Interview with Lyle Dandridge on role models and his educational journey.

Is the Next Great Teacher Already in Your School?

Grow Your Own Initiatives in Minnesota

Every day I am so inspired by Ismael. He is an extremely charismatic, kind, and well-spoken individual. He is intellectually curious and often surprises me with a range of conversation topics.

“You can never be too prepared.” We hear this bit of life advice across all aspects of life and work. In many ways, it’s true. Practice and preparation often lead to better outcomes. When working with people, though, sometimes you actually can be too prepared.

I am thankful everyday that I am a teacher. In my career of 25 years, I have been fortunate to teach in a variety of school districts and elementary grade levels.

I first went into design because I’m a visual person. During school I worked on several short films, but ultimately learned design was more a hobby than a job for me. I started thinking about what I wanted to do instead.

Ashanti Branch wasn’t originally going to be a teacher. He studied Civil Engineering in college and went on to become a construction project manager. Goals changed, however, when Branch began tutoring struggling students.

For some high school students, learning a language seemed like an onerous task that required conjugating verbs and memorizing vocabulary. Yet, I wanted to expose them to more than that and help instill a life-long curiosity in them.

When I was in high school there was a chance that I wasn’t going to graduate. I struggled through school and didn’t feel engaged. However, there were two male teachers that I had in high school who helped me on the right path to graduate. Without them I likely wouldn’t be where I am today.

A former student who was an Educators Rising club member in high school persisted through college and graduated with a degree and a teacher license. They returned to the school district and got hired as a high school teacher and is now an Educators Rising Club Advisor, coming full circle from where they started.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela.