After Decades of Teaching, You Can Still Seize New Career Opportunities With Steve Martinez

Have you ever had an opportunity present itself, even when you weren’t looking for it? That’s what happened to our guest today! He shares his story of making a career shift when he wasn’t even looking for one. 

Today, Ali and JoDee sit down with Steve Martinez, a former educator of 18 years and current Teacher Success Champion at Kami. Together, they’ll discuss seizing opportunities when they are the right fit, why knowing who you are at the core is key for success, and what Steve’s job looks like on a day to day basis. 

Connect with Steve:
Steve’s X (formerly Twitter)
Under The Hat Podcast Website
Under The Hat’s X (formerly Twitter)

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Chapters

• 19:33 [Ad] Screen Deep
• 20:11 (Cont.) After Decades of Teaching, You Can Still Seize New Career Opportunities With Steve Martinez

Transcript

Ali  0:06  
Teachers are natural innovators, entertainers and problem solvers. They dream of growing old into the profession, teaching their kids kids. But sometimes career goals shift. And that makes opportunities outside of the classroom seem intangible questioning, who am I, if I'm not a teacher? I'm your host, Ali Simon.

JoDee  0:29  
And I'm your co host, JoDee Scissors.

Ali  0:32  
And this is Teacher Shift.

JoDee  0:43  
Sometimes you don't have to go looking for opportunities, they come looking for you. Today's guest tells us about his decades of hard work and dedication in the classroom, and how it's important to make the right shift just for you. 

Ali  0:59  
Today, our guest is Steve Martinez. Steve is a former teacher of 18 years and now a teacher success champion at Kami, where he delivers high impact professional learning to teachers, coaches, and administrators all over the globe. He is also a podcast host on Under The Hat Podcast, where he amplifies voices in the education space. Welcome to the show today, Steve.

Steve  1:22  
Yeah, thanks for having me. Super excited to be here with you two.

JoDee  1:27  
We're happy you're here to. We are pumped because you are a very tenured educator in this space for 18 years. And that's a bold move to make a transition after that many years, which is a question that we often get here on the podcast. You know, I've been doing this for this long. I have this, you know, trajectory that's been mapped out for me as a teacher. And you left the classroom for career growth. Was there something about that traditional path of being a teacher on a traditional trajectory that wasn't working for you? And, and what made you want to, like, pivot out of that, and go on to a different path?

Steve  2:12  
Yeah, so I think my teacher journey is a little unique in the sense that I wasn't teaching the same thing for those years. So I was originally in the music education space, where I was teaching, instructing, designing for multiple different schools and organizations. So there was a lot of heavy lifting with teaching in that context. From there, I went into the social studies classroom. And I was only in the social studies class for four years. So like, the bulk of my experience really came to more on the arts and the music, education space. But leaving the classroom was something that was not top of mind for me. It kind of found me. And so I had no desire to leave, and I wasn't, you know, jaded in any way. I wasn't looking for an out or anything. It was one of those things that it found me as a result of a few different things. One, I was doing things in the classroom, that were probably unique, at least in my own district, in my own area, where I was kind of an outlier, with things like, you know, getting students actively involved in the community, using things like design, thinking in the classroom, flipping my classroom, integrating technology, what I felt, you know, in a really transformative way. But in the process, I was building relationships with a lot of these companies. Kami being one of them. And so when we kind of established that rapport of me being a speaker at various events that they were hosting. I was on their podcast. And so that relationship really kind of just motivated a conversation, to the point where like, you know, they're like, Steve, what are you doing? And while the transition was exciting, there was a little bit of heartache of like, leaving those students, leaving those parents. That, that was the big motivator was that relationship that existed between Kami and myself. 

