Announcer (00:01):
Highlighting the amazing stories from inside the North Clackamas School district. This is the proud to be NCSD podcast, hosted by longtime principal and current community relations director, Curtis Long,

Students (00:19):
There, nice and mad.

Curtis Long (00:20):
It's certainly not uncommon for us to start the Proud To Be NCSD podcast among the sounds of a traditional district classroom where you'll often hear students using traditional signals to show their following along, maybe by raising hands or asking questions.

Students (00:35):
How do I check to see if I did my bread test?

Teacher (00:37):
I'll go grab who's done it. Okay, sounds good.

Curtis Long (00:39):
And teachers providing traditional instruction from the front of the classroom.

Teacher (00:44):
For your spaetzel, you're gonna make this batter. It's not a dough, even though we're making like a pasta.

Curtis Long (00:49):
But listen closely and you'll quickly realize this is not a traditional classroom lesson for

Teacher (00:55):
Your sauce is going to be the shallots cook, the mushrooms added. You can cut the mushrooms however you want, if you want bigger pieces, smaller pieces...

Curtis Long (01:03):
And after several years as a culinary chef, Shadow C deBaca is not your traditional high school teacher.

Teacher (01:10):
So I've got pan seared chicken with a mushroom dijon pan sauce. You can make another pan sauce

Curtis Long (01:17):
Just a few minutes away on this very same day. Alder Creek Middle School media Art students are writing scripts for videos. They're producing about different schoolwide expectations

Students (01:26):
The lockdown drill because people talk a lot during them. So yes, like's true. I feel like that's the one where people talk the most. It has to be longer than 30, shorter than two minutes.

Curtis Long (01:35):
And their teacher not so traditional either. In fact, Andy McAlister also utilizes skills from a previous career to connect with his lively students, even if it means teaching parts of his lesson through a megaphone.

Teacher (01:47):
Make sure you plug in your Chromebooks too, please.

Curtis Long (01:48):
And while McAlister and C deBaca each utilize previous career knowledge to teach specific subjects in middle and high school, did you know several other NCSD teachers also shifted careers entirely to find themselves in elementary classrooms?

Teacher (02:02):
Madison, would you like to join us? Okay. You can join us afterwards.

Curtis Long (02:06):
In fact, while their students were happily eating in the cafeteria, we found three Riverside Elementary teachers who have more than just the same lunch period in common. Each one also turned to teaching after starting their careers in entirely different fields.

Teacher (02:19):
I remember thinking to myself like, oh, this is what it feels like to love what you do.

Curtis Long (02:24):
Yes, sometimes NCSD teachers take a risk and switch schools, switch classrooms, and even switch grade levels. But today on the Proud To Be NCSD podcast, meet some incredible colleagues who took perhaps the biggest risk possible, they switched careers, what prompted them to flip the script?

Teacher (02:41):
Few things that you'll need to do before we start writing that script.

Curtis Long (02:43):
And what gives them the most joy after trading in the private sector for public education?

Teacher (02:48):
It is incredible to see them just grow as these little people who are so, so excited to come to school and learn more and just be part of our school community for the next five years.

Curtis Long (02:59):
here their amazing stories. Next...

Teacher (03:02):
Uh, okay. Can't wait.

Curtis Long (03:05):
And we can't wait to introduce you to these incredible educators in the North Clackamas School District. All of whom traded in stakeholders for staff meetings, office turnover for tardy slips, and some would say lever polling for lesson plans, their current NCSD teachers who didn't start their careers as teachers. Now, as we alluded to at the beginning, we're recording this podcast in two separate portions. First, we'll meet the two incredible NCSD educators. You heard in this episode's Introduction, Sabin-Schellenberg's Shadow CdeBaca, and Alder Creek Middle Schools. Andy McAlister, both of you. Welcome to the show.

Andy McAlister (03:36):
Thanks Curtis.

Shadow CdeBaca (03:37):
Thanks for having us.

Curtis Long (03:38):
Then a little bit later on, we'll shift from the NCSD recording pseudo here at the district office to Riverside Elementary, where we sit down with Riverside Teachers, Deena Nakata, Natalie Arias and Chris Stamm. But first things first, let's get to know Shadow. And Andy, once again, thanks for taking some time before the school day begins to visit with us. Let's have you each start by introducing yourselves and telling us a little bit about what you currently do in our school district.

Shadow CdeBaca (04:00):
Uh, yeah. My name's Shadow and I teach, uh, this year the level one culinary arts class over at Sabin Schellenberg. We're a year long, two and a half hour class every other day covering everything from baking skills, cooking methods, a little bit of butchery, just everything cooking. So we're in the class pretty much every day of the year.

