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GETTING TO KNOW – It would be an understatement to say that Megan Collins knows her way around the education system.
She began her career as an elementary certified school teacher for 14 years but, around 2012, her path began to shift into more administration-focused spheres. Since then, she has worked with the New York State Education Department, the Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES program, Schenectady City School District and Fonda-Fultonville Central School District.
Now, she is the director of ELA, reading and library media at Niskayuna Central School District, where she has resided for 17 years and where both of her children graduated from. In the role, which she was began over the summer, Collins will work with principals throughout the district to improve the department while keeping up with state standards.
The Gazette sat down with Collins to get an idea of her journey within the education system and her own personal interests.
Q: What drew you to becoming a teacher and working in the education field in the first place?
A: I was sort of that nerdy kid that if you asked me when I was in kindergarten what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would consistently say a teacher. And I just always knew. My favorite thing to do was play school. So, school has always been a place where I thrived. Despite whatever things were happening in my personal life, you always knew what to expect at school, it was consistent and I do well in that type of environment. I am someone who has gone back to school several times. If I could be a student who goes on scholarship, I would be in school right now. I just really enjoy learning new things and collaborating with others. And you’re never done learning, right? That’s inherently who I am.
Q: How is it to now work for the school district that your kids went through and where you’ve lived for several years?
A: Coming back to work in my home district is an honor. I know some people — my kids’ teachers, coaches and whatnot — but there’s a lot of people I don’t know plus there’s been some changes so I’m still very much new but in a familiar setting.
It reflects on how positive the experience has been for my family — my kids have had wonderful teachers, coaches and opportunities, kindergarten right through twelfth grade. It really is a privilege to work alongside people that were so influential and positive to my own children. Niskayuna is just a great town. There’s real pride in the school, in everything — from the fine arts program to sporting events to different theatrical productions. It’s just astounding what the students here are capable of so I think being able to see that through a new lens is interesting because, as a parent, I saw it through what my kids were interested in, which was such a small scope, so now I have a much wider lens to view all the awesome things that are happening that benefit all students.
Q: What is the most fulfilling part of your job?
A: The most fulfilling part of my job is to support administrators and teachers. They make so many decisions and wear so many hats and it’s a very challenging job — and I know that because I’ve done both. So what’s rewarding is supporting their needs the best that I can. I really want to be seen in Niskayuna as a resource and not someone who is coming in to add something else to their plate. Sometimes there is one more thing but, ultimately, I want to be a guide on the side and someone who will roll up my sleeves and never ask anyone to do something that, as a teacher, I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing.
Q: Do you ever miss being a teacher?
A: There are definitely moments where I miss being in a classroom. As you get into an administrative role, you become more removed and you have a larger vision and you’re working towards that vision and supporting teachers. But I would definitely be lying if I said I didn’t miss working with kids. That’s sometimes the best part of the day — seeing the kids in the hallway, helping someone open their locker, navigating the high school. So I miss that, but I feel like I got on a path that brought me to where I was meant to be. But I never thought in a million years when I started teaching that I would ever be an administrator. I happenstance kind of fell into it.
Q: How do you balance the teacher side of yourself with the administrator side of yourself?
A: I always see myself as a teacher first and I think of myself as a teacher first regardless of what my title is — whether I’m a principal or a teacher on special assignment or in this role as a director. It’s always who I wanted to be. It sounds cliche but it is true that, from my earliest memory, I always wanted to be a teacher. It was really important to me. I had a lot of teachers that were role models and shaped my life so that influenced me enough to go into the profession.
Q: What are some obstacles that you have faced during your time in the education system?
A: Things became difficult — I don’t even know if challenging is a strong enough word — during the pandemic when you were trying to figure out remote instruction and hybrid instruction and I think it was the first time that people used the terms “synchronous” and “asynchronous” ad nauseam.
So I think we’re still recovering from that and we need to be mindful of the social and emotional impact that that’s had on students and staff alike, including administration. We’re sort of starting new, this is everyone’s new baseline. And that can be a new opportunity, but I definitely think there’s some scarring from the trauma of living and working through a pandemic.
Schools were blessed with American Rescue Plan Act funding to help support the social-emotional learning piece and the academic learning loss that had occurred through the pandemic — and I would actually not say “learning loss,” I would say “lack of learning opportunities” because if you weren’t home and couldn’t be in front of a teacher, it’s not like you weren’t trying to learn; it just wasn’t a platform that everyone was successful with. So that has been a challenge.
And with the funding that we’ve received, while that’s a blessing, there’s a lot of accountability for reporting upon how the funds were spent and I spent a lot of time in my previous district helping document all the things that happened in years one and two.
Q: How do you prevent burnout?
A: Personally, I think people strive to have a home-work life balance and sometimes that’s unrealistic. Sometimes there are going to be 12 hour days. But I think it’s important to find moments that center you — for me it might just be like hopping on my Peloton for 20 minutes and listening to music, sitting down to read a book for a couple of hours on a weekend.
And also give yourself permission to unplug and say, “you know what, I’m going to stop checking email and it can wait until tomorrow.” Everything can be perceived as a crisis but, really, how often is it? Establishing some boundaries, I think, is very helpful.
I do share that too with teachers — that you need to give yourself some grace and be patient because I think humility is a characteristic that serves anyone well but I think teachers don’t, and neither do I, know the answer to everything and it’s okay to say that. So I think trying to find things that bring you joy and bring it into your life as often as possible, daily if possible, is very helpful.
Q: Who and what inspires you?
A: My family definitely keeps me motivated because we want to be able to spend time together and have quality time but we also know that, because everyone is so busy, you value that time when you do have it.
And my husband. He knows me better than anyone and he can tell just by looking at me how I’m feeling and knows just the right thing to say. It kind of freaks me out sometimes. He can be a calming presence since he knows me that well.
Q: What are some future goals you’re working towards, both professionally and personally?
A: I’m really looking for this to be a place I’m at for quite some time. I was looking for a place to work where I felt like there were opportunities to grow and would also be challenging and I felt like Niskayuna, in the position I was hired for, matched that. It’s not coming as the expert, it’s coming in to collaborate with people who are already doing great work and trying to make it more efficient and impactful and engaging for the students, who are always changing — the world is changing too if you think about technology and AI. We need to try to keep up with the times as best we can and listen to what the kids are asking for because they usually know what they need more than we can just look at data and infer. So, I think my long term goal is to just be here and continue to grow and support the district.
Personally, I just want to continue to find those small moments of joy and still love what I’m doing even on days where it’s very stressful and busy, and re-center myself to why I entered this career. It’s really about helping children learn, and I have a profound respect for teachers.
Q: What are some things you enjoy doing outside of work?
A: Personally, I love walking. I became a Peloton rider and I love spending time with family and friends. A happy place for me is anywhere near water, so anytime I’m by a lake or the ocean, that’s always very calming, it centers me. On the daily, I enjoy reading, both for work and, as often as I can, just for pleasure, books of my own choice.
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