We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dolma Diaz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dolma thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

Every morning we start our day with a themed Morning Meeting. Movement Monday, Tranquil Tuesday, Wellness Wednesday, Thoughtful Thursday and Funky Friday. Every year it brings me joy to have similar conversations with the new set of students whether it be as basic as how their weekend end was or diving deep in to what it means to have pride in who we are yet still be respectful of our differences. The meetings set the tone for the day and each are filled with a simple message, a greeting, a question and an activity, all taking about 20-30minutes depending on the day. I catch myself sometimes tearing up while leading these meetings because I think about how I didn’t have that growing up and how much of a difference it makes to discuss different topics within a safe community that often get overlooked or not explicitly explained by anyone else. For example, there is a lesson we do on the difference between being passive, aggressive or assertive. We discuss what they may look like in terms of body language, tone or volume of voice, and the words chosen to express one’s feelings in regards to a variety of situations. We explore scenarios and vote on how the person handled themselves using numbers: 1-passive, 2-aggressive, 3-assertive. Then we role play what the response would be to a scenario if it sounded passive, then aggressive, and finally assertive. We talk about the importance of expressing what we need and how we feel in a calm and polite manner or creatively thinking of ideas to either deescalate someone responding with aggression or motivate someone responding passively to really share their authentic thoughts. I love how taking the time to truly unpack something so simple can make a hug impact not only in the classroom, but also in their school community and at home.

Dolma, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

It’s been quite the journey, but after studying Advertising and working within that field for about two years, I made a huge shift to the education profession. I have worked at three different schools, in two different cities and have taught four different grade levels: Kindergarten, First Grade, Sixth Grade and Fourth Grade (in that order). I am currently in my 9th year of teaching and I feel endless gratitude for making the decision of pursuing this passion. I have grown tremendously professionally, as well as personally. I have learned about the importance of being intentional with my thoughts and impeccable with my words. I have also learned how to validate the feelings of others and celebrate their voices. I have learned how to embed social justice and equity into lessons and conversations. I have learned how beautiful a community can be because of the diverse perspectives and stories it can tell.

I have learned how much hard work it truly takes to not only be an outstanding teacher, but a team player, a leader, and a confidant while accepting feedback, assuming the best, and giving endless amounts of grace to myself and others.
Moving forward, my vision is to share what I have learned on a larger scale. I recently graduated with my master’s degree in Educational Leadership and would like to become an assistant principal in the near future. I want to collaborate with teachers on curriculum, lessons, and SEL strategies. I also want to help design sustainable systems for the betterment of all students.

Eventually, my goals are to become a principal to foster and cultivate a positive culture and climate within a school community, where all students and their families feel seen, heard, and valued. I want to question, push back, break down barriers that continue to oppress, and continuously push the needle forward towards a better world.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

While studying advertising and business at The University of Texas at Austin, I had envisioned myself working as an account executive for an advertising agency and living a glamorous life as I’d seen in many movies or shows. After working in the field an little over two years with a variety of clients, I knew this wasn’t the avenue for me. I did, however, have a nonprofit client that did fascinating work for children. I volunteered my personal time so I could better understand their brand. The copious amount of joy I felt in those few days truly made quite the impression on me. The students in the program were quirky, weird, kind, brilliant, and full of wonder. I immediately realized that I needed to pursue a career where I could fill all of my time with this energy and make a true, lasting difference in our world. A few pivots followed:

PIVOT 1: While substituting at different schools for a few weeks, I was thrilled about the thought of having my own classroom where I could be a leader with full autonomy of the class culture. I was ecstatic to be able to create opportunities for students to make meaningful connections through thoughtful instruction and discussions. I found myself happily making copies, redoing bulletins boards, organizing closets, relabeling books in the library, and doing anything that could be improved in every school I worked at. I did it for the students and believe they should have the best.

PIVOT 2: I was asked to step into the classroom and become a Spanish lead kindergarten teacher. I immediately turned the classroom into my own after being an educational assistant for only two months. I quickly built strong relationships, established trust by applying discipline with fairness and consistency, pulled intervention groups, and maximized learning by differentiating instruction to meet the academic needs of my students.

PIVOT 3: After teaching kindergarten for a year, I looped up with my students and taught first grade for two years at the same charter school. I collaborated weekly with my grade level team to create, implement, and assess academically rigorous lesson plans. I provided a warm, supportive environment for developing academic, social, and emotional growth. I instilled confidence, higher self-esteem, and an optimistic attitude in each student every day. I also worked closely with the school principal to spearhead school-wide initiatives that improved school culture.

PIVOT 4: Then, I courageously moved across the country to help found a brand-new charter middle school in Seattle, Washington as a sixth grade English language arts teacher. I worked closely with a dedicated, passionate team to generate aligned systems, uphold high expectations, and meet all students’ needs. I oversaw improving connections for students and staff in all content areas as the school’s English Language Learner Lead by providing resources and guidance. I formed a student council that planned school-wide events and I recorded weekly episodes of the RVLA News as well as put together the yearbook, which included fundraising. I implemented ideas, goals, incentives, and joy in the sixth grade ELA curriculum, as well as two seventh grade social studies classes. I also spearheaded the school’s testing growth in MAP by creating individual student trackers, incentives, resources, games, and celebrations for progress.

PIVOT 5: In moving back to Texas, I have been teaching all subject areas to fourth graders in both English and Spanish at Becker Elementary School for the last three years. I am continuously and joyfully planning with my team to align and create amazing projects with social justice in mind. I plan rigorous, yet exciting daily lessons that are differentiated to meet all students’ needs. I am proudly elevating the Spanish language, implementing social-emotional learning strategies, and leading restorative community circles daily to create a welcoming environment for the diverse population.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Most recent of examples is teaching through the COVID-19 pandemic and being in grad school during the same two years. It was EXHAUSTING and incredibly difficult. I jumped in and had to creatively problem solve through how to best serve my students and work with my team to pull at each other’s strengths and create a sustainable system that worked, whether students were learning in-person or virtually. I took four to five hours a week outside of school to record and edit videos for students and families to use. Bath Math was the name of my “math show”, which I recorded in my tub at home. These videos demonstrated key math concepts, strategies, vocabulary and more. Those videos made all the difference in participation and growth of my students at the time. Yet, then had to turn around and write essays, answer discussion boards, attend class myself, research, etc. to ensure that I was getting everything possible out of my Master’s program. I had no time for anything or anyone else.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @dolmss