Classroom Conversations: Ms. Agyekum and Ms. McRoberts
Last school year, our east side campus was introduced to a perfect pair — even if that pair didn’t know each other yet. Starting at United at the same time, Dymonica Agyekum and Sara McRoberts would go on to win last year’s staff award for “Dynamic Duo.” When The Huddle sat down with the long-time educators in their campus’ Culture Office, it was immediately apparent why.
Entirely in sync, reading each other's minds and finishing each other’s sentences, Ms. Agyekum and Ms. McRoberts seamlessly move from one student to another student and, finally, to The Huddle, ready to begin an interview.
The Dynamic Duo sat down to discuss lessons learned from one another, servant leadership, yardsticks, and the magic chemistry you can’t force.
This is part two of a series of Classroom Conversations featuring network-voted award-winning staff. Check out the first entry here.
The Huddle: Could you introduce yourselves? What's your role? How long have you been at 17th St.? In education?
Ms. McRoberts: Take it away, Dymonica!
Ms. Agyekum: My name is Dymonica Hurdle —
Ms. McRoberts: No, it’s not!
Ms. Agyekum, smiling: I'm sorry, it's Dymonica Agyekum! I just changed my last name yesterday, so I’ve got to get used to it!
I'm the Associate Dean of Students at United Elementary 17th St. This is my second year here at the school. I was a teacher for a couple of years — a fifth-grade teacher — prior to coming to United. Then I worked in an education nonprofit for six, or seven years prior to that, so I've been in education for… I don't know, 10 years? I've lost track! Over a decade of being in this work!
Ms. McRoberts: My name is Sara McRoberts. No last name change. This is my second year here, we both started the same year.
My role is Dean of Students. Prior to coming to 17th St., I was originally from Columbus, but right after college and grad school, I went out to New York. I taught at a charter school in Brooklyn for 10 years. I did first grade, second grade, and some stuff with Dean of Instruction — throw whatever other titles in that mix. Then I ended up coming back home to be with family and ended up in this space. I was kind of similar to Dymonica, this over-a-decade hump.
The Huddle: How do your roles interact? What is the back-and-forth, day-to-day of your roles coming together?
Ms. Agyekum, laughing: Oh man!
Ms. McRoberts: I think it starts with the set-up of our room. Last year, we were next door, and then we moved here. In both spaces, our room has been set up the same way. We have to just stare at each other's faces, I mean! [Both laughing.]
We have a lot of kids who come to this space, and so there are some conversations where we have to think through, “Okay, what is our next step in navigating this?” For knowing her as short as I have, we literally do share a brain.
Ms. Agyekum: Yes!
Ms. McRoberts: We'll look at each other, and there's just those head nods of, “Mhm, yep.”
Ms. Agyekum: We just play off of each other! She's talking to a student, and I don't know what's happening or the situation, but I will chime in however I need to chime in! We can just play back and forth with each other and with the stuff that we do… It’s cool, actually!
Ms. McRoberts: It really is, because I feel we're very blessed with such a unique dynamic. I can't say I would have ever replicated this in another space, and I know going forward, I'm not going to be able to replicate this… [Ms. Agyekum: I know!] which makes me sad! Like, I could cry with that. But something in the universe said our souls need to line up for a reason… and, yeah, it’s hard to explain!
It's like when people go on dates, and it's, “Who are you looking for?” It's like, “I don't know!” It's that “you know when you know,” and that's really it.
Ms. Agyekum: Mhm, yeah, it's very, very natural. It's never been forced, so we just kind of play off of each other. Sometimes you are the bad cop, I'm the good cop; sometimes I'm the good cop, you're the bad cop.
It's been really nice to just be still myself. I have never felt like I've had to change my approach to dealing with students; if anything, I've learned so much from you.
Ms. McRoberts: There's just this consistency that I feel like we always bring, which makes it really, really great when it comes to working with our kids, right? There's not this “Mom/Dad complex” of, “Oh, I'm going to do it one way with Ms. McRoberts but another way with Ms. Agyekum.” It really just doesn't matter which one of us is in front of them; they just know the flow of the Culture Office, our expectations, and how we're going to follow up. And we see a lot quicker changes from kids [Ms. Agyekum: Yeah, yeah, yeah.] I think their investment in themselves, their understanding, is that there's a little urgency behind the scenes.
