An Interview with Megan West

In this interview, get to know Megan West, who serves as Collaborative Classroom’s Manager of Educational Partnerships in Florida.

As a mission-driven nonprofit organization, Collaborative Classroom is committed to impact, bringing our research-based curricula and professional learning to as many educators and students as possible. 

Our Managers of Educational Partnerships play a vital role in growing our impact, working in service of teaching and learning for school, district, and community partners nationwide.  

Managers of Educational Partnerships bring a wealth of expertise and wide-ranging experiences to their work. Educators themselves, they have served as classroom teachers, interventionists, literacy coaches, principals, and district leaders. Many have taught at the college level, presented at state and national conferences, and authored professional books. All of them share a deep commitment to serving educators and students. 

Tell us a little about your background as an educator. What did you do before joining Collaborative Classroom?

My mom went back to the classroom after a teaching hiatus when I was a freshman in high school. My earliest memories of wanting to be a teacher are from helping her setup her classroom at my alma mater in Texas. 

It was also in high school where I had some of the most magical teachers. I knew, after high school, that I wanted to be able to give that magic back to my future students. I was a substitute and Sunday school teacher during undergrad. My official teaching journey began as a Teaching Assistant during graduate school at California State University, Long Beach.

After graduating, my husband and I moved to Florida to be near my parents. I was lucky enough to serve as a high school English and debate teacher at Cypress Bay High School in Broward County. 

After seven years in the classroom, I moved to the district office as a Curriculum Supervisor. There, I spent five years supporting K–12 students and their academic elective teachers across the fourth largest school district in the United States. And while I no longer work for the district, I just started my ninth year at Broward College. I get to teach one night a week at Broward as an adjunct professor in the Communication Department. 

How did you find out about Collaborative Classroom and the Manager of Educational Partnerships role?

In 2019, I was lucky enough to be a part of Leadership Florida (a statewide leadership program) in Education Class V. One of my classmates, Marisa Ramirez Stukey, is the Senior Director of Research at Collaborative Classroom. Marisa told me all about this incredible organization. 

When a Manager of Educational Partnerships position opened in Florida, Marisa shared the opportunity. I was very excited to apply and possibly start the next chapter of my career in education. I know that Collaborative Classroom took a chance on me because I had so much to learn about literacy, the science of reading, and all of our programs. It has been the best journey! Being a learner while bringing my strengths to the role and getting to work alongside wonderful and knowledgeable educators (like Marisa). 

Collaborative Classroom is a mission-driven nonprofit. What about our mission drew you to the organization? What’s your “why” for joining Collaborative Classroom?

My favorite word in our mission is “all.” When I am sharing about Collaborative Classroom with new or prospective partners, I always emphasize that word. 

And we really live that word as an organization. We believe in differentiating instruction to meet ALL students at their point of need. We believe that ALL students can master their foundational skills with the right support. Finally, we believe that ALL shapes, sizes, and colors should be represented as mirrors and windows in our texts. And we believe that ALL students deserve to be a part of a classroom community.

This resonated with me, and I felt that “all” meant our whole Collaborative Classroom team, too. 

What’s your favorite part of your role as a Manager of Educational Partnerships?

I think going into classrooms is the best part of any job, but especially this one. I love getting to see our curriculum in action. Watching teachers hone their craft and hearing from proud coaches and principals is a joy.

Another aspect of my role that I love is attending conferences to share more about our work, learn from other literacy advocates, and enjoy in-person time with my incredible teammates. 

What are some other projects or passions in your career? 

I started competing in debate as a freshman in high school. I met my husband doing collegiate debate, and coached debate for many years. So, for over half of my life, I have been given a safe space for my voice and opinions and/or been providing safe spaces for students. It does not matter if we are in a 2nd grade classroom, middle school math classroom, or high school art classroom (and everywhere in between). Students deserve a place where they are seen, heard, and given opportunities to think critically.

I have also done a good amount of work with justice-involved youth. I am passionate about making sure that they are given equal opportunities to learn and grow. It is a firm belief of mine that all students have a right to high-quality curriculum and instruction, and, equally important, that all students have a right to feel loved by an educator. Often, the students who need the most support are given the least. One of my missions in life, in my role at Collaborative Classroom, as an adjunct professor, and even as a parent, is to provide inclusive environments where the littlest, biggest, saddest, loneliest, grumpiest, smartest, loudest, and quietest learners can thrive. 

In your role, you get to spend time in lots of different classrooms. What is something exciting or inspiring that you’re seeing out there in schools right now?

More and more (often with our support), I am seeing teachers encourage their students to lead in the classroom. Students are leading discussions and running their own book clubs. Students are making anchor charts, and they are facilitating parent-teacher conferences. We learn by doing, but are often not given opportunities to simply do the thing we’re being taught to do.

This makes me think of the uptick in writing time, too! The research is clear that students need designated time everyday to write. I am seeing more and more schedules adopted to make time for this. We would never try to teach someone how to ride a bike by only having them sit in a chair and listen to the mechanics of riding a bike. The same goes for reading and writing. 

And I am seeing that designated time and space for students to work on their skills. Watching teachers give that power and autonomy back to their students in the process is just icing on the cake. 

One final question: Reflecting on your own lived experiences as a teacher or as a student, what was one experience that was particularly memorable or impactful for you?

I don’t know if I can pinpoint one specific experience. I can say that, as a student in high school, I really appreciated when I was given opportunities to rise to the occasion. 

Mr. Rike, my 9th grade English teacher, convinced me to join the debate team after reading an essay I had written on my first day of high school. Mr. Goforth, my high school band director, gave me the opportunity to lead my peers as a drum major. Ms. Saner, my AP Biology teacher, made us move seats all of the time to work with different groups, encouraging us to learn from each other. My 10th grade English teacher, Ms. McDonald, pushed us to dissect Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and Shakespeare as though we were 24, not 14. Ms. Campbell gave me my first part in the one-act play, “Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon” (don’t worry, I still remember my four lines). Ms. Herr held my hand through imaginary numbers. And the always-supportive Ms. Tucker let me eat lunch in the library so I could practice for debate. 

And the list goes on and on…I have been so lucky to feel the love from many phenomenal educators. ALL students should be so lucky. 

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Visit our Field Team page to meet our other Managers of Educational Partnerships.