Director of College and Career Readiness: Amanda Peters

Today on the blog I have the woman that I want to be when I grow up! My mentor, Amanda, has helped me throughout my entire Masters journey and was one of my Instructors at Teachers College of San Joaquin. I am constantly in awe of her and am so excited to share her amazing educational journey with all of you:

1. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I think I always knew I wanted to be a teacher - both of my parents were teachers (my dad was a high school math teacher in Stockton Unified, my mom an English teacher in Lodi Unified). I saw the hours and work that went into planning lessons, grading, attending professional developments, etc. I also saw the countless students that would approach my parents when we were in public - out to eat, running errands - and say, “Hi, Mr./Mrs. Peters, I’m XXXX. Do you remember me?” Eventually the conversation would shift to them expressing their gratitude for my parents and the academic and personal growth they experience in their classroom.

I found myself gravitating towards teaching and leading others in high school and college - tutoring, leading group projects. I participated in internships in college for Education courses and loved working with students. After graduating from college,I tried to engage in other professions but nothing was as rewarding as teaching had been.

2. Is there a moment that sticks out to you that you remember from school with a teacher/admin you had growing up (can be good, bad, or both)?

YES!

Good - I had a teacher in 5th grade who coached me into being more self-reflective and consider the thoughts of others. We were working on some assignment, and she asked to speak to me outside. I had been frustrated by one of my group members (can’t remember specifics) and she asked me to put myself in my classmate’s shoes and consider how I’d feel if I wasn’t understanding a concept and then had a group member be so obviously frustrated. She told me to wait a bit before coming back into the classroom. I can’t remember her specific words, but it made me pause and consider how I treat others.

Bad - in 6th grade, I had a teacher who had little/no classroom management. He told the class he had to run to the office to “deal with something” and gave us an assignment he expected we’d complete by the time he returned. Not surprisingly, once he left the classroom almost every student started goofing around. Being the studious group we were, my table focused on the assigned task and completed it before he returned. He told the class that, since not everyone had completed the assignment, there would be additional work as a consequence. I refused to do the assignment and was sent to the office. My parents were called and were on my side. After a one-day class suspension, I was allowed to return to the class. I didn’t have to complete the assignment, but I lost all respect for that teacher.

3. How long have you been working in education and what did the journey look like to the job you have now in education?

I’ve been working in education since the 2009-2010 school year.

I started as a paraprofessional in Lodi Unified (2009-2011).

Teacher at a non-public school in Antioch (2011-2012).

Teacher at San Joaquin County Office of Education (2012-2016).

Teacher at Lincoln High School (2016-2017)

Assistant Principal at Lincoln High School (2017-2021).

Director of College and Career Readiness for Manteca Unified (2021-present)

4. What is your go-to tool you use in your job and why?

My Drive - I can store docs and share them with other people, edit docs from anywhere. It’s changed the way I work and makes collaboration so much easier.

5. Every educator has something they are passionate about changing, what do you hope to change throughout your career?

In my current position, I think I’m most poised to shift the understanding that a four-year college isn’t for everyone. And that’s ok! We need to understand and accept that not everyone learns the same, and that not everyone needs to go to college to be successful. There are so many other viable options for someone to acquire a high-paying job that they enjoy without having to take out student loans. There’s more than one path to a successful life, and as educators we shouldn’t make students subscribe to our own definitions of “success” and “happiness.” 

6. You have such a fun job as Director of College and Career Readiness! What advice would you give to teachers who dream of working their way into an administrative role one day?

Don’t consider the administrator-teacher relationship to be adversarial. Each role has it’s perspective and work to build communication and understanding. Be sure to gather evidence and input. Don’t be afraid of difficult conversations.

So, be open to learning, never assume you know everything - surround yourself with people who have different experiences than you.. Be honest and transparent and make genuine connections with people.

7. Any advice for a new teacher you wish you had known for their first day of work?

Take the time to build authentic relationships with your students. The time you spend with them at the start of the year will pay off in the long run. Understand that respect and trust is a two-way street, and you have to earn those with your students. You won’t have the behaviors or classroom management issues that other teachers who focus purely on academics run into.

8. What has been the most challenging aspect of being an administrator?

Having to evaluate people who have become my friend, especially when there’s been an issue we have to work through. It’s tough to separate the personal and work relationships sometimes, but you have to have a clear boundary in place to do so.

9. A lot of people have been saying they hope things start to change in education since the Pandemic, what is one thing about the school system you hope changes?

I hope we take the opportunity to continue to be dynamic in how we teach students - utilizing flipped classrooms, chunking learning, various formative assessments and authentic assessments. The pandemic forced us to be creative in how we teach and form connections with students, and we should continue to use these approaches.

That being said, we need to ensure we still have high expectations for students and hold them accountable for learning.

10. Last but not least, where do you see yourself in ten years?

I’ve learned to never gauge where I’ll go next. I was shoulder-tapped to go into administration, despite wanting to teach for at least eight more years. I was encouraged to apply for the Director of College and Career Readiness position, despite being uncertain I was ready for it. You never know what opportunities will come up - you just have to be ready to take them on if you consider them viable and that you’d be the best candidate for them.

I could see myself still being the Director of CCR, or being a site principal, perhaps shifting to another director position. So long as I’m excited and challenged by my work, and enjoy the people I work with, I feel I’m in the right place.

Amanda, thank you so much for sharing this interview with not only me but the School Hive Community. I hope that everyone has an Amanda in their educational career to look up to like I do!