Curtis Long (04:20):
Now, when I visited the other day, it sounds like you're getting close to finals time. Kids were, they had a little bread assessment, they had to bake a certain bread it sounded like, and other assessments going on.

Shadow CdeBaca (04:29):
Yeah, so we're about a week and a half away from their final, which will be a three hour cooking exam. Whoa. So they'll have to make, in groups, they'll have to make a bread, an entree, an appetizer, and a dessert, and do all the safety, sanitation, all the cleaning, everything that goes along with it.

Curtis Long (04:45):
Now is it like the shows that we see, where do you have to taste it in front of them and, and give 'em their grade right there?

Shadow CdeBaca (04:51):
Yeah, so there's uh, there's a couple other chefs in the program that I teach with Uhhuh. And so usually one or two of them will come over to the class and we'll taste in front of the students and give them their grade right on the spot. So yeah, it's, it's really fun.

Curtis Long (05:03):
And Andy, we heard you teaching earlier in the, uh, beginning of this podcast. Now you had media art students there, but you also teach a food and consumer science class. Tell us a little bit about what you do in the school district.

Andy McAlister (05:13):
Yeah, I teach FACS over at Alder Creek. Uh, so for anyone our age or older, we know it as home ec. Mm-hmm . But same deal. So cooking, uh, we incorporate a little bit of sewing, budgeting, all of that kind of stuff.

Curtis Long (05:29):
Yeah. And you have media arts kids when we visited you. So those kids are kind of like TV news production type thing. They were getting ready to create some videos about school expectations.

Andy McAlister (05:37):
Yeah, we do some photography, graphic design, video production. No podcasting yet, maybe next year.

Curtis Long (05:45):
Well, I'm certainly happy to help whenever they're ready for that. For sure. Now, the reason both of you are here besides being awesome, is because each of you did not come to education as a first career choice. Tell us a little bit about your career history and what led you, you to your current position here at NCSD.

Shadow CdeBaca (05:59):
Um, so I actually went through the program that I'm teaching in now. Wow. So I went through, um, graduated from Putnam in 2007, so a while ago, but really wanted to do the chef thing. So got out, um, went to Portland State and was able to cook in Portland. Um, I've been a chef around for about, I don't know, about 19 years. And I got an opportunity to go cook professionally in Australia, which was really fun. Did a bunch of butchery and curing at some companies in Portland. Um, and just kind of jumped around learning as much as I could. And then the opportunity to come take a teaching position at Sabin Schellenberg opened up, um, two summers ago and I was told about it and yeah, just jumped right back in.

Curtis Long (06:45):
I can't wait to get into that a little bit later. So you're actually teaching in the kitchen that you learned in at Sabin Schellenberg

Shadow CdeBaca (06:51):
I teach my favorite class from high school

Curtis Long (06:54):
. That's really cool. That is super cool. Andy, how about you?

Andy McAlister (06:56):
Yeah, I, uh, I went to IU of an undergrad and, um, Indiana. Right? Indiana? Yeah. Who was yours? Okay. Yeah. Uh, I studied creative writing, but I, I would say that I honestly spent more of my time teaching myself to cook and then, uh, working at a, at a Vietnamese restaurant all through college. And yeah, I was way more devoted to the kitchen, honestly than, um, a lot of my classes, which I regret a little bit . But, uh, I got outta school and moved to Portland basically because it's such a foodie city. Well,

Curtis Long (07:29):
What led you to, now you find yourself at Alder Creek Middle School as a teacher.

Andy McAlister (07:34):
Yeah how did I get there? That transition happen? So I worked for, uh, several years, uh, mostly in bakeries, um, or as a pastry chef. Uh, worked for a caterer for a while, making a lot of little fussy sandwich cookies, was kind of our trademark. And my last baking job, uh, I worked a weird shift from like four to midnight doing the wholesale bake off. So I had these really long days and, you know, I love baking, but it, it was not super meaningful. It wasn't like a, a service oriented position. And, um, so I, uh, took a volunteer position through IRCO, which is the immigrant refugee community. Something, something. Okay. Anyway, I was, uh, tutoring kids over at David Douglas High School and really loved it. Um, and it kind of was my first dabble with working with middle high school aged kids.

Curtis Long (08:25):
And here you are today?

Andy McAlister (08:26):
Here I am, yeah. Took a job teaching in Spain, tried that out, and then ended up, uh, at PSU for my, uh, teaching license.

Curtis Long (08:35):
So we have Shadow at Sabin, we have Andy at Alder Creek. Based on your experience now, what would you say is the biggest difference between your former career and what you're doing today? Besides having lots of younger faces staring at you as you do your job?

Shadow CdeBaca (08:47):
Honestly, teaching high school aged students really reminds me of working with line cooks, . So it's kind of very similar to the way it was professionally, just, uh, younger. But it's been kind of, I don't know, fun seeing the other side of like, what they're doing. 'cause I'm just one of their many classes they have, so all the other stresses they have going on, it's like kind of a little bit of a refuge for them to come in and put everything aside and be able to cook. So I, the challenges are just kind of like normal school things. Mm-hmm . I guess. Mm-hmm . But it's fun 'cause we're just cooking all day and so they're having a good time.

Curtis Long (09:23):
Andy, how about you? Any big differences between what you were doing before and now as a middle school teacher?

Andy McAlister (09:28):
Yeah, it's a lot more intellectually stimulating. Um, you know, I taught language arts for six, seven years before this and, and loved that too. I feel like this is like kind of a natural blending of, of loving the, the, um, repetition and of, of baking of cooking, but also like finding ways to, um, make it appealing and, um, making it approachable for middle school kids. And I have so much autonomy too in my classroom, which, which I love. You don't have so much autonomy in somebody else's kitchen. Right.

Curtis Long (10:01):
Uh, I was gonna ask both of you now. I've had the luxury of visiting both of you in your workspaces and I really notice you guys know kids' names. You know who they are by name. It seems like you've built good relationships with all your students. Andy, I saw you greeting kids out in front as they were coming in, uh, at the door shadow. I saw you talking to kids about previous things that they'd done in class and kids were asking, Hey, did you taste my cinnamon bread yet? And you were like, yeah, it was pretty cinnamon, but uh, you did a nice job on that. Uh, I was gonna ask you, what's the best part about being a teacher? I have a feeling you might say building relationships with your students.

Shadow CdeBaca (10:33):
Yeah. I, I, I feel like I get kind of a unique perspective on it. 'cause I was in their spot Yeah. Years ago and had a great career outside of, outside of Schellenberg. And so the ones that I get that want to explore, you know, the professional cooking world, if it's like restaurant work or you know, entrepreneurship and like farmer's market stalls or food science even, it's cool to kind of be at the beginning of their journey. 'cause I had mentorship when I was at the beginning of mine, so it's cool to kinda like come full circle and pass it down.

Curtis Long (11:05):
Now the teachers who were there when you were a student, are any of 'em still there?

Shadow CdeBaca (11:10):
Yeah, so, uh, chef Koebke and Chef Carsten Uhhuh and Chef McCammon who teaches welding at Sabin Schellenberg now Uhhuh are all still teaching and I've kept in contact with all of them over the years. But particularly Chef Koebke, he was like my first real mentor. And so he was the one that actually let me know that the position was coming available and told me that, uh, if I was interested I should apply. So it's cool I get to work with him every day now. It's really cool.

Curtis Long (11:36):
I just think maybe someday you'll be working with some of your current students or previous students who knows?

Shadow CdeBaca (11:41):
Yeah. Maybe things work out.

Curtis Long (11:42):
Andy, same for you. Some of those middle schoolers could be back someday at Alder Creek.

Andy McAlister (11:46):
Yeah, that's right.

Curtis Long (11:47):
How about for you? The best part about being in middle school?

Andy McAlister (11:50):
It's my students. Yeah. I, I love them. This year will be the, uh, the first time in my career where like I've seen kids I had in sixth grade move on to high school and I will have taught them all three years. So it's gonna be a tearful June for sure. And I also, I, we have an awesome staff at Alter Creek. I just love my colleagues so much. It's a really supportive place to work.

Curtis Long (12:13):
Were there any challenges that came with being a teacher that maybe you didn't anticipate? Oh, I didn't know it would come with this when I became a teacher. Anything you can think of that were maybe some challenges that maybe the general public wouldn't realize that you get into the teaching profession and there are some definite challenges that come with that?

Shadow CdeBaca (12:31):
I think for me it's been like the, the academic classroom management side. Mm-hmm . Like, I feel pretty confident that I can teach people how to cook. Yeah. You know, anybody. But having the, yeah. The classroom management side so much to learn, um, you know, managing grade books and having different learning styles in the class. Um, most of my classes are about 30 students each. And so just having 30 wildly different personalities in the space and like massive skillset differences and trying to get them all going the same direction and keeping them from going to the student store every minute of the day. and just keeping them on track has been probably the biggest challenge. So

Curtis Long (13:12):
They wanna leave culinary class and go get a snack at the student store? Is that how it works?

Shadow CdeBaca (13:17):
We generally don't make beverages in class Uhhuh. And so they are always asking if we can make beverages, , and then going and getting violently red or blue be whatever drinks there they are over there. Um, but yeah, they, and we're, our kitchen is right across the hall, so usually during class I'll give 'em a, you know, five, 10 minute break between things so they can go get their drink of the day. Nice.

