So...Let's Meet!

Hi All! I feel like we are a new family and I wanted to take a moment to share a little bit about me and how WE came to be. So I'm Kierra Rojas, a 15 year Veteran Teacher and now administrator. I was born and raised in Miami Florida. I graduated from Florida A&M University. I am a proud member of Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority, Incorporated and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. I have a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, a Science Endorsement, A STEM (Science Technology Engineering

Math) Fellowship, Award Winning Grant Writer, and currently getting my Instructional Coaching Endorsement and Educational Specialist Degree. Whew! That is a lot when you read it back to yourself (LOL)! So why this? Well, truthfully I have always done "this". I create strategies because for 8 of my 15 years, I taught in a classroom that was made up of special needs students and general education students. Traditional methodology was simply not going to work in an inclusion classroom. Luckily, I had one of the BEST co-teachers in the world (Shamika Qualls...who is going to kill me for tagging her lol) who taught me SO MUCH about specialized and differentiated instruction. So from there, I went on to get my Masters and learned to write Curriculum on my own. This accidentally led to my passion for STEM education. So, a lot of what you see me creating and revamping comes from Inquiry based learning (i.e. hands-on, problem based, project based). So anyway...as I created the Curriculum I would try it out on my own kids first (lol...sometimes it's hard being a "teacher's kid"). What didn't work, I would redesign, edit, and try it again until the method became effective. Then I would post it on Facebook and my small little circle would use what they could and life would go on. I didn't really factor "OUTSIDERS" and other parents in my equation because at the time...I was still in the classroom and I was honestly too busy trying to make sure my students had everything they needed to be happy, healthy, and successful. Well, when the opportunity to step out of the classroom and step into administration, I decided to take it. So now, my role is to help teachers be more effective in the classroom. So it freed some storage space in my mind because NEWS FLASH 15 years of hearing your name called EVERY 2 seconds...is a BIT MUCH!!! So...thank a teacher every once in a while family. Moving on...I had the time to reflect on moments I was annoyed with parents (and the lack of involvement), aggravated with their attitudes, "over" their rude responses to requests to redo an assignment or check their kids HW etc. But also to reflect on the years I had THE BEST PARENTS in the WORLD (shouts out to Jasper County Primary School Parents!!!) And family... that's when it hit me, parents WANT to be involved but sometimes they just CAN'T be. What I had to figure out was WHY??? Well... I started researching (my husband thought I was insane) what made a parent "good" or "bad" in terms of involvement. Eye opening experience for me...was BECOMING a parent. Suddenly it wasn't (and still ISN'T) as easy as others might think it is to be involved in the traditional sense. Ok, so as I researched I started data collection (duh...that's my job) and found out majority of the parents I researched KNEW their child needed help but didn't know HOW to help them, where to start, how to monitor it, and how to fit it all into a day that had no time allotted to helping. And THAT'S when I decided I would help and I realized how. I would begin recording the tutorials and sending it to my friends (cause remember... I didn't "know" yall yet). And so that is what I did. That way, they could look at my video when they had time, practice what they may not be familiar with in private, spend more time working on the skills with their kids, AND feeling confident when they walked into the school building because they KNEW and UNDERSTOOD what these numbers on colorful charts were, and what a reading level was, and the area of weakness their child had, AND ways to help. THAT is powerful! Teacher's appreciate it (and low-key want to be your new friend) and respect you for it. Then suddenly... I post a video of me helping my busy body 4 yr old for that same small circle and something went wrong! My phone started going CRAZY! It was buzzing LITERALLY every second. I picked it up and saw my video being shared! At first I was like "NOOOOOO!!!!!!" My table looks a MESS!!! yes, that was the FIRST thing I thought about LOL. But, then I started reading the comments and people were thanking me for sharing it. Thanking me for being nice enough to care about others. Thanking me for showing them a different way to try to help. And that's the moment I realized my messy table was helping a mom or dad or grandmother or care giver or teacher to help a child. So, I let the sharing continue and then opened my life up to my new "family" and welcomed you all to my Facebook page, Youtube Channel, Blog site, and email address(that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do because...now I can't find the emails I need LOL). In all, this happened overnight without warning. But because I am me, I have read EVERY single message, email, and post you from you all. I am answering every single message (I'm one person so bare with me yall). I am in the process of creating live and interactive tutorials so as you all ask for help I can be live and talk to you guys and help guide you through strategies and next steps. I am humbled by your desire to want to do as much as you can for your children and that motivates me to help in anyway I can. It's funny because I was afraid that my messy table was going to be the focus of discussion on the video but not one person "judged" me (don't be petty and start now LOL). Well... I have had a few (I think 3) people share the post just to say I didn't create Touch Math (ummm DUH! We established that when I said "this is my TWIST on"... but I digress) but before I could respond YOU ALL "handled" them for me! Thank you for that! I am so excited to "meet" you all and help you help your babies and I appreciate your SUPPORT! Here are the stars of your tutorials and some pictures of my family #iTeach #STEM #ParentalInvolvement

#ohDONTforgettoSHARE