My passion for education has always extended beyond the classroom. In my first year of teaching, driven by low reading levels, my principal and I successfully submitted a federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration grant. At a BIA school, collaborating with the University of New Mexico (UNM), the University of Northern Colorado, and parents, we improved and expanded our gifted program to serve over 70 students. Finally, with Albuquerque Public Schools, I'm involved in Strengthening Quality in Schools, a New Mexico Public Education Department initiative for school improvement.

School improvement is one area of great concern to me, particularly the urgency of improving our lowest performing schools. Another, related policy area I am interested in is the development of effective teachers. With a new definition of professional development from the National Staff Development Council, I hope the time has arrived when we will support teachers in becoming effective. Professional development must become continuous, collaborative, ongoing, and develop the expertise to meet the needs of each student. My graduate work inquiry project was on site-based collaborative professional development.

Perhaps I changed my mind about becoming a teacher during high school when academia became inaccessible and I lost confidence in myself as a learner. Twenty years after graduation, living on the Spanish land grant of my father's family, escaping the economic and ethnic tensions of the city, I accepted a long-term substitute position in a small Catholic school serving the nearby reservation and Spanish communities. Soon after, I completed an education post-bachelors program and accepted a teaching position in our community elementary school.

Always looking for ways to improve my professional environment I became involved early in education reform. Realizing that not all educational institutions are also interested in reform (change) has been a challenge. I had no idea there would be resistance to school improvement. I wondered, "How could anyone not want a better education for children?" In my first reform effort, resistance to change rose as rapidly as reading scores. Recently completing a one year Teaching Ambassador Fellowship, my experience in education reform has intensified. The prospect of reauthorizing a new education law gives me great hope. My hope is that teachers, educators from all levels, parents, students, community leaders, businessmen, and politicians can engage in what Michael Fullan refers to as "collective collaborative capacity building". Together, we will meet the 21st Century challenges in education. This fellowship offered opportunities to collaborate with federal officials, state, district, and community leaders while working at the school level and participating in the efforts and challenges of teachers and students. We have much to celebrate in public education as we move towards even better meeting the needs of all children!

Today two quotes from President Barack Obama resonate for me. He says, "We cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together— unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes… We all want to move in the same direction— toward a better future for our children and grandchildren". He asks, "If not us, who? If not now, when?"