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Nadiya Ledan, Student Support Teacher
Q: How many years have you been at BCCS? What different roles have you played for the school since you joined the team?
A: This is my second year as a Student Support teacher in the Middle School. I interned here during the 2010-2011 school year when I was a senior at Emmanuel. In addition to teaching, I run Yearbook Club and Dance Club.
Q: How and why did you first enter the education world? Did you always know that you would be in education?
A: My passion is to help urban teenagers succeed in life, to get them on the path to have a good future and to prosper. I want to be a part of that positive experience for them and give them the resources they need that they might not have access to elsewhere. While I was in college, I tutored and really enjoyed the relationships I was building with the students I worked with, but I didn't know I'd want to be a teacher. But when I met a BCCS staff member at an internship fair at Emmanuel, she told me about BCCS, and it sounded like a wonderful place. I decided to intern here, and I fell in love with the school. Then I decided to be a teacher here!
Q: Why did you join BCCS?
A: I love the culture here. It's so positive. We really balance warm with strict. Students are really learning, and they're so engaged. And the teachers are so passionate about what they do. I hadn't experienced that in my own education or in the other schools in which I've tutored before. It was new and unique to me, and it was something I wanted to be a part of.
Q: You have seen the school change during your time here. What have been the most important changes?
A: We've pushed for more co-teaching for our students. We have two teachers in almost every classroom, so students have more support and resources available to them throughout the day. Students have even more interactions with different teachers, and they've been learning to advocate more for themselves. And because of the extra support, the learning experience for students is more individualized.
Q: What has not changed?
A: The culture of the school isn't changing. The expectations we have for our students are still so high, and our teachers are so warm.
Q: What are the most important lessons you try to teach your students?
A: I try to teach my students to advocate for themselves, to use their resources, and to maintain organization. Most importantly, they need to stay positive and know that all of their teachers are here for them. I want them to learn to really know themselves and how they learn best.
Q: What has kept you at BCCS?
A: The students and my coworkers — I love them all! The team here is really, really supportive. We collaborate well together and do a great job supporting one another. I love building relationships with students. Even students I don't see in the classroom every day come to me for advice and support, and I'm really grateful for that.
Q: What makes your work meaningful?
A: Seeing students grow, and seeing things click in their brains. Seeing them produce better work than they have before. It's really inspiring.
Q: 20 years from now, how do you think you'll describe your experience teaching at BCCS?
A: It's been such a learning experience — I've learned a lot about myself, about best instructional practices, about what I want to do with my life. I want to take what I've learned here and use it in anything I do in the future.
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