Will Nash is the executive director of Teach For America • Appalachia and lives in Hazard with his wife Katti.
I sat in the back of the room at Lynn Camp High School in Corbin, Kentucky, and listened.
“People focus on what’s wrong with Appalachia—I’d ask you to focus on what’s right in our communities. We love each other; we want a great future for our kids…we’re no different than most towns, small or large, across the country.”
The 2012 Appalachia corps members. Photo courtesy of Crystal Kinser.
Principal Amy Bays, assistant principal Anthony Pennington, two teachers, a community member, and two students spoke eloquently to a room full of our 2012 corps members. This is a part of Teach For America’s induction in our region—the initial, in-region development for new teachers.
The speakers talked about the challenges and opportunities in Kentucky’s eastern-most counties. My eyes welled with tears a few times—the voices they were lending to the work our teachers were about to take on were raw and real. There were few smiles or laughs on the panel—the topics were serious and the stakes high. Yet there was a genuineness to what they were sharing that made hearts and souls smile throughout the room of soon-to-be educators. A few of our new corps members likely felt the pressure of “getting this right” from day one. They were all paying close attention as the speakers continued.
“I want teachers who are going to make me work really hard but who also respect me as an individual.”
“I like it when teachers let us know who they are—that opens the door for us to share who we are.”
“When I hire a teacher, I look for passion and energy first. I need to know I’m hiring someone who wants to be right here at this point in time knowing the challenges we face as a community and school.”
Our new corps members weren’t the only ones who needed to hear these words. Hearing administrator, community, and student voices also helped reground me in what induction was all about. My staff and I had been working 17 hour days planning and preparing for the summer and the school year. We were tired. Really tired. Yet when those on our panel spoke, I forgot about my fatigue, forgot I was hungry, and forgot that the most stressful and demanding time of the year was just before us. All I could think about was our mission, our core values, and how those sitting in the room—administrators, students, and teachers alike, were going to help us prove that students in Appalachia can perform at the same level as their wealthier peers. I was fired up and I could tell the corps members were ready to dive in.
Twenty-four hours later, corps members piled into cars and began making the half-day drive to Cleveland, Mississippi, where they would begin five weeks of summer institute—part of their intensive training. At the top of their minds during the drive must have been the role of teacher they’d take on in less than one week, in a place most of them had never been. The speakers had given them a lot of food for thought. We all shared our reflections about induction, talked about the urgency with which we must approach our work, and of course, gave each other one very large group hug.
I look back and realize that the speakers from the community were an important part of what made induction successful. The speakers made the mysterious lore of “Appalachia” and this oft-misunderstood region far-less mysterious. Now our corps members—a group of energetic, passionate leaders, are ready to do what they can to make a sizable impact. When institute wraps up in five weeks, our corps members will be excited to come back to their new home and begin the work communities have entrusted them to do.
Will Nash, ’06 South Louisiana, is the founding executive director of the Appalachia region. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and lives in Hazard with his wife Katti. On the weekends, they enjoy traveling, watching college sports, horse racing, and exploring the unique communities of eastern Kentucky.
