The Journey

Missy Testerman, 2024 National Teacher of the Year, Rogersville City School, Tennessee, USA

My name is Missy Testerman, and I am the 2024 National Teacher of the Year. I am a kindergarten through eighth grade English as a Second Language teacher in rural Northeast Tennessee, where I consider myself to be an advocate for my students, their families, and my fellow teachers. While I have always thought of myself as an advocate for public education, it was only after becoming an English Language Learner Specialist that I began to see the role of advocacy as one of working not only to ensure that students have access to the resources and support they need, but also of ensuring that success is possible for all students.

I teach at Rogersville City School in Rogersville, Tennessee, and my school system is quite unique. My school is a one-school system that has been housed in the original building for over one hundred years. Our school serves students in Pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, and we do not have a high school. Once our students complete eighth grade, they transfer into our county’s school system to complete their high school education. All of our students, our teaching and support staff members, our administrative staff, and even our superintendent are contained within one building in the middle of our town’s historic district.

I had spent my entire career teaching first and second grades at the same school for 30 years when my closest school friend, our school’s English as a Second Language teacher, came to me one morning in August and told me that she would be moving to another part of Tennessee at the end of the school year. This teacher was more than the ESL teacher. She was an advocate for our English Learners, and she was a resource who helped their families access services and programs in our community that they needed. This devoted teacher had served in this capacity for fifteen years, so our families trusted her and knew her to be an ally. Instantly, I was worried about who would advocate for our school’s English Language Learners and their families when she left. I had been the classroom teacher who taught the ESL students when they came through first or second grade, and I was vested in them and their families.

The next day, I received an email from the Tennessee Department of Education that went out to every teacher in our state. This email explained Tennessee’s Grow Your Own initiative that allowed certified teachers who were already teaching in a Tennessee school system to add an additional endorsement in a hard to fill licensure area at no cost. The program would cover the costs of college coursework and all materials, and even provide funding for teachers who completed the coursework to take the Praxis exam that was required for licensure. The hard to fill licensure areas that were being targeted that year were Math, Special Education, and English as a Second Language.

So, at age 51, I did something that I never dreamed of doing. I enrolled in coursework through TN’s Grow Your Own program that enabled me to add an ESL endorsement to my license at a time in my career when many teachers retire and leave the profession. I completed the coursework, passed my first ever Praxis exam and became our district’s ESL Specialist and Program Director in 2022. I absolutely loved teaching first and second grades, but I have found my life’s mission as an ESL teacher.

When I inherited my student caseload, I had 21 students who received daily ESL services. That original group is now down to 2 students because the others have shown English language mastery on the federally required English Language Proficiency exam that is given in the spring each year. Our school’s rate of growth for our ESL subgroup is substantially above the national average and is a 4 on the federal accountability scale, which is the top level. These accomplishments speak volumes about my students’ hard work to ensure they are academic achievers and their families’ devotion to their education because they understand the importance of a high-quality education . Most importantly, my students’ achievements reflect the hard work and dedication of the general education classroom teachers who work with them each day.

Due to my system’s small size, my students do have some advantages. I am able to place my youngest students with teachers who are talent scouts and not deficit detectives: those teachers who see my students for what they can do instead of what they can not do. Fewer than 20% of Americans can speak and understand another language other than English, and I have first graders who can already do that. I place my students with teachers who see a child who already knows two languages in elementary school. These teachers see multilingualism as a superpower, but also understand that these students need continuous, intentional, high-quality instruction to keep succeeding.

Last year, I served students from 3 continents: Asia, North America, Africa. These continents represented 5 countries: Mexico, Egypt, India, Honduras, and China, and my students entered school with 4 different language backgrounds: Chinese, Gujarati, Arabic, and Spanish. English is the language my students share, and it is the language that connects them to their classmates, teachers, coaches, and to our community. Being able to be part of their English-speaking journey is an honor and a responsibility that I do not take lightly.

Hearing the experiences of my students and their families reminds me daily what a privilege it is to be an American and to be able to learn in a public school in this country. In a time when so many Americans often focus on what is wrong with our country, my students’ families see only the good things: the opportunities, the freedom, the boundless experiences we can have in this country. It is an honor to advocate for these precious souls and their families, who can sometimes face an uphill battle to adapt into the area in which we live.

My students know that I hold very high academic and behavioral expectations of them, but they understand that is because I always want what is best for them. Their ability to go out into the world and create a successful future for themselves depends upon not only what they do, but also what their classroom teachers and I do.

Relationships like this between educators and students are important, but there is sometimes a misconception in education that we can love students into proficiency. Make no mistake: loving our students is important, but it is not enough. In Rogersville, Tennessee, like so many places across this country, the effects of generational poverty are a force that many of our school’s students grapple with. Through the years, the advocacy of our school’s teachers coupled with rigorous academic expectations have enabled countless students who grew up in poverty to go out into the world and create a successful life for themselves as adults. It was not enough for my colleagues and me to just love the students who came from those difficult circumstances.

Instead, we had to ensure that we had high expectations for these students so that they had opportunities to create a future for themselves. We loved them, but love was not enough. We had to push our students to excel to greater heights in order to help them affect their life’s trajectories. I now know doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, engineers, and architects from my community who emerged from humble beginnings due to the opportunities afforded by a quality education and hard work.

As a teacher, I prioritize instruction that ensures my students have the skills and knowledge necessary to achieve. My students’ families are extensions of the classroom, and my job as a teacher of English Language Learners means that I often advocate for students’ families who speak little English. Most importantly, part of my role is to ensure that my students can advocate for themselves as well as their families. Even my very youngest students often serve as their families’ literal voices, whether that means translating information between a store clerk and a parent while shopping at a store or making medical appointments on the phone. For this reason, I must make certain that my students receive not only high-quality academic instruction, but also that they have opportunities to practice using a telephone and filling out paperwork.

Many times, our students who are English Language Learners are not able to simply relax and be a kid. Their emerging English proficiency often means that they serve in roles that many adults would consider to be difficult or stressful, but they are their families’ best option in securing access to services they need. Sometimes, I hear from adults who do not understand why I place my students in situations where they are compelled to practice their English speaking skills, such as going into our school office to ask questions or having a conversation with our school clinic staff where they explain their symptoms. In these cases, I am always available for support if my students need it, but I understand that their ability to communicate in English is going to allow them to access healthcare, recreational opportunities, and community services that their families need. In addition, the confidence students gain from doing things on their own in low stress situations often leads them to feel more comfortable when they need to use those skills in more stressful instances.

I have been fortunate to spend many years in a career that I love. Living in a small town in Tennessee, I was motivated early in my career to ensure that the next generation of students receive a broadened education while living in a rural setting. When asked recently what I consider to be my greatest contribution to the teaching profession, I answered that it would have to be the love and desire for learning that I have instilled in countless students over the past three decades. I take great pride in seeing my former students make their own pathways to succeed in life.

Being a teacher of English language learners allows me to support diverse, resilient students in their journeys toward English acquisition and success. Their growth and perseverance inspire me every day. Ultimately, being a teacher of English language learners has not only deepened my passion for education but also enriched my understanding of the diverse stories and experiences that shape our world, and for that, I am truly grateful.

Missy Testerman, the 2024 National Teacher of the Year, is a teacher from Rogersville, Tennessee who is a staunch advocate for students, families, and teachers.