Coming full circle
Megan Scelfo, a North Philadelphia middle school teacher, was inspired by her mentor to make a difference in the world. They share a relentless pursuit to improve the lives of their students.
Brent Maddin first met Megan Scelfo seven years ago, when she was a student in his Honors Chemistry class in Franklin, La.
At the time, it hadn’t occurred to the bright high school junior that college was a possibility. But she thrived in the challenging atmosphere that Maddin, then a young Teach for America educator, created for his students.
Last week, Maddin, a dynamo in a bright yellow Sponge Bob tie, walked into the North Philadelphia classroom where Scelfo, a new Teach for America teacher, expects her seventh graders to do great things, and uses many of the strategies her mentor employed with her.
“It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture, to get caught up in not having enough paper for copies or in a discipline problem,” Maddin said. “But this gives me chills. I’m so proud of her.”
Great teachers change lives, and Maddin and Scelfo’s journey is a prime example of that.
Maddin, who attended Arizona State University, was on track to enter graduate school when he had an epiphany – teaching high school, not academia, was the right path for him. He applied to Teach for America, a nonprofit organization that attracts top college graduates to teach in low-income communities that have difficulty finding quality teachers.
He landed in a rural Louisiana high school. He tacked up a sign in his classroom that said “Relentless Pursuit” – a reminder to his students that good things are worth working hard for. He met Scelfo.
“As a teacher, you’re never supposed to have favorites, but sometimes you do,” Maddin said.
Maddin talked to his students about doing more – for themselves, for society. Scelfo took that to heart, organizing a program where high school students gave up their summers to tutor younger children on the basics of the state standardized test.
“She’s a striver and a dreamer,” Maddin said. “There are some tremendous inequalities in this world, and as a high school junior, she said, ‘What can I do to give people a better shake?’”
Scelfo went on to the honors college at Louisiana State University, where she majored in English and sociology and founded another tutoring program.
Maddin’s lessons stayed with her. One day, a Maddin friend reported running into a young woman studying in a café with a sign reading “Relentless Pursuit” in front of her. It was Scelfo, of course – she used the motto to get herself though a particularly difficult course.
And she always held out Teach For America as a goal.
“I was 16 years old when I had my first conversation with Mr. Maddin about Teach For America, and it made such an impression on me. I said, ‘Wow, I wish I could be a part of that,’” Scelfo said.
And last fall, she landed at Roberto Clemente Middle School, a large school in a tough neighborhood. Scelfo teaches reading, social studies, math and science to special education students.
She brims with excitement when she talks about her first year teaching. “It has been an adventure. I learn so much, every single day,” said Scelfo.
There have been challenges – establishing herself as an authority figure at age 22, for starters.
Inspiring disaffected students to value education has been tough, but she takes inspiration from her mentor, who recently traveled to Philadelphia from Boston, where he is now a doctoral student at Harvard. From the back of her classroom, Maddin took careful notes on the things she was doing well and things she might do better.
“It’s so exciting to have him here; it brings things full circle,” Scelfo said. “He’s helping me be the best teacher I can be.”
Taking pointers from Maddin is not new to Scelfo, who is also earning a master’s degree at Chestnut Hill College. She has gotten to know many of her students and their families by showing up at events in the Hunting Park community, just as her chemistry teacher attended events in her town. She personalizes lessons for her students, just as he did.
Michael Wang, executive director of Teach For America’s Philadelphia office, feels especially connected to the pair. A graduate of Council Rock High School, Wang was a corps member with Maddin in Southern Louisiana in 1999.
People often think of the short-term impact his organization has: filling teaching vacancies, staffing classrooms with educators committed to quality instruction and educational equity.
“What sometimes gets lost in the mix, though, is the longer-term perspective on the type of change we’re creating.”
Wang, for one, is optimistic that, given Scelfo’s drive and Maddin’s guidance, history can repeat itself.
“I’ll bet dollars to donuts that 10 years from now, Megan will have a student teaching for us and making a difference in someone’s life,” Wang said. “It’s such an exemplar that this model works. If we hold kids to high standards, they’re going to rise to the challenge.”
Contact reporter Kristen Graham at 215-854-5146 or kgraham@phillynews.com.