We recently connected with Katrice Dixon and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Katrice thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
My mission is to revolutionize education through RICH strategic guidance and innovative solutions. I am committed to partnering with schools, institutions, and educators to unlock their full RICHNESS. By providing personalized, research-based insights and tailored strategies, I aim to enhance learning experiences, promote inclusivity, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. I aspire to shape a future where every student has access to a world-class education, equipping them for success in an ever-evolving world.” This matters to be because I wasn’t born with the silver spoon or a well thought out plan for success. I was really just born to a teen mom who worked multiple jobs to ensure I had and a drug dealing father who was often incarcerated and not able to help with the responsibilities of rearing a child. There are so many kids who walk into schools daily with trauma that has altered the way they experience the world, see their future selves and believe that they can be so as an educator its my job to breathe life. To speak life into students, coworkers and all educational stakeholders and cultivate a sense of community that affirms and supports growth. Educators have been given one of the greatest tasks not the subject area contents but the power and ability to build and produce every single career in the world. I am tired of hearing about the teachers that have torn people down in rap songs, I want someone to rap about how teachers have given RICH experiences, how they affirmed, how they motivated how they help to move a person from just surviving to thriving.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am Katrice Dixon known as MathChainz an educator, small business owner, and community advocate! Did I say I am a mom? Im raising the most resilient handsome young men and I want readers to know them too. My oldest is Braydon a student athlete and breakout football star for Boynton Bulldogs and my youngest is Kason better known as Kash Money. He is a self taught kid chef and wiz kid. I am passionate about equity, inclusions and engagement in and out of the classroom.
I am a unique blend of expertise, empathy and innovation.
Math made me popular as I have spearheaded numerous initiatives within both Broward and Palm Beach County school districts to ensure that the math curriculum is not only challenging but also accessible to students of all backgrounds, abilities, and learning styles. I am looking forward to continued growth and opportunities to build and support the math community because we know most people hate math. Ive severed as a presenter at national conferences and workshops about inclusion, engagement and relationship building in math. My vision has inspired students, educators, parents and the community to rethink traditional approaches to teaching, learning and engaging with math and education as a whole. As a professional development leader, tutor and teacher tshirt curator my reach goes well beyond just mathematics and im blessed with the opportunity to empower and encourage others to be the change they wish to see and develop into rich educators and individuals well beyond the classroom. My brand of RichTeacherVibes has spanned beyond just looking at teachers from a perspective of resilient, intelligent, caring and hopeful individuals into finding that “Richness” in everyone without regard to title. Rich is a way of life that’s far greater than money and has many interchangeable adjectives that all come together to encourage and motivate people to be the very best version of themselves and be the change they wish to see. I have leveraged my platform to develop other businesses like Magical Moments Images 360 photobooth to add the extra spark of fun to events, and curated RichMath with my partner Tawanna Rowe. Rich math is a community based inclusive campaign to increase and encourage the love for math. RichMath is a true passion project that we are confident will increase the graduation rates for historically and systematically marginalized black and brown students while decreasing the risk of incarceration and levels of poverty. Community advocacy and being a voice to the voiceless has always been one of one of my goals since childhood and now with a building platform and serving as an educator and community leader, there is no better time than now.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My entire life is built off of resilience. From one unfortunate circumstance to the next from birth that statistics would have counted me out. Born to a teen mom and a drug dealer with minimal educational experience. My father having coming from a very little city in Georgia called Wrens where not even a Walmart existed, not even until this day. Label gifted yet emotional behavior disorder in elementary school its just really been one situation after another that doesn’t necessarily breed ” This is success.” An inner city girl who didn’t even have the know with all to file for financial aid for college. There was no silver spoon, there was no college fund or a financial plan or pathway to follow. I knew that I if I wanted a legacy that lived well beyond me, I had to become it. I had to buckle down and really put in the work, get the degrees, start the business, go for the promotion, move to the new city in the words of Pinky Cole I had to fail. So even as negative things continued to come my way including domestic violence, divorce, depression and thoughts of suicide that plagued me and even my son … I knew I couldn’t stop fighting because my great grandchildren depended on me. They needed me to do the work so that generations well beyond me would be able to benefit and be RICH in far more than finances and be set up for ultimate success.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn is around Worthiness. Sometimes after you’ve been dealt the worst of cards even with resilience and fight to keep going it chips away at your self worth and self esteem. You start to believe that success can’t be in every area of your life so while your business thrives you engage in terrible friendships and relationships because you’re not worthy of it all. Everyday I have to speak life to myself via affirmations, listen to songs that encourage and ground me and pray because truth is, I can have it all and I deserve it. The world would have you to think that good can’t just keep happening for you and forces you to live in this kind of bubble afraid to take risk and changes because eventually it has to all fall down and that’s not it. This is all wrong thinking and at the core of it has to deal with self esteem. How we see yourself in turn impacts how people see you and understand your value and worth and even when they don’t you have to learn to LEAVE them behind and let them go. Self worth is a continual journey for me and whether it’s a self help book, redefining my personal boundaries and speaking life into myself Im committed to unlearning that Im not worthy of having it all.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Mathchainz.com
- Instagram: Mathchainz / Richteachervibes / Magicalmomentsimages
- Linkedin: Katrice Dixon
- Twitter: mathchainz
- Youtube: www.mathchainz.com/c/mathchainz