Personal Statement On Professional Goals

As a child I loved to play school. I forced my siblings to sit through many hours of pretend lessons. My passion and love of reading and writing started from this connection that I shared with my siblings. This is the experience that I look back on when I think of my professional goals. My career goals have also been influenced by my teaching experiences. Earning a master’s degree in reading will assist me as I strive to achieve these goals.
Teachers are life-long learners. As I contemplate my professional goals, being a learner is at the forefront of my thoughts. My short-term goal is to increase my professional knowledge in the areas of reading and writing. I would like to expand on my knowledge of teaching literacy so that I can utilize contemporary, research-based skills in my classroom. As I become more informed in the areas of reading and writing, I will be able to share this knowledge with my peers. My long-term goal is to work as a reading specialist within Newport News Public Schools. As a
reading specialist I would be able to serve a wide population of students. This includes working with students and teachers through coaching, professional development, and planning within the district.
Professional growth requires one to reflect upon past experiences. My experiences in teaching have played vital part in the selection of my career goals. My first teaching job was a fourth grade position in the city of Baltimore. I found the amount of students that were reading and writing below grade level astounding. As a first year teacher, I did not want to veer from the given curriculum, but it was evident that these students would not be successful reading so far below grade level. I would love to say that everyone left that class reading on grade level, however my professional knowledge of how students learn to read and write was minimal at the time.
As I moved on to a different district, I worked as a classroom teacher for seven years. During this time I alternated between second grade and third grade. At this point in my career, I learned more about literacy by putting things into practice with younger students. I was able to work with students in various stages of reading and writing. I enjoyed teaching literacy so much that I became a literacy interventionist. It was during this time that I was able to work with students from kindergarten to fifth grade. These were students that were identified by either PALS assessments or district benchmarks. I participated in all of the professional development offered so that I could meet the needs of my students. As I learned, I put these new concepts into practice with my students. I am continuing to grow professionally. Throughout this continued growth, I find myself wanting more of a solid foundation in the area of literacy.
As a participant in the Newport News reading cohort I have learned an enormous amount from the two graduate education courses I have completed at the University of Virginia.
If selected to remain in this cohort, this opportunity would equip me with a better understanding of what diverse learners need to become literate in today’s world. Earning this degree would assist me as I work toward my short-term and long-term professional goals. I would be better prepared to help not only my students of the present and future, but also teachers that I encounter. If selected, I would be able to work with a group of like-minded peers in my school district. I find it exciting to work with teachers from varied grade levels with different perspectives on education. Earning a master’s degree in reading from The University of Virginia would greatly increase my professional knowledge as I work with students and strive to meet my professional goal of being a reading
specialist.