Curtis Long (13:41):
Andy? My whole career has been at the elementary level. I, I've gone and visited middle school and I will say it takes a special person to connect with those middle school kids. That's where you find yourself. There have been any big challenges for you when you transitioned into the middle school level?

Andy McAlister (13:56):
Yeah. Uh, we have a lot of fun. .

Curtis Long (13:58):
You sure do.

Andy McAlister (13:59):
I, I student taught 12th grade and it was great, but there's a lot more pressure at that level, um, in terms of grades and just, um, kids really having to make some, some firm choices about next steps. And I just love the fluidity of middle school. Um, they do still need a lot of nurturing and caretaking, which is a role that I've kind of been surprised to find myself stepping into and, and really loving. Um, it's been hard to, um, find kind of an authentic presence in that role, but, but I take a lot of pride in it now.

Curtis Long (14:30):
Now I asked both of you about the biggest challenges maybe you didn't anticipate. How about the biggest rewards you didn't know you would be receiving as you entered this profession?

Shadow CdeBaca (14:39):
I think for me, having students go out and get their first, first jobs and they're in, in kitchens, they're working and they're looking at, okay, what's the next step? What do I do after? Do I go to culinary school? And, you know, getting them in contact with people that they can go get their food careers going. Yeah. It's really, really fun. I've had a lot of students come, you know, up to me, ask if they can use me as a reference for their first job. And I, I really like that. Mm-hmm . Um, considering, like when I was in the program, my first job was in a restaurant as a dishwasher and, you know, it starts somewhere. So seeing them actually get their start has been really cool.

Curtis Long (15:15):
And Andy, you, you converted from pastry chef to now in a classroom, leading groups of kids throughout the day. Any rewards you didn't anticipate as you change professions?

Andy McAlister (15:24):
Yeah, again, it, I just have so much autonomy, whether it was language arts, media arts, or, uh, now FACS. I get to design how my students approach, uh, what we're learning. And there's so much creativity in that and it's a lot of work, but I, I just really love doing it.

Curtis Long (15:42):
Now if there's someone listening out there who's kind of on the fence about maybe making a career change and getting into education, what advice would you give them?

Shadow CdeBaca (15:48):
What advice would I give them? I mean, I'm only about a year and a half into my, my path so far. Mm-hmm . And it definitely feels like it's a, um, a lifelong learning endeavor. So I think maybe I'd say, uh, don't, don't stop the learning side. Things change quickly and be ready for that.

Curtis Long (16:05):
Andy, any advice for people who are maybe thinking of changing careers?

Andy McAlister (16:08):
Yeah, I'd say it's, it's a calling. It's, um, it's not necessarily, uh, a job where like, like I experienced with baking and cooking where you're kind of clocking in, clocking out and not necessarily thinking about it as much. At the end of the day, it's changed me a lot and there's aspects of it that I didn't expect. It's a little bit of show business . Um, and so you're kind of put in that role whether you like it or not, and you have to kinda sink or swim, but the schedule is, is awesome. . Yeah.

Curtis Long (16:37):
Yeah. It is a good schedule. Yeah, for sure. You mentioned the show business part and we played a little bit at the beginning with you. You actually use a megaphone sometimes to make sure you get those kids' attention and, and they're, uh, tuning into you.

Andy McAlister (16:49):
Yeah, I have kind of a famously quiet voice. And so that megaphone is, uh, pretty crucial for me. Especially my new classroom is huge. So yeah, I, I use that pretty much every day.

Curtis Long (17:00):
Shadow I heard someone ask you, Hey, are we gonna make this kind of thing? And you said, oh yeah, we're making that in April. I can't remember what that was. It was some kind of special noodle dish or something. I think they were talking about,

Shadow CdeBaca (17:08):
They were asking about gnocchi. Yes. And yeah, they're, they're starting to get antsy. 'cause we head into our international section of our course, so we're cooking food from a different country like every few days. And so lots of questions about Italian food and when we're gonna make sushi and I keep telling 'em, it's coming, it's coming. We just gotta get past the, the next little bit and then it'll be here.

Curtis Long (17:30):
Is there ever any time when a student just amazes you with what they're able to do? I mean, you think back to your time in that those courses, and I imagine sometimes students come forward and say, Hey, look what I did, I just mixed these two ingredients and here's what I came up with.

Shadow CdeBaca (17:44):
I, it, it's an everyday thing. , I mean, especially in our classes, we talk about, you know, we're gonna fail a lot. Everybody in here is gonna mess things up. and we'll, you know, some of the best foods that have been made in in the kitchens at St. Schoenberg have been from mistakes that have been made. Mistakes, yeah. Just tweak it or try something else with what was messed up and it tastes delicious and we'll find a way to use it somehow. So it's an everyday thing. Yeah. I'm constantly surprised at the complex things that they do with simple ingredients or the ideas they've got more, if they come back and share with me, like food that they made for their families, I'm always like super impressed that they're going home and doing that.