Ms. Agyekum: What has been your most memorable moment?
Ms. McRoberts: We have had a lot [of moments].
Ms. Agyekum: You know, a positive one was the donors… what’s it called? The fundraiser we do?
The Huddle: Accelerators in Education!
Ms. Agyekum: Yes! I was very much not going to go — I’ve got things to do! But they asked us to represent the school with [the student store] Paw Place, and we had two excellent scholars who ran the whole thing last year. They were able to come with us.
At the end of the day, I was so glad that I went because I was able to give them that experience. Just even pulling up to the place, it was like, “Oh, we're at this place! This is nice, I've seen this before!” Just giving them that experience was really impactful for me, but, also, to see them be them. They were very much talking to people and explaining what the Paw Place was — and just, standing back and looking back, I'm like, “Oh!” It just made my heart so warm that day. I was very grateful to be there and also to give them that experience, so that was really nice.
Ms. McRoberts: I agree with that one. I was in the same boat as you, I was like, “I don't want to give up my Thursday! I want to go home! I want to eat! I want to watch Netflix!”
Ms. Agyekum: We were tired!
Ms. McRoberts: But, it was so worth it. I think a memorable — it's more of a collection of moments — but I think of a scholar that, last year, Dymonica and I really invested a lot of time, consistency with, partnership with her teacher and her parent. We really just had to kind of try a bunch of different strategies to figure out what's going to be the one that works for her.
It got to a spot where we kind of realized starting her day here [in the Culture Office] was really helpful. Maybe the mornings were a little unpredictable, so now going into a space with 20-some other people was like, “I'm just not ready for that.” We saw it was just the change she needed. She needed that quiet space.
Something that Dymonica is very, very good at is making a schedule that mimics as much of a school day as possible when kids are in here. It'll be like, “Eat your breakfast, then do your Bright Work, then do this, go to the bathroom.” Then, by the time the Morning Meeting starts, drop her off.
Then, we started adding a behavior tracker for her. With the help of her and her teacher, we came up with three goals for her to work on: one was something she could do really well so she could see the success, and the other two were, “This is where we really need the growth to be happening.”
Every day, then, she would end her day in the Culture Office, and every morning, before getting her set up to go back to class with that sheet, we would have that check-in with her about her goals. At first, it really had to be guided by us, and then, by the end of the year, the paper was in front, and she was already telling us, “Okay, here's my plan today. I'm going to do this.” She was really able to name what part of the day the challenge might be, and it's really, really great because, this year, she's really not on our radar. As sad as that is!
She's starting to use the vocabulary that Dymonica and I use a lot at home. We were on the phone with her mom for something unrelated, and Mom was saying, “Oh, this morning she even had to give me a talk about ‘Here's our goals today, here's what we're doing!’” I think that's more of this collection of all the blood, sweat, and time we put into this space — it's really, really great when you see it translated.
Ms. Agyekum: I'm glad you talked about the progression of even this year because I feel we really did put blood, sweat, and tears into last year and really having those conversations with kids. Now, [students] that we would regularly are using the vocabulary we really were on them about last year. It was so easy for them to reflect this year that, “This is what I need to do to be a better scholar in the room.” We don't even see them anymore this year!
Ms. McRoberts: Even starting to hear more teachers using it, too. Knowing that this is our role but, at the same time, it's not something that we are the gatekeepers of, right? As a teacher, you can also ask your kid, “What feedback did I just give you?”
Ms. Agyekum: I agree!
Ms. Agyekum: What advice would you give someone on day one of our job? What advice do you have for each other?
Ms. Agyekum: Don't take anything personally. Outside is life-ing for everybody, so our students are coming in from all kinds of situations, and there are emotions. I feel like our role is really about managing others’ emotions. [Ms. McRoberts: Right!] Learning how to separate the emotions of all the students that we have, and then with the person has really helped me.
