Alumni Spotlight: Drew Singleton '10

A Green Acres Grizzly through and through,?Drew Singleton '10?arrived in 5th grade and continued on to thrive during his four-year tenure at our Middle School. Now teaching 3rd grade in Washington, DC, Drew's journey from Green Acres classrooms to a classroom of his own is one filled with purpose and passion. After completing his bachelor's degree in middle childhood education at Ohio Wesleyan University, he opted for a challenging—but wholly rewarding—student teaching placement in Chicago through Chicago Center, a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect future teachers with enriching practicum opportunities. With a successful student teaching stay under his belt, Drew returned to Washington, DC, ready to transform students' lives, much the way his was transformed at Green Acres. As Drew opens up about his experience as a Middle Schooler and the ways in which it has shaped the aspirations he has for his own students, one thing is abundantly clear: the emphasis that Green Acres places on creating room in a rigorous academic program to nurture the development of the whole child allows our graduates—like Drew—to go out into the world not just with dreams of making it a better place, but with the drive, confidence, and skill to achieve those dreams, too.

?

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How would you describe your educational philosophy now that you're a teacher?

Drew: I always say that relationships come first. If you have that relationship and that trust, it's easier to teach because you know where to meet students, and they want to learn because they know and trust you.

Before getting your own classroom here in Washington, DC, you completed your student teaching in Chicago. What led you to go out there?

I completed my undergraduate program at Ohio Wesleyan. The main option available to me was to do my student teaching in Ohio in a suburban area, but I asked my advisor how I could get more of an urban experience. She mentioned the Chicago Center and got me connected with them, and I did my student teaching there in fall 2018.

When you self-reflect on your experience student teaching in Chicago, what do you think is your biggest area of growth or your most significant takeaway?

Chicago really helped me build and focus on my belief that relationships come first, since many of those students could be doing great in school but have a lot going on at home. That was the first time I experienced students struggling with things that had nothing to do with school, but that still impacted their education. That was my biggest area of growth: learning more about the student as a whole, rather than just who the student is academically.

Thinking back to when you were in Middle School at Green Acres, can you summarize what your experience was like?

I specifically remember all of my teachers; I don't really remember my elementary school teachers at all, but the first teachers I remember are my Middle School teachers at Green Acres because they did exactly what I believe in—they built that relationship and got to know who I was. With a small class size, you already get that individualized attention, but they took it a step further. They really wanted us to learn to be good people, rather than just giving us information and sending us on our way. I remember that in ethics class, we learned how to treat others with kindness and went on community service trips. Middle School was the time when I started loving community service, which continued into high school and college, as well. Overall, I remember it being a fun experience, which I know not many people would say about their Middle School years. I can pinpoint that as the period when I really started to have confidence in who I was and who I wanted to be.

Do you have one particular memory that epitomizes these impactful relationships that you talk about having with your teachers?

Yeah, it was social studies in 7th grade. We had to do a research/biography project, and I was really struggling to be motivated. My teacher sat down with me and said, "Talk to me." She asked me questions, like if I had a family history related to the project. I had just learned that I was part Filipino, and I didn't know that much about that side of myself, so I told her about that. She gave me Emilio Aguinaldo as a figure to research, and that was a turning point for me in school. She saw that I was having trouble connecting with the work, and she sat down with me and helped me.

What stands out?is that, in talking about your experience at Green Acres and your experience as a teacher now, the carry-over has really been the importance of teacher-student relationships. Are there other things that you have carried into adulthood and your professional life that were nurtured at Green Acres?

Absolutely. As I said before with the community service projects, I remember going to Food & Friends to serve food and put packages together for the homeless. Those community service trips were so interesting for me that, in high school, I ended up going on a couple of service trips out of the country to Haiti and South Africa. When I was going into college and trying to figure out what I wanted to major in, I knew that I wanted to work with people and help them. I definitely attribute that to Green Acres' Middle School for introducing service into our lives. ?

?

Interview originally appeared in the?Middle School Beat?in March 2020.