Meet Selena: Making an Impact and Leveling Up
Nov 21, 2023
Selena was inspired to be an educator in middle school. Today, she is making an impact on the lives of children and families at one of our Washington preschools. She originally joined Bezos Academy as an assistant teacher after working with a state-funded early childhood program that serves low-income families. This year, Selena’s dedication and teaching abilities garnered her a promotion to lead teacher. Learn more about Selena’s opportunity to grow her career, what she loves about her job, and how she goes above and beyond for her students every day.
What inspired you to pursue education?
I was thankful to have a Language Arts teacher in middle school who showed me what a genuine, devoted, and inspiring teacher looks like. I knew he was someone I wanted to be in the future. Throughout high school and college, I volunteered at my middle school and helped the younger ones with their learning. That’s when I realized working with children and young adults was something I wanted to do.
Briefly describe what you do in a day. What is your favorite part of the day?
Every day, I come to work ready to work with children. My favorite part of the day is the morning work cycle and outside time. The morning work cycle gives me the opportunity to learn more about my children and see their capabilities!
What do you love about your job?
One thing I appreciate about my job is my team! I’m honestly so thankful for having such an amazing team to work with. Our dynamic is unbreakable. Every day, we come ready to work with our amazing children. Being a teacher is really rewarding, and seeing the children’s progress shows that I am making a big impact on their learning.
As a teacher, I can see the growth and progression in the children academically, socially, and emotionally, as well as the community and partnership I form with the families and parents.
What recent career achievements are you most proud of?
I started off as an assistant teacher at Bezos Academy. I am now going on my second year of teaching as a lead teacher. I recently finished my Montessori credentials in August 2023 and will get my certificate soon! When I started transitioning from assistant to lead teacher, I was very nervous about taking on the leadership role. However, the opportunity to learn and take on more responsibility encouraged me to take on the new role. Now that I have been a lead teacher for more than a year, I am more comfortable and confident and enjoy what I do more than ever.
What does Child First, Always mean to you?
It means going above and beyond for the children in our school. Every day as a teacher, I am always thinking of ways I can be creative and make learning fun in my classroom. I constantly plan for new materials to be put onto the shelves and/or think of science experiments where children can push their thinking.
What has made your experience teaching at Bezos Academy different than other roles?
I appreciate working in a school where I don’t have to worry about a limited budget for resources and materials for the kids and classroom. I’m constantly reminded that Bezos Academy really allows us to support the children academically in the best way possible and genuinely wants to provide the best preschool experience for both the children and their families.
Start making an impact at one of our tuition-free, Montessori-Inspired preschools? Visit our Open Roles page to apply!