Curtis Long (18:22):
Andy, how about the middle school level? I'm sure those middle schoolers surprise you every day.

Andy McAlister (18:25):
Yeah, I would say culinarily, I'm, I haven't been super surprised, but I have been really impressed with how hardworking they are in terms of cleaning up their kitchen and Oh, like working together. I I was dreading

Curtis Long (18:38):
I love to hear that.

Andy McAlister (18:39):
Yeah. I was dreading that at the start of the year, but it's like, uh, they leave that room every day and those kitchens are clean, sinks are scrubbed it's great as a kind of a clean freak from years working in professional kitchens. Yeah.

Curtis Long (18:53):
Yeah. So for those of listeners who don't know, so Andy's students from Alder Creek eventually go to Rex Putnam and then are eligible for your program shadow. So there may be some kids that are in Andy's program right now that you'll get within the next couple of years.

Shadow CdeBaca (19:05):
Yeah, that would be cool. . Yeah, that would fun.

Curtis Long (19:07):
That would be pretty cool, I don't have anything else. Is there anything we didn't touch on that you want people to know about?

Andy McAlister (19:11):
The only thing that comes to mind is when I tell people outside of North Clackamas that I'm teaching FACS or Home Ec, everybody's like, oh, I, I didn't know they were still doing that. And it sounds like it is somewhat unique in the region to still have this program and, and so I'm just really grateful that we've still got it. Yeah, I see how impactful it is in teaching those life skills. And I hope we keep the program for a long time.

Curtis Long (19:33):
And I think for both of you, and I'm sure you know this, but there are some kids I'm sure at Alder Creek Middle School who their favorite part of the day is coming to Mr. McAllister's class and their favorite part of the day is coming to your class at Sabin Schellenberg. So on behalf of the school district, thank you for everything that you do and inspiring these kids and thanks so much for being a part of our podcast today.

Andy McAlister (19:51):
Thanks, Curtis. Awesome.

Shadow CdeBaca (19:52):
Thanks Curtis.

Curtis Long (19:52):
Now of course, shadow and Andy aren't the only NCSD teachers who were once part of the corporate world and while they've taken their talents to middle and high school.

Teacher (20:00):
So, Sammy, before we begin our group, we're just going to read the alphabet chart really quick and then we'll get started with our new group setup.

Curtis Long (20:06):
Some of our most talented and effective teachers actually never thought they'd find themselves in education, let alone an elementary classroom after leaving college yet here they are.

Teacher (20:16):
We said M Mouse after that. M mm nest. Great. Good job. Thank you, Sammy.

Curtis Long (20:23):
Up next, our scene shifts to Riverside Elementary, where we sat down with three educators who share the same lunch period and also share the same experience of coming to teaching as a second career.

Teacher (20:34):
Another thing I think that helped me in the sales and marketing industry was how to work with challenging situations and challenging people.

Curtis Long (20:44):
You have those in elementary school? Uh, yeah, we have those at every level. Yeah. In elementary school for sure. Yeah, exactly. Hear their incredible stories Next before they have to hurry back to class.

Teacher (20:53):
I went into special education because those were the students I worked with, uh, as a paraeducator, and I just realized it was where I was meant to be

Curtis Long (21:01):
Right after this.

Commercial Announcer (21:02):
Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? The North Clackamas School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or substitute teacher apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire before and after school caretakers, custodians, and bus drivers in North Clackamas. We promise it won't take you long to learn why our employees say they're proud to be in NCSD. Apply today on the North Clackamas school district website or call 5 0 3 3 5 3 6,000. That's 5 0 3 3 5 3 6,000.

Curtis Long (21:57):
And welcome back in to this career swap edition of the Proud To Be NCSD podcast, where we've actually swapped locations from the district office, recording studio to now a conference room at Riverside Elementary, where we meet teachers Deena Nakata, Natalie Arias, and Chris Stamm, Deena. Natalie. Chris, thanks so much for taking time out of your own lunch period to join us today. You're welcome.

Teacher (22:17):
Thank you for having us.

Curtis Long (22:19):
Well just like our guests earlier in the show, let's have each of you introduce yourselves and tell us a little about your career path that's led you to your current position here at Riverside.

Chris Stamm (22:27):
Uh, my name is Chris Stamm. I'm a learning specialist at Riverside. Uh, I work in the resource room and all around the building. Uh, it was a long and winding path for me to teaching. Um, I've only been at it for a few years now. Uh, before, before teaching I was, uh, a freelance writer and, uh, I kind of split, uh, writing and stay at home parenting duties. But, um, my career was writing for various, uh, local newspapers.

