If you’re here from social media, then you already know the news. I have officially resigned from my current teaching position for a new job outside of the district I was in.

I have worked as a teacher within Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) for the last five years. It was my first job out of college, right in the midst of COVID. My first year started late and was almost entirely virtual. We went some hybrid towards the end of the year. My second year was hybrid, with many students in person but some still virtual. We were not allowed to do group work, and I had to keep my classroom in rows. My third year really felt like my first because we were finally back to being in person. However, I joined the Social Studies textbook committee to help choose a curriculum. I wanted to make sure that a middle school voice was heard because middle school social studies has a lot of cool aspects (like religions, African history, civics, and all of the Western Hemisphere). I wanted to make sure we chose a curriculum that emphasized the voices of the people who lived there. I ran a History Club my fourth year as I started learning more and understanding things a little better. And finally, my fifth year. I switched grades to be able to stay in the same classroom as we expanded and brought in sixth graders for the first time.

The title of this post is “End of a Chapter,” and I really believe that. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this on my blog, but I was one of the last of my classmates in college to receive my student teaching placement. They originally had me somewhere an hour away from where I was going to live. It was not until October or November of 2019 that I received my new placement. I did my student teaching in IPS from January 2020 until the world shut down in March. I started interviewing within IPS since I was already familiar with the district. I was offered the job before I had even graduated college.

It is a little difficult for me to believe that I have been in the same job for five years, which means I have been out of college for five years. In some cases, I feel that time has really flown by, and in others, I am amazed to think that five years have already passed. I have learned a lot and grown a lot. I am hopeful I can take the skills I have learned and use them as I move on to a new position.

I’m excited to continue to teach. I’ll admit there were a few times that I wasn’t sure I would stay in the profession. Teaching is HARD, and teaching in the wake of a pandemic that cut into children’s socialization and development has turned education into a minefield. There were a number of times, especially in my third year, that I wasn’t sure I was in the right line of work. I felt so defeated and that it was too big of a mountain to climb. I had to sit down and really root out the problems with myself to make sure this was what I actually wanted to do. But I am so glad that I persevered. In all honesty, I love teaching. I love working with people to help them make connections and understand. Sorting that out really helped me this year, which was another difficult year. I knew that I still loved teaching, so it made the bad days suck just a little bit less.

I am excited for what my next job holds. It will be interesting to become a part of a new community of teachers, but I am eager to learn!

I am truly thankful for my time in IPS. Many people will say that if you can teach in that district, then you can teach anywhere. I don’t know if that’s true necessarily, but I do know that I’m not the same teacher or person I was five years ago. I am leaving on good terms. While I will miss the community I have developed within my school, I know that I have put in my best effort. I walk away with no regrets. This is the peaceful end to a chapter of my life that was five years in the making. I’m ready to start writing the next chapter!