.

All those things are important.

I don't wanna understate any of that.

But at the end of the day, what our kids desperately need are people who believe in them, adults who see something in them that they may not see in themselves.

And we all have those teachers in our lives who changed our lives.

- [Nkanga] Janirah, are you ready to make a good decision?

- Hmm.

- [Nkanga] Janirah, do you wanna make a good decision right now?

- It's loving you enough to challenge you.

It's loving you enough to really make you work hard and think and stretch yourself and move outside of your comfort zone.

- [Nkanga] Can you tell me this letter?

Janirah, I want you to try just one more.

Do you know this letter?

- [Janirah] O, octopus, ah.

- [Nkanga] Okay, can you stretch that for me?

So it's gonna be, O, octopus, ah.

- [Janirah] Oh, octopus, ah.

- [Nkanga] Janirah, I love it.

Thank you for making such a good decision and participating.

- Meeting children where they are and loving them, those are the most important qualities I think any teacher can have.

- The level of patience that's required to be a teacher is completely underrated.

It's a social emotional thing that I feel like can be taught but has to be practiced.

So practicing patience every day is something that all teachers should do.

(riveting classical music) - [Nkanga] Second graders, thank you for, oh, actually thank you for nothing.

Like what's going on?

Idris, I'm gonna let you correct that.

If you can erase that and write your name, please.

Thank you, Idris.

(child murmuring) - Oh, shit.

- Oh, Enoch.

Enoch, can we go ahead and get up?

- [Chelsea] So when we fall we can say, oh no.

Or we can say, oops, but we can't say anything else 'cause that was a bad word that came outta your mouth.

Okay?

Are you ready to go back and be an excellent scholar in class?

Elbow bump?

- Kids are gonna try you.

They're kids.

They are curious.

And you just have to really be patient because if you put yourselves in their shoes, that was us, right, when we were kids.

That was me when I was a kid.

- There's something wrong with your mouth?

Your mouth hurts?

Your tooth fell out?

(child burps) - Oh.

Pinch and blow.

Ooh, that was a lot.

Pinch and blow.

Now wipe it away.

Throw it away.

Do you need some more?

No, you sure?

Sounded like there's some more left over in there.

Okay, here, pinch and blow.

(child murmurs) - [Chelsea] You're not eating the white piece, friend.

You're eating the orange piece.

- Oh, okay.

- There you go.

(child grunts) - It tastes bad!

Idris, I should not laugh.

Go ahead and fix that.

You want candy?

Well, we're not doing candy right now.

- [Chelsea] Do you need to go to the bathroom, friend?

- No.

- Are you sure?

- No.

- Can we go try?

Okay, let's go to the bathroom.

(laughing) Go to the bathroom, friend, okay?

Oh, Lord.

(laughing) - Folks see it as babysitting.

They don't see the complicated work that goes into teaching another person to think.

That's an incredible science.

And they think these are just children, but they're children, they're little people.

They have traumas, they have issues.

So not only do I have to be your teacher, I gotta be your social worker, your mom, your friend, your disciplinarian.

And I gotta give you some instruction while we're here too, right?

So you come into a classroom and you're ready to teach a lesson, but then you have a student who's having a bad day or you have a student who has some trauma from last night.

So you might not be able to get to that lesson right then and there, but you gotta account for the kids that are ready to learn.

And you also gotta account for the kid that needs some restoration.

(pensive music) - My secret weapon to keeping my patience is just the admiration and the love and the care that I have for these kiddos.

I come in and I understand every day that they're dealing with something that I don't even know.

(children chattering) Long time, no see.

Did you wanna hold my hand?

- No.

- [Chelsea] No.

Okay.

Can you get in line behind Kimora?

(reflective music) We missed you so much, friend.

Go ahead, pass up.

Are you excited to be back in school?

No?

We're gonna have fun today though, promise.

I can see what's going on in the classroom.

I can see what's going on inside the school building.