Curtis Long (22:56):
So do you find teaching, writing your favorite subject to teach with the elementary

Chris Stamm (22:59):
Kids? Uh, it's my least favorite thing to teach , uh, by a mile. It's very hard to teach writing Uhhuh.

Curtis Long (23:06):
It is very hard. Natalie, how about you?

Natalie Arias (23:08):
Well, so this is my 10th year teaching and I've spent my whole teaching career in North Clackamas. I'm the emergent literacy specialist here at Riverside for grades K to three. And kind of like Chris, I had a winding road before I fell into teaching. Um, I worked in the service industry in my twenties before I went back to college. My husband was part owner of a restaurant for a while, so that was our livelihood for quite a few years after college, I actually got a job as an in-class tutor for a Spanish speaking GED class at Mount Hood Community College that was taught by Jen Martin, who's currently the interim assistant principal at Rex Putnam. At Rex

Curtis Long (23:42):
Putnam.

Natalie Arias (23:42):
Yeah. I actually followed her to the middle school that she also worked at in David Douglas and was their library and media assistant for a few years before I went to grad school for teaching and was hired here in our district.

Curtis Long (23:53):
And here you are at Riverside Elementary. And Deena, I think you are the most experienced of all of these three, right? .

Deena Nakata (24:00):
That's a nice way of saying it. , I, yeah. I am currently the instructional coach here at Riverside. So, um, I help K through five and I was actually a teacher here for 10 years as well, but I started my teaching career at Denal, but teaching is a second career for me overall. Mm-hmm . So my first career was in sales and marketing, and I spent almost 18 years in the pharmaceutical industry. It actually was in what we call the consumer health industry. So I worked for companies like Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson. So, um, those would be consumer facing products like B Listerine or Bine, um, things that you would find on your shelf in like a Safeway or a Walmart. So that's where I started my career. And a lot of times people say like, wow, that's such a big jump from, you know, that type of industry to teaching, but there's actually a lot of connections because it's, it's super independent and you're kind of managing your own territory in a way. And so there's a lot of similarities to teaching. And then from there, I, I spent a couple of years in computer, same thing like, uh, sales and marketing. And then ultimately I got my master's in teaching, you know, as a working as full-time working. Yeah. And my kids were in elementary and middle school, so that's what brought me to North Clackamas.

Curtis Long (25:20):
Okay. So as Deena was mentioning, a lot of your skills that you used in former careers, they translate pretty well into your current career here in North Clackamas. Talk to us a little bit about that.

Chris Stamm (25:29):
I'll go first again. So as a self-employed writer, for one, I was very autonomous. And I think something that drew me to teaching was obviously we are teaching to standards and we have curricula, but there is a level of autonomy and self-determination, self-management, scheduling, things that we kind of have to take care of on our own, and writing to deadlines, managing various assignments, scheduling interviews, all these things that come up in journalism, I think have really served me in the teaching profession. This sort of mix of, uh, writing in service of a larger cause, which is the newspaper, but doing it on my own too is very similar to the dynamic at a school.

Natalie Arias (26:10):
For me, I think I would go back to when I worked in the service industry and how busy restaurants mm-hmm . And other places that I worked in were so just managing different tables, constantly running around multitasking, getting to know customers and building relationships with them really did help me when I became a teacher. Just having those skills. A minute

Curtis Long (26:29):
You're telling me that as an elementary school teacher, there's activity all the time and you have to move around to different tables constantly.

Natalie Arias (26:36):
Can you believe it? , I can't believe that. . Um, but yeah, multitasking, building relationships with students, those are all skills that I learned in the service industry. Mm-hmm

Curtis Long (26:45):
. Deena, how about you?

Deena Nakata (26:46):
Yeah, um, a lot of similarities to Chris and Natalie. I would say, you know, one of the things about working for me when I was working in the consumer healthcare industry, you had a home office, for example. And so like Chris was saying, I had to learn how to be really self-motivated. I was answering to whether it was district managers or regional managers that weren't necessarily in the same room as me. So I was very project management based, which as a teacher, that's essentially what you're doing. Mm-hmm . And you are managing your own time, your own classroom. You have to be extremely organized. So you are in charge of your own destiny in a way. But those communication skills, you know, really came into play. And I would say a lot of what I learned along my career was how to work with people and how to communicate effectively and how to really collaborate and create teams. Another thing I think that helped me in the sales and marketing industry was how to work with challenging situations and challenging people.

Curtis Long (27:42):
You have those in elementary school? Yeah, we have those in every level. Yeah. In elementary school for sure.

