Tracy

Hello!! My name is Tracy Staley. I am a 5th grade teacher in Clearwater, Florida, but I haven’t always lived here. I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. (Now, I have heard just about every Wizard of Oz joke out there; but feel free to give it a try if you think you’ve got a good one!!) As a child, I spent a lot of time traveling. My family is spread across the globe; the United States and Canada, the Caribbean, and Europe. The adventures I shared traveling with my family shaped my ideas about the world and have had a great impact on the person I have become.

I loved growing up in the Midwest but decided to trade in the cold winters for year-round sunshine. I moved to Florida in 2001 and began teaching in 2006. I have always wanted to be a teacher. One reason is because I love learning. I am currently earning my Master’s degree in Teacher Leadership for School Improvement from the University of Florida and look forward to graduating in December 2012!!

This year has been especially memorable. In March, I was named the 2011 Pinellas County Outstanding Educator of the Year. This is our counties highest honor and although I thought it was a goal of mine, I never believed I would achieve it this early in my career. When I thought, “It can’t get any better than this”, I received the news that I had been selected as one of five finalists for the 2012 Macy’s Florida Department of Education Teacher of the Year. I am the first teacher from Pinellas County to receive this honor and although I did not become the Florida Teacher of the Year, the experience of being a finalist is something I will remember for the rest of my life!

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In September, I was selected as one of three teachers to be spotlighted on NBC’s Education Nation in a segment entitled, Classrooms in Action: A Window on Great Teaching. Millions of viewers were able to see what learning looks like in my classroom and I even had the opportunity to speak with Ann Curry!!

I love teaching because I can make a difference in the life of a child EVERY DAY. Last year, I was able to do this in a new way; through educational travel! Whether it be calculating the price of an item and knowing how much change they should receive, or navigating a map and learning how to ride the metro, educational travel let my students apply what they learned in the classroom in a real world context. This makes learning more meaningful and relevant.

Over the next few months, I will be sharing stories from last year’s trip as well as keeping you posted as we prepare for our next trip in March. My hope is that my experiences inspire you consider educational travel. After all, there is nothing like experiencing the world through the eyes of a child!

Talk to you soon!

Tracy