Teaching was only meant to be a stopover for Megan Breaux between earning her bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 degrees in English and psychology, and plotting a course to her graduate degree.
However, she quickly realized she had a knack for leading in the classroom. And as a first-generation college student, she saw the impact she could have as a mentor and educator.
"I wanted to empower and inspire young people to continue their education,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淎s a teacher I was able to do that.小蝌蚪APP
Breaux has continued to do that in her role with , a federally-funded, grant-based program through the Lafayette Parish School System that improves access to higher education for high school students.
As partnership and data coordinator, Breaux has merged her passion for improving college access with research and data analysis skills learned through the online Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, Instructional Specialist concentration, from the 小蝌蚪APP.
Changing Course
Breaux earned her alternative teaching certification and began teaching English and social studies in Vermilion Parish in 2009 as she pursued a master小蝌蚪APP檚 in English. While she found the subject matter interesting personally, she couldn小蝌蚪APP檛 apply it to her professional life.
In 2011, she connected with the , a grant-based program that aims to improve writing education, improve professional development programs for teachers, and improve the professional standing of teachers.
小蝌蚪APP淭hat was a paradigm shift for me; the Writing Project completely changed my outlook on teaching it. It made it to where it became something that I really loved doing,小蝌蚪APP she says. "The Writing Project gave me an opportunity to be more creative and to collaborate. As we were learning to be instructors of writing, we were also becoming stronger writers ourselves.小蝌蚪APP
Through the program, Breaux connected with Dr. Toby Daspit, who serves as co-director of the Writing Project as well as professor and interim department head for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
Dr. Daspit encouraged Breaux to rethink her graduate education and enroll in the online M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction.
It was a sound pitch for Breaux who needed a program that was both professionally applicable and flexible, as she prepared for two major changes: relocating to Georgia and the birth of her daughter.
Making Connections
Although she needed the convenience of an online program, Breaux says she was worried about 小蝌蚪APP渏ust being a thumbnail.小蝌蚪APP
小蝌蚪APP淚 was worried about not making connections with my professors, but that didn't happen," she says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 was able to make strong connections with my professors and with my cohort. In fact, I still talk to many of the people from cohort. The professors gave us opportunities to work together, and that lead to some amazing connections.小蝌蚪APP
That was a stark contrast to her undergraduate experience.
As a first-generation college student, Breaux struggled with a sense of belonging. She focused on earning her degree rather than building the connections that the college experience could provide.
She says earning her master小蝌蚪APP檚 degree was her opportunity to approach college differently.
小蝌蚪APP淚t was a chance to grow as a learner,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 was able to make those connections, and I really got a chance to see my own potential.小蝌蚪APP
Breaux was able to continue her coursework even as she returned to Louisiana and full-time teaching in Vermilion Parish. She says the concepts she learned in the online graduate program were immediately applicable in her classroom.
"I was able to make everything fit into what I was doing on a daily basis,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淪pecifically, with Dr. Christine Briggs小蝌蚪APP research classes. She taught us about action research and how to take what we were doing and use it to figure out what was working what wasn't.小蝌蚪APP
Making it Work
Breaux earned her Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in 2017, finishing with a 4.0 GPA.
She excelled by finding a schedule that worked for her, focusing on her work during the week and reserving coursework for the weekends. She小蝌蚪APP檚 continued that routine as she pursues her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership.
小蝌蚪APP淚 have to have some sort of division between the work that I'm doing for grad school and the work that I'm doing for my job,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淚t takes a lot of willpower. You have to have a plan; you have to figure out what works for you. If I wouldn't have figured out that I needed to leave my schoolwork for the weekend, it may not have worked for me. I would have burnt out.小蝌蚪APP
Research in Action
Through the master小蝌蚪APP檚 program, Breaux earned her instructional coach certification and thought she might transition to an instructional coach or instructional leader role. Instead, Breaux had the opportunity to join GEAR UP.
小蝌蚪APP淚t merged all of my passions," she says. 小蝌蚪APP淚 was able to support students more on a one-on-one basis, and I was able to support teachers through the programs that we provide."
She小蝌蚪APP檚 also been able to incorporate the research skills learned in her master小蝌蚪APP檚 program in her position.
"GEAR UP is naturally data heavy, because it's a federal grant. You have to collect and document everything,小蝌蚪APP Breaux says. 小蝌蚪APP淏ut it's not enough to just document the data, we have to use it to decide what sorts of services we provide and how we help individual students. It's my job to find those trends in the data to help our coaches think about what types of services may be beneficial to our students.小蝌蚪APP
Breaux hopes to continue to focus her career producing research and analyzing data to improve college access and support students.