Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaci Morgan.
Kaci, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in a suburb of Dallas where I experienced a lot of childhood trauma through both family and the public schools. That trauma made me passionate about reimagining education and being a mentor for kids. When I went to Louisiana State University for my undergraduate degree, I became a first generation college student. At LSU I double majored in English and Sociology. Through LSU I began working with Humanities Amped, an innovative program based on critical pedagogy that was started at a public high school in Baton Rouge. This experience ignited my fire for cross-curricular, real-world learning and the impact it has on students who don’t often see themselves or value in the education system. From there I went Harvard to complete my graduate degree in Language and Literacy. While at Harvard I co-chaired an Indigenous student organization, was an Equity and Inclusion Fellow, and served on the Student Engagement and Empowerment Committee for our Alumni of Color Conference. The equity work that I’ve done throughout the years is closely tied to my heart for others.
My work has always been driven by a desire to create better for future generations, and for that work to include the voices of those young people that work impacts. After graduate school, a recruiter from Dallas ISD reached out to me about being a part of opening a new project-based learning choice school in the district because of my previous work with this type of programming in Louisiana and Boston. I became the founding English teacher and a teacher leader at the school as we earned an A-rating overall and a score of 100 for closing gaps our first year open. Students in my classroom improved their reading level by three years in 1 academic year on average. As an educator I strive to bring joy and love to literature and writing. There is power in literacy and creation, and I want students to be able to harness that power to design a better world for themselves and others. From this experience, I accepted a promotion to become the ELA Instructional Lead Teacher at Woodrow Wilson High School.
I’m currently a teacher leader there where I won a Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching Award for my work with students and have worked with the leadership team to bring a formative assessment program to campus that empowers students to take ownership of their learning. Outside of my work with Dallas public school students, I’m the High School Content Lead for a nationwide start-up called Reconstruction. We are starting this work to create curriculum that centers and celebrates Black literature, Black history, and Black culture. People of Color are often missing from curriculum, literary canons, and the public school experience. We hope to fill that void and connect students with meaningful curriculum they can see themselves in coupled with mentorship relationships with tutors that teach the material in small-groups.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
As a child, my father was abusive and many people in my family struggled with addictions. The schools that I went to in my suburb often came with experiences of racism, classism and bullying that I both experienced and watched my friends experience. I even had teachers that contributed to microaggressions in these spaces or failed to speak up for us as they watched peers engage in problematic behavior. Though my childhood was often traumatic, it led me to doing extensive work in the communities that I’m apart of to show kids like me that they are powerful and valuable. As an adult, I’ve experienced not being able to afford to feed myself and working 2 jobs while student teaching full-time, sexual assault, an abusive relationship, and other obstacles.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m part of two companies, both of which I’m extremely proud of. First, I’m an ELA Instructional Lead Teacher with Dallas ISD, where I specialize in leading and coaching teacher teams as well as implementing culturally responsive education and personalized learning. Dallas ISD has been a leader in innovative education models such as successful open-enrollment choice schools, the ACE program, the Office of Racial Equity, and more. Just from the time that I graduated from high school to now, outcomes for DISD students have drastically improved. I’m incredibly proud of the growth and innovation that happens in the district. I, myself, have been a part of opening an innovative choice school in downtown Dallas and bringing the Assessment for Learning program to Woodrow’s campus this year.
The other company I serve in a leadership capacity for is called Reconstruction. It is an education start-up that reimagines curriculum and tutoring models to bring small-group mentorship and culturally responsive lessons and materials to families and school districts across the country. There, I oversee all of the high school content. This company is truly unlike anything else in the education sphere and seeks to fill a huge void in the equity of voices in educational materials and experiences.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I’m currently getting my second master’s degree at SMU in Educational Leadership. Through this program I will be getting my principal certification as well. My long-term plans for the future are to become a high school principal and eventually, a district Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent. Next year, I’ll be eligible to take on an Assistant Principal position, so that will be my first big change. I’m also writing a book, which I hope to finish this year.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://reconstruction.us and dallasisd.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reconstructionus/ and https://www.instagram.com/dallasisd/?hl=en
Image Credit:
Ellen Emery
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