{"id":21609,"date":"2023-04-20T07:29:12","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T11:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/?p=21609"},"modified":"2023-04-20T10:58:20","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T14:58:20","slug":"stephaen-hood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/2023\/04\/20\/stephaen-hood\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 Rising Star at Bates Middle – Stephaen Hood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stephaen Hood<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>

I am an AACPS: Dance Teacher, Bates Middle | 22-23 Rising Star<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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We are excited to spotlight Stephaen Hood. Stephaen Hood is a 22-23 Rising Star Teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Hood was nominated by the school\u2019s principal, Katherine Hicks. The Bates Middle School Dance teacher is a University of the Arts in Philadelphia alum.<\/span><\/p>\n

We had an opportunity to talk with Stephaen about being recognized as a Rising Star Teacher.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Here are a few highlights of the conversation:<\/span><\/p>\n

Describe who you are in 5 words or less.<\/b><\/p>\n

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I think I would say “I am who I am.” <\/span><\/span>I value being transparent and honest. So I like to do that with myself every day. So my journey started late, I started to teach dance a little bit here and there I was like, Oh my God, this is for me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What was your motivation to go into education?<\/b><\/p>\n

I definitely think it’s in your blood, honestly, because when I was growing up, I would have never said to myself that I was gonna be a teacher.<\/p>\n

What would you tell your future self about your potential as an educator?<\/b><\/p>\n

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I would tell my future self the very most important thing. Breathe. <\/span><\/span>I’ve had so many moments in this year alone where I immediately feel like I’m overwhelmed and the second I step back and count to 10, I realized that I can actually get this done and that everyone around me is in the same boat.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What one thing do you love about working in your school?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The best part about working at Bates is feeling heard.<\/p>\n

What is your favorite memory of your family and friends supporting you on your journey as an educator?<\/b><\/p>\n

I have a few, but I would have to say my mother and my fiance coming to my dance concert and helping me with hair and greeting the kids. They literally show up for me even when I don’t think I need it.<\/p>\n

Thinking about the future of education, what are you most excited about for schools?<\/b><\/p>\n

I’m really excited about the growing diversity.<\/p>\n

What is one hidden talent you have that no one, or few people, knows about and would surprise them?<\/b><\/p>\n

I’m starting to realize this now, I sing a lot when I teach. I’m very musical. When I try to get the kids to focus as well; the kids talk to each other and say “wait, Mr. Hood sings too?”<\/p>\n

If you had to make a time capsule about this year as a rising star teacher and you had to include an item, an image, a quote and a song\/melody, what would you include?<\/b><\/p>\n

I’ve been doing the dance company here and I love my merch. We get a lot of jackets and pants, so I want to include my dance company jacket. Our staff photo. The quote, “dance like nobody’s watching,” and the song is unwritten by Natasha Benningfield as it embodies what we do here.<\/p>\n

What is one reason why someone should choose to become a teacher?<\/b><\/p>\n

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For me I would say if you’ve ever felt ignored, if you’ve ever felt embarrassed and if you’ve ever felt silenced by your peers, teachers or colleagues, teach the future so they can feel differently. <\/span><\/span>Teach these kids so that they don’t have to go through the challenging things that we all went through growing up.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Louis Nesbitt, PDM Department<\/span><\/p>\n

LNesbitt@aacps.org<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The journey of an educator is a lifetime. We are thankful to those who have chosen to embark on this path. As a community, one of our greatest capacities is availability, so when the opportunities arise, find your own way to support education.<\/span><\/p>\n

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