Reflections On the Outside: How Being a Teacher Prepared Me For My Next Chapter

How Leaving the Classroom Deepened My Commitment to Student-Centered Learning—and Expanded My Impact

As I enter my third year at NHLI, I’ve been reflecting on my years in the classroom and what it meant to step away from daily lesson plans, bell schedules, and the familiar rhythm of school life, a decision I did not make lightly. Teaching wasn’t just my job—it was my identity. It shaped how I saw the world, how I listened, how I problem-solved, and how I measured success.  So when I stepped into my role as Director of Student-Centered Learning at the New Hampshire Learning Initiative (NHLI), I didn’t feel like I was leaving education; I felt like I was widening my circle.

“Teaching wasn’t just my job—it was my identity.”

What I Carried With Me

Teaching has given me many moments to carry.  I carried the memories of students who lit up when learning finally made sense and those who shut down when school didn’t feel built for them. I carried the tension of trying to help students meet competencies while honoring their curiosity. I carried the exhaustion that comes from caring too deeply in a system that doesn’t always make room for connection and compassion.  Most of all, I carried a deep belief that students thrive when they have voice, agency, and learning experiences that feel real.  That belief didn’t disappear when I left the classroom; it still grounds the work I do now.

The Shift: From One Classroom to Many

In the classroom, my impact was deep and personal. I knew my students’ stories. I adjusted in real time. I celebrated the small wins that no one else might ever see.  At NHLI, the work is different, but no less human.

Now, I work alongside educators, administrators, and students across schools and districts. Instead of designing lessons, I help design systems. Instead of facilitating class discussions, I facilitate conversations about classroom culture, authentic learning, performance assessments, and student agency.

In this new role, my questions are deeper:  How do we build schools where every student feels known?  How do we move from compliance to engagement?  How do we design learning that prepares students not just for tests, but for life?  And while I’m no longer grading papers or preparing for standardized tests, the heart of the work feels familiar.

What I Miss and What I Don’t

I miss the daily relationships. I miss advising our student council and dressing for the part.  I miss the inside jokes with students. Most of all, I miss the moments when a student surprises themselves.

I don’t miss feeling like I had to choose between innovation and survival. I don’t miss working in isolation.  I don’t miss working within systems where change often moves more slowly than students’ needs; where meaningful change has to happen quietly, behind closed classroom doors.

Becoming a Bridge

“Becoming a bridge between classrooms and systems has been one of the greatest gifts of this transition.”

One of the greatest gifts of this transition is realizing that, as former educators, the members of NHLI have become a bridge connecting what actually happens in classrooms with the systems meant to support them, between student voice and adult decision-making, between past school practices and new possibilities. Now, collaboration is the work. Learning is shared, and change feels possible; not perfect, but possible.  I don’t see my years in the classroom as something I left behind. I see them as the reason I can do this work with credibility, empathy, and urgency, because student-centered learning isn’t just an idea to me.  It’s something I care about deeply.  

Teaching matters most in the everyday moments, when you build relationships, spark curiosity, and give students a voice, even when the system isn’t perfect.  Those same moments shape who you become as an educator and a person, carrying forward into whatever comes next, because the work doesn’t end at the classroom door; it evolves. Leaving the classroom deepened my commitment to student-centered learning. And after all this time, I’m still learning, just in a new classroom, with a much bigger view.

At NHLI, we work alongside educators and leaders to design systems that honor classroom realities and elevate student-centered learning. If you’re navigating change—or helping others do so—you’re not alone.