Welcome to the Modern Classrooms Project Podcast. Each week we bring you discussions with educators on how they use blended, self-paced, and mastery-based learning to better serve their learners. In this episode, Toni Rose is joined by Wyatt Oroke to discuss his teaching career in Baltimore City. 

Wyatt knew he wanted to be a teacher starting in third grade when he had an amazing educator who made him feel seen and heard. Then, in fourth grade he had a terrible teacher who would make fun of him for not being able to read or spell. The class was so bad, that Wyatt switched schools and had to repeat third grade, where again he had an amazing teacher. This situation showed him the importance of educators due to the dramatic influence they have on how students feel about themselves. He now tries to uphold these values in his own classroom.

Wyatt currently teaches eighth-grade English and History in Baltimore. He has been teaching for ten years and was named the Baltimore City Teacher of the Year in 2021, in addition to the Maryland state Teacher of the Year in 2022.

Wyatt truly appreciated the opportunity the city gave him to grow. During his first three years at National Academy Middle School, he worked on projects with the district to write curriculum. He moved to City Springs Elementary School because the new school is a public charter school, meaning Wyatt has autonomy over the curriculum and can write (and then teach) his own curriculum. He has also taken on roles as a leader at the school and district level. 

Dealing with the impact of a pandemic

Wyatt knew that the city struggled long before the pandemic. He knew the system was set up for its black and brown citizens who live, work, and learn in Baltimore to fail. The pandemic just made existing issues worse. After being virtual for the entire 21-22 school year, students had gaps, both socially and academically.

Beyond anecdotes, Wyatt tracked their eighth-grade alumni in high school and saw a dramatic rise in the number of students who were failing ninth grade. They were simply not set up for success at the high school due to the pandemic. Finally, this year, Wyatt is seeing scholars who are similar to students pre-pandemic. While it is good to get normalcy, Wyatt is still nervous about alumni in high school who are still behind due to the fact that they did not pass entry-level classes in ninth grade. He keeps his eye on former students he used to teach to make sure they are set up for success and set to graduate. 

Supporting previous students

Too often, education starts and ends with the school day or the school year. But true student support means sustaining these relationships and support systems year after year. To do that, Wyatt takes four steps:

• He stays after school every day and former students come to see him, either just to chat or work on assignments 

• He links them to resources in the community that they may need access to

• He communicates with administrators and teachers at other schools to support and find the gaps (for example, attending parent-teacher conferences where appropriate)

• Specifically works alongside the ninth-grade teachers at the schools his students feed into to help them understand the gaps previous students might have, as well as addressing those gaps with his existing eighth-grade students

In Baltimore, there are city-wide programs that provide support to students in a variety of ways. The biggest is Youth Words, which is a summer work program for students ages four through 18. Wyatt’s school also lacks a guidance counselor so he has taken on the role of making sure that students who are turning 14 in the summer are able to get into a youth work program. He keeps in touch with all students of working age to make sure they filled out the paperwork and applied correctly. Oftentimes, support for students goes beyond academics - it’s about helping them understand and access what is available to them.

The importance of community

By October of his first year, Wyatt wanted to quit. Things were not going well and he felt he was a terrible educator. During a phone call with his father, his dad said that was because Wyatt had one foot out the door. He was reinvigorated to listen more, get to know the community better, and make an intentional choice to be more visible and involved. 

After that conversation, he started to hang out at the basketball court at the rec center, which expanded his circle of knowledge. Wyatt became familiar with programs at the nearby high schools and started coaching sports. Before long, he had an intimate understanding of the expectations placed on his students. Wyatt attended community-based events like poetry readings and art shows. He reached out to authors and activists within the community to incorporate their work in his classroom. He spent a lot of time listening and not trying to push his own agenda. 

• Phase 1: Get out in the community to understand the people who live and work there. Go on walks to get to know everyone. 

• Phase 2: Partake in attentional learning. Read, attend events, meet with people who know the history, and talk to generational family members in order to understand the history of where you are teaching. 

• Phase 3: Do your own research and reading to understand bias and privilege. 

Wyatt “sharpens his privileged elbows to make space for his black and brown students,” meaning that he creates space to allow young people to speak and advocate for what matters to them. An example of this is the Perkins Home, the largest housing project in the city. His scholars advocated for increased funding by speaking to the mayor, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and housing developers to ensure that all subsidized housing was replaced at a one-to-one ratio. Rather than just a few section-eights, now any development created has to have that ratio. Additionally, his scholars have worked to advocate for schools and they are getting a brand-new school building! Lastly, they work to create parks, increase access to rec centers, and have more area to walk and play. 

Beyond their community, the students also reached out to the state government after a tour of the capitol because they felt that the tour was racist and did not reflect them. The State House then redeveloped the entire tour. They spoke to state representatives to increase funding for programs such as Youth Works and they passed the “current blueprint” which increases funding for schools across Maryland. Wyatt aids them by setting up meetings or calls and giving his scholars access to materials to understand what is going on in order to leverage their own knowledge on topics. Not only does this empower students, but it helps them understand how to be agents of change within their communities and the world.

Thank you to Wyatt for joining us on the podcast to share his experiences teaching and empowering students in Baltimore. We recommend listening to the whole episode.

Discussion questions for PLC and PD: 

• How is your community similar to or different from Baltimore?

• How do you check and understand your biases and privilege? 

• How do you or how can you incorporate social media into your teaching? 

• What are some benefits of and restrictions with the community you teach in?

• What resources does your district have or lack for students?

Our Host

Toni Rose taught MS English for 10 years and will forever identify as a teacher. Toni Rose strives to be the teacher that she never had growing up, so she focuses on anti-bias, anti-racist work and wants to create a brave space for everyone around her. As a queer Filipinx, she understands just how important it is to be represented, be valued, and belong. She especially loves being a thought partner for and celebrating teachers. In her spare time, she likes to eat ice cream, take naps, force her two dogs to cuddle with her, travel, read on the beach and never get in the water, get matching tattoos, and cheer on all the strong women in her life. Sometimes, when she's in the mood, she'll run half-marathons, lift weights, and practice her arm balances.

Our Guest

Wyatt Oroke (Mr. O) is a nationally recognized educator for his work around literacy and social justice. Mr. O is in his 10th year teaching 8th-grade English and History in Baltimore City. In 2020 he was named the Baltimore City Teacher of the Year and in 2021 he was named the Maryland State Teacher of the Year. Mr. O also won awards from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Baltimore, the Baltimore Orioles, and Ellen DeGeneres. He is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and Johns Hopkins University. He is currently working on his doctorate in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessments.

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