2019 CIIP Program Book CIIP Booklet 2019 | Page 32

Community Partner:
Liberty Elementary School
Peer Mentor:
Nikki Alejandra Garcia
Site Supervisor: Joseph Manko This summer I had the pleasure of interning for “one of the best principals in the city,” Mr.
Joseph Manko, at Liberty Elementary School in the Forest Park neighborhood of Northwest
Baltimore. I cannot think of any other placement that would have been more appropriate and
helpful to the shaping of my career goals. I know I want to be an educator, and I’ve known this
for some time now. I’d like to teach High School English in Baltimore City.
What is Liberty Elementary
School?
The mission of Liberty
Elementary School is to provide
teaching and learning that accel-
erates student achievement and
supports the social and emotion-
al well-being of each student in a
peaceful, caring, and collabora-
tive school community. When the teachers at Liberty Elementary hear this, they glance at each other knowingly, for
being a high school teacher is no walk in the park (and neither is being any kind of teacher
in the public school system). Many of the meaningful take-aways I have from this summer
came from leisurely conversations with other teachers. They shared with me how they got into
teaching and what it was like for them. Some went through Teach For America, Baltimore City
Teaching Residency, or Urban Teachers, others took the more orthodox path of getting a cer-
tification. The teachers I spoke to did not speak of any reasons for why they’d want to leave.
They all agree the work can be extremely difficult, but they do it for their students and the
students’ parents. That love and care for the people they serve fills my heart and inspires me
to do the same with my future students and parents.
Mr. Manko allowed me to have the experience of being in a leadership and management role
at the school. This allowed me to observe different dynamics among the staff that I may not
have noticed otherwise. With Ms. Kim Trueheart, I learned what it means to be truly engaged
and active as a community member. Ms. Trueheart inspired me with her resilience in tackling
issues in Baltimore that are so often dismissed. This summer reenergized my goals of becom-
ing an educator in the city. It taught me the importance of networking and forming relation-
ships as well as the crucial role of communication on a team, among other things. Thank you
Mr. Manko, Ms. Trueheart, and the rest of the Liberty family for this wonderful experience.
• Planned and facilitated an orientation, including team building activities and icebreak-
ers, for five youth workers who would work at Liberty Elementary during the summer
• Organized and submitted necessary Youthworks paperwork by maintaining open and
clear communication with Youthworks liaison
• Supervised and managed youth workers throughout their placement at Liberty Elemen-
tary
• Supported summer school teachers and teacher aides with their classroom and adminis-
trative needs as well as office staff
• Completed projects which helped prepare the school and staff for the upcoming school
year
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