But you know, there are days that they're just coming in fighting battles that I have no idea about.

King, how are you feeling?

You don't wanna talk today?

(reflective music) Hmm.

Well we're super glad you're here today.

It's been a while since we've seen you.

- I think it's so important to be present because I think of the days I come in and I can literally look on one of my students' faces and tell they had a rough morning.

I don't care.

You can have the best lesson and they just can't connect 'cause they can't get past what just happened in the car.

And so for me, I'm constantly looking, I'm constantly trying to be like, okay, I see you, you know?

I am present.

I see you, you know, and I got you.

I'm gonna help you.

(reflective music) (bell rings) - [Nkanga] Okay, so we have three different H words.

Tell me which one is HAT.

You're gonna tap it out to get it?

- Okay.

Ah.

- [Nkanga] Good job.

- Oh, my God, Mama Mia.

- [Nkanga] Thank you for writing your name, Nikulas.

So we're gonna tap it out.

I'm gonna tap it out for you and you're gonna tell me which picture it is.

Are you ready?

What is this a picture of?

- A map.

- It's a map.

Look at these three words and tell me which one has an A. Hmm hmm.

- Ah.

(reflective music) - [Nkanga] Uh, well let's, oh, I see how you're doing it.

That's very creative.

Good job with that, King.

Okay, so Nikulas.

(reflective music) - It's extremely important to be present in the midst of lack of resources and in the midst of lack of equitable opportunities for them.

Because the presence of me just understanding and having a conversation about what is going on in their outside life, out of the school creates a stronger relationship between me and the students.

And that in turn helps them learn better.

When they know that I care about them and they know that I'm present and I'm not just using the curriculum to push through the school day, they know that I'm present and adhering to their needs and making sure that they understand and grasp the concept, makes the world a difference in them having that relationship and being able to retain the information that is given to them.

The presence and the care is what helps them really progress.

- I think a good teacher always feels connected to their students no matter if they're in the classroom or if they're at home, they're always constantly thinking about, how can I make it better?

How can I help them?

Especially the ones that need the most support.

You know, like, mm, how can I meet them where they are?

- Lesson planning, for me, it takes a lot.

(laughs) It takes a lot of time for me to get my lesson plans done to the extent that I feel I am capturing everything that I need to put into the lesson in order to reach my students.

So as the earth is going around the sun and the sun is not moving, right?

So here I am, I'm the Earth.

And I'm orbiting around the sun.

But is this how I'm traveling around the sun?

- Yes.

- No!

I'm also spinning around myself as I travel around the sun.

And this is what makes Ms. Bennett super dizzy while we're doing it.

But that's how the earth travels around the sun, capish?

Capish?

- Capish!

- All right, go ahead, have a seat.

Thank you for being my sun.

My kids have unique needs.

So lesson planning, I need to capture every piece that each and every one of my students needs in order to have a successful lesson.

- H, hat, huh - H, hat, huh - I, ish, ih.

- I, ish, ih.

- J, jug, ju.

- J, jug, ju.

- [Nkanga] So let's tap it out.

Bu-ugh.

(child murmurs) Hmm, bu-ugh, bug.

What word is this?

- Like bug.

- Bug.

Tap it out with me, ready?

What sound?

- B?

- Buh.

- Bug.

U.

- Hmm, what sound?

(children chattering) - Ugh.

- Uh.

- [Child] Uh.

- Guh.

- Guh.

Bu-ugh, bug.

- She has to handle lives.

She has to handle little minds, little perceptions, little feelings.

And she's got a few of them to deal with that are awfully different in a lot of different ways.

And she has to come equipped every day to deal with that.

Their jobs start before school starts and it doesn't end when school ends.

I don't think people realize how much they take home, not just in their backpacks, but in their hearts.

(riveting classical music) - I would say the past three months have actually been really hard (laughs), to tell you the truth.

Julianne, she had like a lot of recurrent fevers and then so it involved a lot of- Sorry.

