Question 1) This year you were nominated and awarded the 2017 NEA Excellence in Teaching for Washington State at the NEA Gala in February. How has this award impacted your career?

Probably the biggest impact the award has had on my career is providing me with several opportunities to share what I do, my knowledge, my ideas, and my experiences with other educators. I was afforded the chance to speak at the recent Washington Education Association Representative Assembly in Spokane this past weekend, April 13-15. I got to share some of my students' stories, as well as, relate the impacts of the policies, budgets, and initiatives of both our state and national legislatures on our refugee and immigrant students. It was an empowering experience. I have also been asked to present about the Newcomer Center at the TURN Conference in Federal Way at the end of the month. Additionally, I've been approached about possibly visiting Guatemala to speak with educators there, and also to visit several school districts around our state to talk about English language learners and our schools. It's very exciting and I hope to continue this kind of work.

As part of the award, I was named a NEA Foundation Global Fellow. This has probably had the biggest impact on my classroom, as I have really examined how I globalize my instruction. Since I teach in the Newcomer Center, which is already an extremely diverse environment, I was challenged by the prospect of further globalizing my instruction. Since we already learn a great deal about the cultures represented within our classroom, I decided we needed to work at extending that learning outside of our classroom. There is one main thing we have worked on this semester, which is a class blog project. We have only just started, but our blog is up and running at thenewcomercenter.edublogs.org - our first post is about flags from the students' countries. We are attempting to make a shareable cultural connection for every unit of our English studies and hopefully start a conversation through which community members can engage in meaningful interaction with these amazing students.

Question 2) You have started the "great schools and great teachers" letter writing campaign with legislators. Can you tell us how the campaign started, and how educators can get involved?

I have been very frustrated by much of the rhetoric surrounding education. One thing I consistently hear is that our public schools are failing and filled with "bad" teachers. I have worked in several states and in several countries and can say, without a doubt, that our schools are not failing. In fact, educators across the country are making a difference every day.

Because of my frustration, I thought hard about actions I could take to try and change the conversation. I've participated in many endeavors, including visiting Capital Hill and meeting with legislatures both in Olympia and here in Spokane. I have also sent post cards and participated in email campaigns, but I was never satisfied. While these activities are wonderful, they weren't quite enough for me - I wanted to send a more personal message.

The seed of the idea came to me two years ago, but I couldn't quite wrap my mind around it. It was at NBCT Hill Day this year, when I was writing a note to my legislators about National Boards, before heading off to the hill, that it all came together. The main problem with current messaging is that we need to help our schools, that without funding we won't be successful, which maintains the idea that schools are struggling. We, of course, always need adequate funding, but educators are doing great things and our legislators need to know that. I believe that if we can steer the conversation toward how great our schools are and how they could be even greater with the support of our government and communities, we will begin to control the conversation and get what we need to continue to be the awesome educators that we already are!

So, once a month, I provide my legislators (from the district in which I live, the district in which I teach, and also my state legislators) with an update of the great things happening in our schools. I write a letter highlighting some of the happenings I see, hear about, experience and send it along. I write around 500 words, to keep it brief, but the stories I tell pack a punch. Only having just started, I am surprised, but please to say that I have already received a personal response from a legislator who does not have the best track record in supporting our schools. This is very exciting!

Next month, for my May update, I am not only writing my personal emails, but will also add a phone call. The call will be short, to remind them to check their email to get the latest update on our great schools, students, and educators. I would love for other educators to get involved. It's simple. Keep your eyes and ears open. Collect a few good stories about an educator, a school, a classroom, a student, jot it down in an email and send it along to all of your senators and representatives for both the district in which you live and in which you work. If you feel so inclined, add a phone call. Make sure to include your contact information and an invite for them to visit your classroom. They need to see what's really happening in our schools, because it's truly astounding. We are amazing!

See Mandy's Sample Letter

Question 3) You have had an amazing, yet busy year in and outside of the classroom. How did you get started in influencing education policy outside of your classroom? What are some tips or tricks you would give to someone looking to get involved?

I got started in influencing education policy outside of my classroom first through my local uniserv, Spokane Education Association. I became a building rep my second year in Spokane, and shortly thereafter became the newsletter editor. Since that time, I have participated in four WEA Rep Assemblies, and two National Education Association Rep Assemblies. These experiences had a huge impact on my perception of my job. I realized I have a responsibility to step outside of my classroom to advocate for my students, my colleagues, and myself. Being an educator isn't something that only happens inside a school. It happens every where.

The second thing I did was work toward and achieve my National Board Certification in English as a New Language. This opened so many doors. The first one I walked through was accepting an invitation to the Teacher Leadership Retreat at Sleeping Lady in Leavenworth put on by CSTP. This retreat was transformative. I learned about advocacy and teacher leadership and how to craft and communicate my message. I followed this up with camp CSTP in the summer of 2015 and learned the power of writing stories about education. Since then, I have sought every opportunity to be a teacher leader and to influence education policy.

There really aren't any tips or tricks to getting involved. All you have to do is say "yes!" It can be intimidating to invite district and legislative leaders into your classroom, but do it. Be fearless. Take a chance. We are the experts. We just have to believe in ourselves and realize that we must make our voice heard. After all, we're educators, we can teach anyone - so, let's teach our legislators about our great schools and what it takes to make them even greater!