There is a profound exhaustion settling into the bones of Memphis teachers. It is not the normal tiredness that comes from grading papers or standing on your feet all day. It is a deep, systemic burnout that comes from carrying the weight of a failing system on our shoulders while the people in charge look the other way.

I see it every single day. I see the exhausted teachers who just want to be able to teach.

Instead of teaching, we are forced to be crisis managers, social workers, and miracle workers. We are managing overcrowded classrooms where there simply aren't enough resources to give every child the individualized attention they deserve. And while we are in the trenches trying to save our students, what is our leadership doing?

They are fighting for their own survival. We have a superintendent and a school board who know that the state is threatening to take over our schools. But instead of rallying together for the betterment of our children, they see this district as a paycheck and a stepping stone. While the school board has been busy doing interviews to save their own reputations, teachers like me have been desperately trying to save our students from falling through the cracks of a broken system.

When you ask a teacher why they are leaving the profession, they won't just tell you about the salary. They will tell you about the lack of support. They will tell you what it feels like to beg for basic resources and be met with silence. They will tell you what it feels like to watch politicians play games with the lives of their students.

If elected to the MSCS board, my absolute priority is to strengthen the support for our teachers. We cannot keep asking educators to pour from an empty cup. Strengthening support doesn't just mean empty words of appreciation during Teacher Appreciation Week. It means aggressively fighting to bring equal resources to all schools. It means ensuring that every campus is a safe, fully staffed, and fully functioning learning environment.

A school is only as strong as the teachers inside of it. When we abandon our teachers to deal with overcrowded classrooms and squalid conditions, we are abandoning our children. I am running because I refuse to watch one more brilliant, passionate educator walk away from Memphis because the board was too busy protecting its own ego to protect our classrooms.

We need politicians in our educational system who are not afraid to break the status quo. I am not afraid. I know what our teachers need because I am one of them. It is time we give our educators the support they need so they can finally do what they were called to do: teach.