You already know Yardsticks is my favorite book! That has really grounded me with what's going on developmentally in the brain of a student and that has really helped me. I would say, to anybody in this job: Don't take anything personally, but also do the work with learning developmentally where our scholars are, because that will save you so much stress. You will know that them having feedback for you or trying to plead their case is just something that our fourth or fifth graders are just going to do — they want fairness! So, you have to know that about them and learn how to…
Ms. McRoberts: … to support them with it.
Ms. Agyekum: Right. Doing that the right way.
Ms. McRoberts: Advice I would give is in that same realm of “life is going to life.” As much as we try to control it, we’re not ever going to be able to do it the way we want.
I would also say this idea of consistency — the consistency we bring to our kids, how we can show up as predictable. I think the more consistent we are with them, [the better] — with how we're showing up, how we're providing feedback, how we follow-up, how we loop in families. Our consequences — are they logical? Are they predictable? I think that's when we start to see kids, as individuals, grow and internalize, “Who am I?” and “What's hard for me?” Being able to be seen and know that someone is pouring into them, is supporting them.
Figure out where they're at, but, once you have that next step, be consistent with it. Kids are smart. You say you'll do something, then you better show up with it. [Ms. Agyekum: Absolutely.]
Ms. McRoberts: What inspired your work in education?
Ms. Agyekum: Oh, wow. That’s taking me back. When I was little I wanted to be a teacher, and then that went away, so it's so crazy that I'm back. I circled around back to education. When I was in college, I used to tutor and be in the education space, so I loved it. Then, after college, I studied journalism and communications. I said, “Oh, I'm going to just take a year and just give back to my community. I went to the University of Cincinnati and came back here to Columbus and was like, “You know, I'm going to give a year. Give a year of myself and serve and still be in this education space.”
That's how I found City Year and was a servant leader there. I loved it so much, I stayed, and I only stayed because of the kids. Oh, my gosh. I was in the toughest communities in Columbus, in those schools, but the kids were so amazing. I'm just what 22, 23, [at the time] — felt very close to them in age. I was very much a mentor and a coach, and that really looped me in. I stayed with City Year for six, or seven years. I was only supposed to stay for four, and, because I wanted to see my beginning kids graduate, stayed longer.
It's really because of the kids. I saw so much potential in them, so much light. “Open Doors” is one of our values here, and I really feel like a part of “Open Doors” is the people you put in front of other people. Columbus is very much a place where you have to know people. I felt like I was doing a lot of that when I was with City Year. Inviting people in the school space, to just be a light and just talk to our kids. I really enjoyed that, so that really looped me in.
Then, I wanted to be a principal, so I needed some ground experience, right? So, became a teacher during the pandemic. [Ms. McRoberts: Mistake!] Crazy! Why did I do that?! I've learned so much about education and all the nuances and holes and all the things with that. But I loved teaching. Oh, my gosh. I loved having my own classroom. I just closed my door and we just did the thing! I taught reading, writing, and social studies. I was with fourth- and fifth-graders, and that's my sweet spot. Those are my people!
Ms. McRoberts: I know, I know. I’m grateful!
Ms. Agyekum: My journey through education is shifting a little bit, but I think I will always be around kids. I will always be in the space where I am teaching in some capacity, and that's just because I can always see the light in kids. That's what really just keeps me going; the lights in kids and the potential in kids. If I — me and all the people I know — can provide opportunities and people for them to meet, to make that light get brighter and brighter, then I'm going to do that. That’s what really keeps me going.
Ms. McRoberts: It's funny because, hearing you say that, it shows. Your conversations with any of our kids, but definitely the older kids — your conversations are so much bigger than that moment, right? Whatever's going on in that space, whether that assignment frustrated you, whatever, it's like, “Middle school is coming up, this is coming up.”
Ms. Agyekum: Also, you want to be a good human, you know? You can't handle situations like that being a human in this world, so I'm definitely very world-focused.
It's not just in this moment that you’re having a tough time and you handled it that way; you have to think about how you’re handling that in this world. This world is going to eat you up if you react in that way. So, yeah, for sure. What about you?
Ms. McRoberts: I should have known you and I were going to be a perfect match because, as a kid, I also played school! I very much lined up all my stuffed animals.
Ms. Agyekum: I asked my teacher for extra work, and I used to grade it!
