M.A.T.L. Graduate accepted to Teach to Lead Summit

Ann Neary, MATL’18 was accepted to the Teach to Lead Summit (ASCD) in Philadelphia, PA on March 29-31, 2019. She will be leading a team to develop a commitment and policy which would promote National Board Certification for educators in Connecticut.

Neary completed her MATL in 2018. She currently teaches AP Literature, Caribbean Literature, Contemporary Literature, and Introduction to Journalism. She was initially drawn to the Mount Holyoke College MATL program after hearing professor Megan Allen speak at the Boston Teach to Lead Summit.

For Neary, the most valuable aspects of the MATL program were her ever growing network of the country's most talented, gifted, and giving teachers; her personal growth in her classroom and school; and her belief in her new-found ability to lead from her classroom. Additionally, she said her cohort is an amazingly brilliant and supportive group of teachers who she can count on always.

Neary was able to balance the demands of being a teacher, graduate student, wife, and mother thanks to the MATL’s structure. She says, “This program is designed for people who are multitasking! It is respectful of teacher time by design and supportive in every way.”

Neary described the effect that her time in the MATL program had on her professionally: “I have become a member of my school’s Culture and Climate Committee, a member of the Superintendent's Teacher Council, a Yale-Ashoka Fellow (where I learn about and promote emotional intelligence work in schools), and a team member initiating RULER in my school (Yale emotional intelligence work), all because of the tools and courage from this MATL program. My students are benefiting daily by my awareness, research based knowledge, and access to tools for teaching.” Ultimately, Neary wants to lead the way for more teachers in her school to find pathways for leadership centered around their own passions. She also wants to be able to create opportunities for students to build their advocacy muscle.