(laughing) It involved a lot of ER visits this quarter.

A lot of pediatrician visits.

A lot of mommy, I need you.

A lot of breakdowns.

A lot of crying in the car, in parking lots.

And then on top of that, I had to teach.

(bus engine whirring) Good morning.

Good morning, sweet girl.

How are you, baby girl?

Hmm, I love my hugs.

Good morning.

- I threw my shoes off!

- You threw your shoes off, Nikulas?

Did you put them back on though?

- No.

- Yes, he fell.

- You fell?

Hi, baby girl.

Hmm, you know don't it?

- She.

- It is she.

And what is this one?

- Please be a three.

- Okay, please be a three.

Please be a three.

What?

Thank you for working so hard today, Melody.

Okay, sweet girl.

And then so I felt like, after 12 months everything just started breaking down.

Like I had hit that wall that I keep talking about where like if I didn't stop, I was going to fall apart.

- You know, this year has not at all been easy.

This year has not at all been one that you know anybody would just volunteer for.

And she came in just with an open mind, an open heart, and like a smile on her face from day one.

- Despite the fatigue, there's not been a day that I haven't been motivated.

My babies deserve everything that everybody else's babies deserves, right?

So they deserve a teacher who is highly educated.

They deserve a teacher who cares.

They deserve a teacher who will not quit on them.

So just seeing them and understanding this city and understanding this world, it's easy to stay motivated.

They just deserve it.

Oh, I'm getting a big whiff of Doritos right now.

[Chelsea] At least that's all you're smelling I've gotten whiffs of other stuff, but right now it's just Doritos.

- [Chelsea] Enoch, you don't have stinky feet?

- Okay, let me see these bubbles and we're ready.

Let's see it.

Oh!

(laughing) - You've been practicing, yay.

- Stop it.

You made a bubble.

- Oh, look, go ahead, Enoch.

- What?

- [Chelsea] Wow.

- He's like, now he has to breathe.

He has to breathe.

- That was fantastic.

- When she came in, she was my resident.

She's leaving my family like hands down.

Nkanga is someone that I will never forget, but if I had to say anything to her, it would just be that I'm really proud of you and I thank you for being everything that you are this year.

Thank you for coming in and taking your time with my babies.

Thank you for coming in and molding them and sculpting them and learning with them and experiencing the joy that they've brought and bringing your own joy to them as well.

(reflective music) (indistinct chattering) - Oh y'all missed our thank you, 'cause you got here so late.

- Well see, 'cause you told me 12:30 and I was trying to be- - Girl, I thought it was 12:30 too.

- Have you got your placement yet?

- Looks like it.

- Where?

- O'Keefe sent me a letter - Oh, cool.

Are you excited?

- [Man] I don't get excited.

- I am more excited for him.

You're not excited?

- O'Keefe.

- It's still old work next year.

(ladies laughing) That's what it is.

More old work.

(ladies laughing) - All of these are Enoch, to be honest though.

- [Chelsea] Oh, yeah.

- And that's really inappropriate that all of these are Enoch.

- Uh huh.

- But remember that one time he was trying to sing me a song?

- Oh, yeah.

He tried so hard.

I was like, Enoch, I can't have a curse word.

And he sat there and he's like.

- A-B-C-D--E and I was like stop.

- [Nkanga] No, it's not a sweet song.

- No, it does, it has a lot of curse words in them.

- [Woman] The alphabet?

- No, the song is A, B, C, D, E, FU and your mom and your- - So as he's singing, I'm getting really excited and Chelsea's like, stop!

And I'm like, why are you stopping him?

He's singing the ABCs.

And she's like, no, no, no!

- No, no.

(people indistinctly chattering) - He's gonna cut a rug!

- I'm ready.

(man laughing) I'm ready.

- No, I'm gonna be very calm.

Be very- - Enjoy it!

- Yes, I am.

- [Chelsea] I need you to crip walk across the graduation stage.

