At New Horizon Academy, many of our leaders begin their journey in the classroom, gaining firsthand experience with our children that shapes the way they support educators and families. From teaching toddlers and pre-K students to mentoring teachers and now serving as a district curriculum coordinator, Marria has strengthened her commitment to early childhood education through each role she’s served.
Career Journey with New Horizon Academy
Marria started her career with New Horizon Academy as an older toddler teacher at Downtown St. Paul. After eight months with toddlers, she moved into her role as pre-K teacher. Soon after, upon Marria’s one year anniversary with NHA, she was accepted into the role of behavior guidance mentor, now titled SEL Mentor. She served in her mentor role for about two and a half years, before moving into her current position as a district curriculum coordinator, where she continues to support educators and children throughout her district. Marria took the time to join us to share some of the insights she’s learned after her tenure as a teacher and leader at New Horizon Academy.
Classroom Experience Shaping Leadership Roles
My four years of classroom experience at NHA, plus all my previous years of classroom experience throughout my career, have helped me understand the greater value of connections with staff and children in our school families. This also gives me an inside scoop on how to help staff manage and organize the multiple things that need to be done in the classroom. Coming from the classroom to a leadership role, I can relate with the teachers on a different level because I’m able to understand some of their background and what challenges they may be dealing with.
Supporting Educators across New Horizon Academy
To me, supporting teachers across NHA means showing up for them, being a listening ear. I’m able to share tips and resources of what was helpful to me in the classroom. Also, being able to learn the ins and outs of being a teacher at NHA and the standard we hold all our classrooms and centers to, has created a space where all DCCs and other education staff can effectively support their schools and have a guideline on where exactly the support needs to be implemented.
Connecting Children with Storytelling
What I love most about helping children connect with stories is making sure they understand they have a voice just like the children and people we read about and helping children understand that reading and storytelling is one of the best ways to learn and grow. I love engaging children before we even read the book, exploring the title and the pages, seeing where their minds take them to what they think the book will be about. I also love to ask if they have a story the same or similar that can relate to what we’re reading or learning about in the classroom.
The Team Behind the Classrooms
One important thing I feel families don’t realize about the education team is that we all work together to take care of one another. Even though we all have specific districts and different managers, we all support each other. Someone may have better connections at one school than someone else, and the willingness to support people across different districts, different states, and throughout the company is truly unmatched. I want families to know that it truly takes a village, and at NHA we know that we’re all in this together.
Marria’s passion for building meaningful relationships, fostering a love of learning, and empowering teachers continues to make a difference for educators and families throughout New Horizon Academy.
You can watch Marria’s read aloud of ‘Girls of The World: Doing More Than Ever Before’ on New Horizon Academy’s YouTube channel.