Jacob's Story

Coming into the summer of 2022, Jacob was determining if he still enjoyed teaching after twenty years spent in the profession. "I thought maybe it was time to start thinking about doing something else entirely to get out of education." That same summer, after hearing about Breakthrough Cincinnati (BTC) through a co-worker, he joined BTC's summer team as an Instructional Coach (IC). "I have a degree in educational leadership— it's a principal's license, but also the degree you'd need to be a curriculum coach, which is kind of what an IC is. So, it was a way to try on that role to see if it was something I'd like, which I do."

 After a wonderful first summer at BTC, followed by an enjoyable school year, Jacob returned to BTC for another summer. For Jacob, his role as an Instructional Coach revitalized his love for education because he got to approach it differently. "Instead of teaching directly, I'm supporting kids who are teaching, and I get to see all this knowledge transfer and all the joy of learning."

 His mentees and their students weren't the only ones acquiring new skills and information. "I learn a lot from my Teaching Fellows. They're always innovating and always like, 'Well, let's try this!’" He even took some lessons from this past summer to use in his classroom this school year. "It's just nice to be involved in that reciprocal relationship. I think that's what education should be— everyone is learning."

 Overall, Jacob attributes much of his energized passion for education to Breakthrough's culture, describing it as joyful. "To remember that learning is fun was really good for me. And reminded me, 'You know, I really do like teaching, and I'm going to stick with it for a while.’”