story by Claire Miller
Growing up, Bryelle Partridge (B.S.Ed. ’23) knew family members and fellow classmates who struggled in school because of their learning disabilities.
Seeing how her teachers responded to those students – particularly those who didn’t know how to address learning disabilities – inspired her to become an educator.
“I realized that a lot of teachers were not very accepting of those students or didn’t have a high tolerance for them because they didn’t understand them,” she said. “I wanted to be an educator who took their challenges and loved every part of it instead of being discouraged by how it affected a classroom setting.”
Partridge applied for the College of Education & Human Development’s CREATE Teacher Residency program, a federally funded initiative that trains and supports educators across their career trajectory. Students participate in a year-long student teaching experience in a local classroom and receive support from CREATE during the first few years after graduation.
Faculty members like Clinical Associate Professor Jacob Hackett and Asia Thomas Uzomba encouraged Partridge and her classmates to let the reasons why they want to become a teacher guide them in their careers – advice she carries with her to this day.
“Going into the education program, I knew why I wanted to be a teacher but I didn't know how to express it in my work,” she said. “They gave me an environment where I could grow and flourish in the world of education. I thought being a teacher was just teaching students about a subject area, but they showed me that it's deeper than what the eye can see.”
She graduated with her degree in middle level education in 2023 and currently teaches eighth grade science at Drew Charter School in Atlanta.
Partridge hopes that the hard work she puts in every day to support her students prepares them to become successful adults.
“A great teacher is someone who understands that teaching is bigger than themselves,” she said. “You teach to elevate and impact those who are going to be your future leaders and change makers in anything that they do.”