Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Sterling.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started out as a long term sub in Fort Worth ISD because I had just graduated with my Bachelor’s in Sociology and I did not quite know what I wanted to do yet but I knew I had to have a steady income. I had two little girls to take care of. Working as a long term sub, my passion for teaching was immediate. I refused to be the sub you see on TV that just sits there, we were going to continue to learn and make progress. I wanted to build relationships with the people and students I worked with. I guess I made a good impression because the school that I was subbing at offered me a position as a math specialist working in partnership with a specific teacher. He was great and he was my first example of great teaching. He was kind and firm, he set high standards for the students and then encouraged them to reach those goals. It was a great positive learning opportunity. I also got my first glimpse at special education services and unfortunately, the same way that the great example by partner teacher, lit a bigger fire under me for education, the lack of interest, care, and motivation to interact with students from the inclusion teacher, lit a fire under me to advocate for those students. That classroom showed me what my place was in education. I wanted to be a special education teacher with a Math content specialty. My path to certification was through an alternative certification program.
Once I took the necessary tests, I was hired at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, a Dallas ISD campus, as a Math Resource teacher, which meant that my math students all had IEPs. I was so unprepared! My program did not come close to making sure I was ready to step into that classroom or for my first year. I saw my “coach” twice once in the Fall and once in the Spring. If it was not for the amazing leader and mentor teacher that I had on the campus, Ms. Brandi Watts, I would not be here today. She provided me support, feedback, and patience. She showed me what it meant to be a Special Ed teacher. Then in my second year with the school, I was partnered to co-teach with another amazing teacher, Ms. Cathy Powell. When it comes to teaching math, you couldn’t ask for a better teacher. The partnership that we created for the students had such a powerful impact. We saw it in the data too. I continued to work on this campus with these wonderful examples and I was able to grow into my own leadership and practice.
I eventually became the leader of the Special Ed. Department on the campus. During this time, I was introduced and became an active member with STAND, an organization that works to improve public education. I participated in a fellowship that exposed me to the legislative process in education, I was given an opportunity to testify about two Bills that were before the house. One was about teacher pay and performance and one was about alternative certification testing. Being a member of STAND is how I was connected to Urban Teachers. They were in the process of trying to open a site here in Dallas and I completed some contract work for them helping to align the Texas Standards with their coursework, getting TEA ready, and I also created some elementary math webinars for incoming cohorts to use as they prepared for their cert exams. That work allowed me to get to know the organization and the people behind it. I wanted in. I was hired as a Clinical Faculty/Lecturer for Johns Hopkins University, which is the partner university that our pre-service teachers get their Master’s Degree conferred from during their certification process.
As I stepped into this new role and eventually transitioned into another leadership role where I supported all the Special Ed curriculum in Dallas as well as coached, my personal journey into the classroom kept coming to my mind. I was now a leader and lecturer for John’s Hopkins University, but I only got here because I was fortunate enough to have very special people be a part of my journey and provide me with tools, opportunity, and support. I wanted to be that person for teachers that have been in the classroom but still need someone to help them. That is when I decided that I wanted to start putting together professional development presentations for conferences and looking at creating my own consulting business. I am in the very beginning stages but my goal as it says on my website is to provide teachers tools and guidance that they need to succeed in the classroom.
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?
It has definitely not been a smooth road but I am grateful for all the bumps and bruises that I have gotten in the process of my growth. There have been personal obstacles such as being a single mom of two while trying to finish my Bachelor’s than completing my Master’s while working full time and still being a single mom. There have been professional obstacles because I am young, comparably, and sometimes people think age is synonymous with knowledge and experience. I have not gotten jobs that I thought I would excel at but that creates opportunities for growth and understanding why “you” weren’t the best at this time. When it comes to starting this business, time is the most precious obstacle. You have to make time for the things that mean the most and I am working on being better about creating time.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the KCS Education Consulting story. Tell us more about the business.
With my consulting business, I want to provide tools, guidance, and support needed for teachers to succeed in their classrooms. My specialties are culturally responsive pedagogy, universally designed classrooms, and differentiation techniques. For each specialty, I provide unique and engaging professional development for teachers, administrators, or pre-service teachers. When I put together a presentation, I research the demographics of the area and students to make sure that the information, the examples, and the plans that I am offering are relevant. I think that this desire to connect is what sets my work apart from others. I take the ideas and the research and I make them applicable to the people I am talking to in that moment. I make sure that when you leave me, you have something that you can immediately take into the classroom and implement.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I was incredibly lucky to work at Franklin and meet the two women that I referenced earlier. I will also that of all the education organizations I could have worked with, choosing to be active in STAND which inevitably leads me here was a lucky happen stance. As weird as it sounds, I definitely see where good luck and chance have been positives in my journey but I do not see bad luck. Any time I haven’t gotten something I wanted, I just realize that it wasn’t my time or maybe that is not meant to be part of my journey. I try to have constant faith that things happen for a reason good and bad and we learn from them all.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://bit.ly/KCSEdConsulting
- Phone: 817 874 7213
- Email: kcolber8@jhu.edu, kristina.colbert@urbanteachers.org, kristina.colbert@hotmail.com,
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-sterling-m-ed-44552094/
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