Meet a Resident

Profiles

Name: Brian Sullivan

School: Renaissance Academy / Frederick Douglass High School

Subject: Secondary Math / Algebra I

On the very first day of teaching at my new school, I told my students that they would not have homework that night but that I would.  That is, I asked the students to write down on a sheet of paper one question of anything at all that they would like to know about Mr. Sullivan and for my homework I would personally and honestly respond to each question.  The kids were very responsive to this assignment and I received over 100 questions written down for me to give responses to that night.  After a long and exhausting first day, I sat there with my students’ questions at 11 pm to start my homework assignment.  After answering roughly 85 questions about how much money I have, where I live, and why I wanted to be a teacher, I came across a torn piece of paper that read “Where your heart at?”  I was blown away by the honesty and integrity of the question and knew I would not be able to answer that question that night.  Rather, I would have to live by it for the rest of my days of teaching.  So, I put the ripped piece of paper on my refrigerator where it stayed to serve as a reminder for what my bigger purpose was being in Baltimore. 

Name:   Linda Oliver

School:  Thomas Johnson Elementary Middle School

Subject: Elementary, 2nd Grade

I joined the Baltimore City Teaching Residency after realizing the strong need for dedicated individuals to give ALL students a quality education.  Closing the achievement gap of high needs schools has been my marked goal in becoming an educator and knew that BCTR would provide the support and guidance I would need to meet this objective.  The residency program has been practical and extremely effective in preparing me for what I needed to know in and out of the classroom.  As a career changer, that was one of the most important aspects in joining the program.  Knowing that you are always a part of a teacher support system like BCTR contributes to your success as a teacher throughout your career.

Name:   Jeremy Jones

School: Western High School

Subject: Biology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, and Genetics.

The fulfillment of teaching in a difficult arena was just the challenge I needed.  In spite of the circumstances of the school system, the youth, and the teachers, if I can increase student successes in spite of all of the obstacles, than I am fulfilled. My favorite teaching moment occurred at the end of last year, when I realized that most of my students had actually gotten something out of my teaching.  When you see that a student understands and has mastered the objective, especially a student that was not doing so well at the beginning of the year, that is truly fulfilling.

Name: Kathleen Richardson

School: Holabird Academy

Subject: Kindergarten

The Kindergarten class of the 2007-2008 school year came through my doors at one percent proficient according to the Kindergarten Reading Benchmark.  Additionally, the majority of the class had not attended pre-Kindergarten; those who had came from a half-day program.   Our school, Holabird Academy, has a college bound theme.  This class would graduate from college in the year of 2024.  Having that college-bound theme helped me realize very quickly how big of a challenge it was going to be to get my class to be proficient.  I firmed my students up on their procedure so the class would run as smoothly as possible.  I sought out the help of my principal, my BCTR resident advisor, my Hopkins professors and any other teacher that had ideas on how to get my kids to make the jump they needed.  It was a lot of work, but the class of 2024 at Holabird Academy left Kindergarten ninety-five percent proficient in reading.  They made the gains in reading that they deserved.

Name: Jeffrey D. Martin
School: Western High School
Subject: World History World History Honors

I think growing up in Northern Virginia sparked in me an interest in politics, so I studied Political Science at Utah State University. In 1998-1999 I had the opportunity to live overseas in the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia) as a volunteer, during which time I taught English classes while learning speak the
regional languages fluently, not to mention experienced first-hand the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia regarding the ethnic conflicts in Kosovo. I relished the humility and maturity this experience provided me, and upon my return promptly shifted the focus of my academic studies towards International Relations. In 2005, while working towards my masters in Political Science, I acted on an entrepreneurial impulse and started a clothing company altering and silk-screening second hand clothing. My company quickly became successful, and after my graduation I found myself working as a fulltime small business owner. Interestingly, I had always wanted to own my own company, but I found that as I became more proficient at running my company, I gradually developed a hunger for more challenging, meaningful work. For years I had been considered teaching high school Social Studies, and this perspective was all I needed to confidently make the decision to dedicate my career to what would be to me a more noble endeavor. In January of 2008, I sold my company, submitted my application to BCTR, got accepted, and never looked back.