Giving Compass' Take:

• Chalkbeat's feature called "How I Teach" discusses educators who are widely recognized for their approach in the classroom.  In this post, Chalkbeat highlights Marla Williams, a special education teacher in Detroit that goes above and beyond for her students.  

• Can educator mentorships help maintain teacher success? How can schools and donors help sustain that type of programming? 

• Read about how districts struggle to find and keep good teachers. 

Here, in a feature we call How I Teach, we ask educators who’ve been recognized for their work how they approach their jobs.

Marla Williams has attended birthday parties. She’s visited students in the hospital when they were sick. She’s shown up at family reunions. She’s gone to baptisms. She’s taken student laundry home to be washed.

These aren’t part of her job responsibilities, but for this woman who’s been teaching students with special education needs for 19 years, it is central to her ability to connect with students and their families.

“My job does not always consist of a 7:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. school day,” said Williams, who got her start in education as a teacher’s aide and now works at Davison Elementary-Middle School. “I spend time with my students outside of my classroom.”

Williams spoke to Chalkbeat recently about that moment, about her teaching career and about the students she loves so much.

How do you get to know your students?
At the same time I’m getting to know my students, I’m also getting to know their parents, their extended family. I introduce myself, I let them know I’m a mother and a teacher. I invite them to come to my class anytime. I tell them to just show up. I invite them to volunteer in the classroom.

What was your biggest misconception that you initially brought to teaching?
School was a struggle for me. And I wondered if I would truly be able to educate these children and give them what they need to be successful. I am grateful that I have been able to do just that. Since teaching, I’ve come to the realization that if you can meet children where they are, you can bring them to where you expect them to be.

Read the full article about a Detroit teacher that is changing lives by Lori Higgins at Chalkbeat.