Deena Nakata (27:46):
Exactly. You know, so there were many times in which you're, you're trying to make people happy mm-hmm . In really challenging situations, whether it's large, large corporations like say a Walmart that you, you or a Costco where you really have to please a customer. And there's high demands and high pressures, there's high margins. But ultimately what that helped me to do, especially in my younger years, is how to, um, manage expectations and how to sit in discomfort, how to really listen to what someone is saying and then understand what they're really asking of me. And of course, every day that comes into play, not only with parents and paraeducators and administrators, but ultimately my students.

Curtis Long (28:27):
Think back to when you first started, maybe your first year when you switched into a teaching profession, your first classroom. Do you ever have a moment when you thought, oh gosh, I didn't anticipate it would be like this. I didn't know you would be having to deal with this. Can you think of anything?

Natalie Arias (28:40):
Absolutely. . My first year teaching was the hardest year of my life. , I learned so much and I loved my grad program. I went to Lewis and Clark mm-hmm . It was wonderful, but nothing can really prepare you for your first year teaching. And I felt like I, I had the relationships down I with families and with students, but managing the full day and so many, so much curricula to learn in the first year and finding, trying to do best practices all the time, it just, it was a lot. And it really took a few years before I really found my stride and my own style in teaching.

Curtis Long (29:11):
Chris, how about for you coming from a writer to not only do you have writing, you've got social studies, you've got science, you've got math, you've got reading, you've got all that now. It's

Chris Stamm (29:19):
True. I've got a lot. And, uh, historically in my life I've shirked work and responsibility, . And so coming into teaching I ha had never worked so hard, physically, mentally, emotionally. And that was, that was a shock to the system. And for someone who doesn't necessarily love the idea of working.

Curtis Long (29:40):
Teaching is a very difficult job. Absolutely. Yeah.

Natalie Arias (29:44):
It's non stop and you get all your steps in while at work.

Curtis Long (29:46):
Many steps, many steps in it is nonstop. Deena, you talked a little bit about pleasing customers. I mean, you have a set of 25 to 30 customers every day, all day long in an elementary school.

Deena Nakata (29:56):
Yeah. You know, one of the things I did as a college student was I worked at a Alaskan fish cannery up in Neck, neck Alaska. And I would say that was the f that was one of the hardest jobs I've done in terms of physical labor, uhhuh. And I've worked a lot of different things in my career. But when I came into teaching, I legitimately that first year, like Natalie said, there was nothing like, first of all, my first day of my first year of teaching . And there was nothing like my first year of teaching. And there were times that I thought, especially that first day, I thought if anyone had offered me like, Hey, do you wanna come back tomorrow? Yes.

Curtis Long (30:31):
I honestly, I know that feeling!

Deena Nakata (30:33):
Like, I mean, despite all the education you go through, if someone had said like, I'll give you a way out today. Yeah. I might've seriously considered that all the way through that first year. And yet I also found myself loving every moment of it. And I remind myself of that. Yeah. You know, I think this is a job that we have to remember why we do this, and we kind have to remember that every day. Oftentimes as a coach, I ask people to remind themselves of their core values. And I know that sounds a little bit cheesy, but this job is so hard. It takes everything from us. Um, and it often means that we, we sacrifice a lot and it sometimes means that we ask our families to sacrifice. We ask the people that are at home to sacrifice. We personally sacrifice. It takes our health and our mental wellbeing. And so if we don't remember why we do this job, it's too hard. And so we have to keep going back to that. Why, why are we here? Mm-hmm . You know, why do we do this job? And hopefully that's what makes it worth it every day.

Curtis Long (31:31):
And Deena, that's such a great insight, but I think what Deena just asked, I want to ask to all of you, why, why do you do this? What what makes you love what you do so much now, especially coming from a different angle, you came from a different profession and chose to come to this point.

Natalie Arias (31:44):
I think I would say I find working with students, predominantly students in primary grades incredibly rewarding. It is magical. It's incredible when you, I I've spent most of my teaching career teaching kindergarten mm-hmm . So meeting students on the first day of kindergarten, , and they're so young. Mm-hmm . They're so tiny. And just seeing their growth not only in reading and math, but also like the social dynamics and the social relationships that they create throughout the year. It is incredible to see them just grow as these little people who are so, so excited to come to school and learn more and just be part of our school community for the next five years. ,

Curtis Long (32:23):
And we don't have any video on this podcast, but I can tell you listeners that Natalie's face lights up when she talks about her, it, her students. Yep. You can see the big smile on her face. And so you have the youngest learners, 5-year-old Chris, who do you have, what grade level do you have as a learning specialist? I work with students, uh, all throughout K through five. Yep. So you have all throughout. So how about for you, Chris, especially as a learning specialist, now you're working with kids from five years old to 11 years old?