(people laughing) (reflective music) - For graduation, Julianne got sick the day before.

And... (reflective music) I lost it.

And then I see a text message from Chelsea and she writes me this whole thing about just what an incredible teacher I'm going to be and how excited she is that she was part of that journey and how she can't wait to see me just go.

And I'm just like, you're such a beautiful person, you know?

And people never know how people need them.

- Everyone is expecting the mentor to be the mentor and be the one that's coaching and leading and modeling.

But Nkanga came in and definitely was one of those people that I needed this year.

Didn't even know that I needed her this year in the way that I did, so thank you.

- The best investment we can make in our children, in our families, in our country, in our democracy, is by attracting and retaining the best possible teachers and making sure that teacher talent goes to the communities that desperately need and deserve those opportunities.

- Oh, it starts at education.

Like that's the bottom, like that's the, let's talk about preschool for all.

Do you know what I mean?

Like, let's talk about adequate education.

Let's talk about resources.

Let's talk about who gets what and who doesn't.

When you don't have, you will do anything to have.

Give me everything and then make the argument that I'm incapable of doing what I can with what I've been given.

Give me everything.

- I think we all have to fight for equity.

And for me, equity doesn't mean equal.

Some children need six hours of school a day, some need eight, some need 12.

So for me, equity does not mean giving everybody the same thing.

Equity means meeting every child, every family where they are, and figuring out on an individual basis, what do they need.

- It's equitable in our school when we have small groups and when we differentiate the work for them to be able to access the skills that they need.

And equity is super important in neighborhoods and disadvantaged neighborhoods like ours because we don't have as many resources or personnel to help with that differentiation.

- We see children who are not seen.

That doesn't overshadow our hope that they can still be successful.

You know, they can still reach the same goals.

They can still have the same opportunities if only somebody cared.

(riveting classical music) (uplifting music) - I think it's a mix of emotions to be honest.

I think I'm trying to keep myself at bay, but I'm excited.

I genuinely am, regardless of the beginning of the school year stress and everything that comes with it.

But on top of all of those feelings, it's excitement.

I'm really excited.

(bright classical music) We want our kids to aspire to whatever their greatness is, right?

And if we really care about not only our given generation, but the generations to come, then we need more people in this profession who are super passionate about it and who also see the possibility of the doctor and the lawyer and the writer and whatever else they dream of.

(bright classical music) Bring your whole heart.

Whatever defines you and whatever brought you comfort and whatever made you feel whole and protected and at peace and seen and heard and cared for, bring it in here.

(bright classical music) - I feel like as a principal, I can teach lesson planning, I can teach pedagogy.

I can teach you about the standards but I cannot teach you to love these kids in spite of, right?

I can't teach you to love these kids when they have a tough day and they call you out your name.

I can't teach you to have the tenacity to keep coming back and back.

(bright classical music) They're there to love them, to nurture them, to make sure that they're safe, that they feel connected.

And so that's a requirement.

That's a non-negotiable here.

(bright classical music) - I have these two bears.

My friend, Enoch.

- Enoch.. - Are these two bears the same?

- Hmm, that's a small one, that's a big one.

- That's a small one and that's a big one.

So if this one's small and this one is big, are they exactly the same or are they similar?

(bright classical music) And then if this one's taller, then this one is what?

- [Enoch] Smaller.

- [Nkanga] If he's not so tall, what do we say?

- [Enoch] Not so tall.

- Ooh, there's a word and it's called shorter.

(bright classical music) - Education is the only way I know how to break cycles of poverty.

And giving children a chance to have dreams and opportunities that the parents didn't have, that can only happen by providing them with a better education than their parent had.

(bright classical music) We need that for our democracy to thrive.

Not to put too much pressure on schools and education and teachers or principals, but the only way I know how to do those things are in schools and in our children's classrooms.

(riveting classical music) (riveting classical music continues) (riveting classical music continues) (riveting classical music continues) (riveting classical music decrescendos)