Jessie Shelley '04Lake Washington School District
I have a degree in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences with a focus in Culture, Literature, and Art, and a minor in education. I graduated in 2004 with my BA. I stayed at UWB for an extra year to earn my teaching certificate. I have a residency certificate and received my elementary education endorsement in 2005.
After graduating with my teaching certificate I accepted a position at the Lake Washington School District to teach first grade. This is my third year teaching first grade. In the spring of 2007 I began my M. Ed. at UWB. I am almost done with my coursework and will begin work on my culminating project in the fall of 2008. I will be working towards my National Board Certificate and will graduate with my M. Ed. in spring of 2009. Needless to say, I am excited!
I feel that I took several steps, besides working on my degrees, which helped to prepare me to be a teacher. Firstly, I worked for the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) as an Instructional Assistant during my freshman and sophomore years in college. This helped me to realize that I wanted to be a teacher. It also allowed me to form relationships with the school district that I wanted to teach in. As part of my T-Cert process I had a year long internship in the LWSD. I took this opportunity to further deepen relationships with staff, faculty, and the principal. After earning my teaching certificate I applied to a total of five school districts! I really wanted to get a job in Lake Washington, but, the bottom line was that I needed a job and I had to broaden my prospects. Lake Washington school district was the first to interview me and I wanted a job with this district so I took it! The first teaching position that I was offered in the LWSD was as a preschool teacher. This position does not need a teaching certificate but I took it anyway to "get my foot in the door." A few days later I was contacted for a first grade teaching position in the LWSD and I accepted the position. Four other districts also contacted me for interviews (after I accepted the LWSD). I feel that since I was willing to do anything, this helped me to get the teaching position in the school district that I had targeted early on.