Chris Stamm (32:47):
Yes. I got into education, uh, first as a paraeducator because when my daughter started elementary school, I then needed to get a job. And I looked around and I, uh, my, my own personal kind of code of ethics dictated that I get a job that in no way makes the world a worse place. Mm-hmm . That's all I care about. If I can make the world better, all the better. So education is one of those fields that, um, is fairly accessible and the paraeducator job was a perfect way to, in my small way, maybe not cause harm. And I just really loved it. And when I was a paraeducator, I decided that I wanted to do it for the rest of my working life. So I became a teacher. I went into special education because those were the students I worked with, uh, as a paraeducator. And I just realized it was where I was meant to be. I

Curtis Long (33:38):
Love that story. Deena, how about you?

Deena Nakata (33:40):
You know, similar to Natalie and Chris, I mean, I love hearing people's stories and I think education works for some kids. And then I think there's a lot of people that it's really challenging for, in the case of my family, you know, my dad was the first person to graduate from college. And so he began a legacy for my family. And some people know my story that my dad during World War II was part of, um, the Japanese Americans that were behind barbed wire mm-hmm . And there were teachers that prior to that impacted his life and impacted his life in a way that I think changed him forever. And I think about my own son, I think sometimes people look at me and assume that my kids were great and that everything about my own children worked for school. But in fact that was really the opposite.

Curtis Long (34:29):
Sure. Teacher's, kids, they don't have any problems. Right?

Deena Nakata (34:31):
Yeah. Um, yeah, one of my, one of my boys really, he was very gifted, but yet demonstrating that was really, really difficult in school. And so having to work, even someone like myself who has resources and has the education and understands the school system and can navigate through, was really, really challenging for my son. And as a, as a parent at the time, because I wasn't a teacher or part of that time was really challenging. To see how that system was for him in some ways was heartbreaking, you know? And so I think when I became a teacher, um, in fact I did my student teaching at, at Whitcomb, and I think that's when I remember thinking to myself like, oh, this is what it feels like to love what you do. Mm-hmm . I think I had been this kind of person that was always, and I think sometimes I still think that like, oh, I wonder what I'm gonna do when I grow up.

Deena Nakata (35:18):
Like, I think my life is not gonna be long enough for me to try all the things I want to try. But I still believe that when we get to teach that it is all about relationships. I still totally believe that, that it is one relationship at a time. And that we as teachers, I mean as we as human beings, we have this incredible gift to actually impact a student's life. And that gives me incredible hope, um, that it isn't about the curriculum, although that matters. You know, it isn't about the standards, although of course we teach to that, but it is about the impact that we get to meet like one child at a time. And if it, if that's what we do and that puts a child on the trajectory that may change the path of that child's life, then that is an impact that I hope I can make.

Curtis Long (35:59):
And I will say that I'm sure between the three of you, you have done that for many Riverside kids over the years. You come to this school and there's a lot of smiles and high fives, and you guys know kids by name and it's a great community here at Riverside Elementary. And that's because of you and your colleagues in the, the atmosphere that you've created here. We're running out of time. Is there anything that I didn't touch on that you wanna make sure you share? We've gotta let you guys eat your lunch. We, we were meeting during your lunch period, .

Chris Stamm (36:23):
Yeah. I, I think something, we talk a lot about how meaningful it is to connect with students, but I think the connections I've made with fellow teachers have been really sustaining. And I've never had that in any other job.

Natalie Arias (36:35):
I agree. I love working at Riverside. I think we have such a strong staff community with certified and classified staff. We really have a collaborative

Deena Nakata (36:43):
Environment here. Yeah. And I would third that, I mean, just the fact that the three of us opted to do this podcast together Yes. Sort of speaks, you know, like we were like, oh, let's do this together instead of individually. Even though we had no idea what the three of us would say together because we thought, oh, it's more fun for us to do it at the same time. And, and I wanted to hear what they had to say and hear their stories. And it just speaks to the fact that I feel like we have a community here and we have each other's backs, and we are constantly looking for ways to tighten those bonds.

Curtis Long (37:13):
As we start to wrap up this edition, it's always so rewarding to hear from North Clackamas educators who not only love their current jobs, but especially the students you work with every single day. And nowhere has that been more apparent than with our guest today, Shadow CdeBaca and Andy McAlister from earlier in the show. And now, Deena Nakata Natalie Arias, and Chris Stamm. Thanks so much for joining us today.

Natalie Arias (37:34):
Thank you.

Chris Stamm (37:34):
Thank you.

Curtis Long (37:35):
Thanks for listening to The Proud To Be NCSD podcast. In North Clackamas, we know that education is a community effort, and we're so thankful that you and your family are a part of our community. Until next time, remember, there are always great things to see wherever you go in NCSD.