I have worked as an English teacher in a high needs school district in rural Washington state for the past five years. In that time, I have worked with my colleagues to adopt, develop, implement, and modify our English Language Arts curriculum and deliver engaging, effective lessons to my students while managing student behavior through trauma-informed teaching. I have also served on my school's leadership team, our district's ELL support team, and as our local union's executive secretary. Though it is still early in my career, I feel I have served my students, colleagues, and community ably and have developed invaluable skills and knowledge during my time as a middle school teacher. I believe that collaboration, innovation, and good old fashioned hard work are the keys to successfully approaching the array of issues and challenges the everchanging world of education presents.