Alison McClain

Background

About Alison McClain

It was while completing my degree in education at Oklahoma State University that I saw what else the world of education had to offer. Upon graduating, I joined the Department of Defense Schools as an 8th grade Language Arts teacher in the small village of Feltwell, England. As I taught my students, they also taught me about diversity, adventure and global awareness. We weaved those themes into both our reflection and discussion of the literature we read and the historical events that impacted the voices behind the stories. Immediately, my passion for global awareness and education sparked. Upon graduation, I accepted a corps membership with Teach For America Charlotte and spent the next few years as a middle school Language Arts teacher in multiple schools around the world. In my role as Language Arts department chair, grade-level lead and school wide culture committee chair, I gained experience in training and supporting teachers in instructional practice and data management and building, implementing and investing adults in a new positive incentive-based behavior management plan, a standards-based grading system, and new master schedule plan. I believe it has been my relationships inside the classroom with students and collaboration outside the classroom with colleagues, families, and community partners that should be credited with the growth my students have achieved. In the last few years, my success inside the classroom has led to the opportunity to train and build my capacity as a leader outside of the classroom. I’ve been able to observe, participate, and eventually take on every aspect of leading a school. Through these years, I’ve seen my organization thrive through new initiatives, learn lessons from growth areas in communication and accountability, and cope with and excel in situations like a shortage of space and loss of teaching staff. These years have been those of both learning and action, and its contributions to my development as a leader and educator have been unmeasurable.