Ms. McRoberts: Yes! Yes! Most kids are taking allowance money to Toys R Us and all that. We had a “teacher store” near my parents' house. I would go and spend my money at the “teacher store.” Remember in the '90s, they’d have, for attendance, the paper roster? I bought one of those! [Ms. Agyekum, laughing: Yes! What?!] I wrote down all the names of my stuffed animals and if they were present or not! [Ms. Agyekum: Wow, that’s next level!]
Then, my neighbor was a secretary at one of our district schools, so she was able to receive any school supplies that weren't used. Do you remember the old-school projectors, with the Vis-A-Vis markers? She had one of those in her basement! [Ms. Agyekum: Wow. You were a real teacher!] Like, you could not tell me I wasn't a teacher at the age of seven!
Very similar to you, I then started to entertain the question, “Do I want to be a vet? Do I want to be a pediatrician?” Now, looking back, I was always doing something service-related, right? Then, I brought myself into teaching.
Again, when I see you, I see me. When you see me, I see you. [For me,] it's that same thing of just being able to instill life skills, right?
Dymonica and I are really big on this idea of reputation. This idea of, based on how you act and how you move, people are going to assign a reputation to you. It doesn't mean you agree with that reputation. You also have the power to change people's minds. They don't have to, but you have to put the work in. I just feel we're synced up with that of like, “This is so much bigger than you being in third grade and passing and doing your homework. We're trying to get you really ready for life, whatever it is you want to do. There really are no barriers but the ones you put on yourself.” [Ms. Agyekum: Yeah, for sure.]
The Huddle: What do you appreciate about each other? I've heard many things, but if you were to say one thing that you appreciate about each other, what would it be?
Ms. McRoberts: Her grace. That’s the first. Again, I really want to write up a novel about Dymonica. She just gives so much grace to kids, to people in general, and to herself. You're going to make me cry right now, and I don't do that, so we might need to end this interview. Wow!
Ms. Agyekum: Wow! Look at this group therapy! This is a moment!
Ms. McRoberts: You know I don’t do this, so wow! Yeah, I can be stone-cold over here.
I catch myself, not necessarily holding grudges, but I might get really frustrated internally. I'll get really frustrated and worked up about something that I feel like I've done my work to give feedback, do this, do that, and like I'm not seeing results change. I can find myself being in a space, in a funk. It goes back to that idea: “Great, you're not going to change it, so I'm going to continue getting the job done.”
I watch Dymonica still give people grace, regardless of if, on the inside, she's like, “Wow, I'm irritated!”— I want to be more like her. I watch her give herself grace a lot, something I need to learn how. That word immediately came off the tongue.
Ms. Agyekum: Wow! The first part I think about when I even look at Sara is just she's just hardworking. Even with her speaking about how she goes about her work is very like, “Wow, get it together, ‘Nica! Because she's over there working, and you over here tired! Sleepy! [Laughing]
Ms. McRoberts: No! It's you giving yourself grace. It's you being like, “You know what? I need a moment. If I'm going to give my best, I need a moment.”
Ms. Agyekum: I mean, you have done the work here. I am just so impressed with the stuff that we have had to build out in our role, and, when you’re at work, you’re at work. You don't let anything bother you with getting your work done. You hold people accountable, you’re coaching people. It's just like, “Wow, I just want to be able to do that without the complaining.”
I’m in a really hard space right now, professionally, and I look at you — when I say, on Monday, you really just did the work all day, and I’m sitting here, minimally doing things. I’m like, “Wow.” And you got stuff going on. Life is life-ing, right? You still come to work every day, and I appreciate that about you. You get it done, you get it done. What are you a North? East? [Ms. McRoberts: A North!] A North! Yeah, very “I’m about the business.” You come in and do that every single day, every single day, regardless of what's going on in life, you do it every single day. And I appreciate that.
Ms. McRoberts: I appreciate you. We gotta end this [interview] because… the tissues are going to be out in a moment!
When in the same room as these two talented educators, their unwavering mutual respect and admiration for one another, as well as their unbridled passion for working with students, become deeply, immediately evident.
Thank you both for sitting with The Huddle and displaying the teamwork, principles, humor, and joy you bring to our network every single day.
Connection is a hallmark of United culture, and this is a glimpse into the dialogues that define our campuses.
