Educator Profile: Carla Stevens Smith
Background
Carla Stevens Smith began teaching in the Renton School District in 1988. In the years beforehand, she gained experience by working as a business and marketing teacher in traditional education, alternative education, and International Baccalaureate classrooms.
In 2011, she joined the Renton Teacher Academy — a collaborative program between the Professional Education Standards Board, Recruiting Washington Teachers, Renton School District, and Central Washington University.
Dedication to a Mission
Today, driven by a mission to address the Washington state teacher shortage, Carla serves as the Teacher-Coordinator for a multi-district teacher academy, representing Hazen, Lindbergh, and Renton schools . Carla plays a number of vital roles within the teaching community. She is responsible for student, mentor, and stakeholder recruiting, as well as providing continued documentation for grant application, evaluation, data collection, and reporting.
In addition, she is a part-time instructional CTE facilitator, and B.E.S.T. mentor teacher for first and second year teachers. Carla believes she is at her best when fully engaged in rigorous discussions with her professional learning community. Often, this happens while driving collaboration and communication between program stakeholders.
“I am dedicated to enthusiastic and dynamic teaching as a means of creating and nurturing a lifelong love of learning in future and current teachers.”
Carla Stevens Smith, Renton School District
Committed to Diversity
To further her own growth, Carla consistently develops her knowledge, experience and relationships in teaching, mentoring and marketing. For example, she is a part of the Teaching Equity Network, which is a group committed to diversifying the teacher workforce and supporting teachers of color. More specifically, Carla’s work supports high school students of color and diversity who are entering the field of teaching in high-need areas. She is dedicated to enthusiastic and dynamic teaching as a means of fostering a lifelong love of learning in future and current educators.
Carla Speaks About the Benefits of the Teaching Equity Conference
The Teaching Equity Conference provides an excellent professional networking opportunity for students by facilitating engagement between teachers and college students of all ages. With the unique opportunity to be the experts in the room students tackle challenging and relevant topics — ranging from culturally responsive teaching, diversity, inclusion, cultural bias, stereotypes, and structural racism.
Taking these discussions beyond the high school classroom, and facing them head-on in a safe environment, is truly a gift to any teacher who values authentic learning. Students often leave the Teaching Equity Conference feeling heard, respected, and welcomed; they recognize their value in an entirely new way.
As Carla puts it, when a student expands beyond the comfort zones of their own campus, and engages in authentic and meaningful learning — it is a win for all!