Shelena Chavis

Background

About Shelena Chavis

I have been fortunate to be involved in education for 7 years. I began my career teaching high school English including several elective courses that prepared me to be well-versed in the profession. My experiences were at schools with high needs which warranted a sincere appreciation and deeper passion to be an educator. It was during these moments that I spent considerable time reflecting on my practice and what variables were needed in order for me to be a successful change agent. The answer was clear; develop strong relationships that are built on trust. This single, yet most important factor, was what attributed to my success in the classroom. I began to investigate who they were, what they liked to do, their favorite sports teams (as if I knew anything about sports), attended their games, visited their jobs, and even attended family functions! It was evident that building relationships was the secret ingredient. As a result of this impact, I have accomplished being a level 5 teacher with High Value Added Data and in 2011 was nominated as Teacher of the Year. However, the greatest success is listening to my student's college stories and being excited for their future. I am currently working as a Mission Possible Recruiter to identify and recruit highly effective teachers to serve in our highly impacted schools. It is my personal mission to fill classrooms with teachers who understand the significance of their roles and how they too can become change agents that will effect eternity.