JoDee  4:20  
Yeah, I think one of the biggest misconceptions about teachers leaving the profession is that everybody thinks that they're leaving because of a negative reason. But sometimes there are opportunities that fall into their lap, or that are just built from really strong skills that they have been able to highlight and flourish in and people start to notice those things. We've had a former interview where, you know, they made their, their transition through a connection that they made as someone that ran yearbook. And so, you established relationships, a network outside of your immediate school building that you worked in, and an opportunity fell to you. And I can totally relate to that, that heartache that comes when you leave students and a community of people for a number of reasons. But yeah, you splashed into the ed tech space. Can you tell us a little bit about like, what is that, like, for people that don't even know what that is?

Steve  5:24  
It's a different party, that's for sure. I will say that, you know, kind of to piggyback on what we were talking about earlier, it went from supporting the 200 students and families and a little bit of like, I was doing a lot of professional learning for my district, right. So like, you kind of get locked into that bubble. The big shift, the big difference is like, I'm now doing this for the world. Like so many more connections, so many more people that get to hear my story. Get to hear how I taught my own experiences. And so I think that's the biggest difference. It is a, and I can only speak from my own experiences in Kami. I don't know what other companies are like, but it's a like a, it's a big lifestyle change. And so it goes from, you're locked into that classroom, from 8am to whenever you get out, right, three, four o'clock, whatever it is. And my context is working from home mostly for the most part with... there's some travel like you'll find me Este in California. You'll find me at Q and, and things like that. But for the most part, it's working from home, but is the lifestyle is a lot more flexible. I've noticed that I'm a better parent and better dad, as a result. And so I left so my daughter, she's seven right now. So I left since she was about five years old. There's something about it, where I can't thank Kami enough for giving me this time with her. Giving me the ability to parent at this level, like I'm dropping her off. I'm picking her up. There's a field trip, I'm there. You know, every time I talk to like a family member about this, like, it is like an emotional conversation because you don't get that as a teacher, right? Like you're that for everyone else's child, but not your own. And so for me, that was, that was the biggest change. That was the biggest shift in my career. And the most important one I feel is my own family and taking care of myself.

Ali  7:36  
So I went through a similar transition where I got to experience what you described, where, you know, my schedule was really limited. I actually left teaching when the year I left teaching w as because I was going to have to be at school, before I could even drop off my son and my husband's in the military. And so like we couldn't find before person to take him. And so like that was my struggle was that I had such a fixed schedule. And there wasn't before here early enough that that we wanted him to go to that elementary school, that I had to make a shift. Like I had to make a change. And that was coupled with other things at the same time, which kind of made it an easier decision. What I didn't know was that when I took my, my next role, that was my role that was remote later on, the flexibility that I would have to be able to drop... Now I have two kids at two different schools. And I can somehow manage that if like I get one exactly there on time, and then get to the other school and get back in time for my meetings, and pick them up early and you know, also accommodate other things. But the lifestyle change is a big adjustment. And like it was such a blessing that I didn't even realize was going to come with that type of work. I would say one thing is like now it's hard to think about not having that. I don't know if you, you know, I miss teaching and I was telling JoDee about the times that maybe I'll go back to teaching. But once you have that, that flexibility and that lifestyle, change and shift. It's something you really appreciate. I love to hear your appreciation and valuing of that experience. Because it's something I just really connect with.

JoDee  9:12  
I feel like I'm in my momager phase right now. You know, when I left teaching, one of the things I wanted was the flexibility to be able to be there for my daughter and attend events and shuffle her around. And now that she's in that preteen era, you know, we've got a musical, we've got track, we've got basketball, we've got travel basketball. And so I'm entering into this era of life that I never planned for in my early 20s. You know, when I started teaching. I never thought like, eventually I'm going to be this person. I knew I always wanted to be like a very present parent. But I'm in this era and I feel a sense of pride that I can be that mom shuffling the carpool kids around and be present, and not have to, like be strained for time, or feel bad about leaving behind work that I couldn't get done. So it feels a sense of relief. But it also makes me feel like I'm the parent I want to be. And I have that liberty and choice to fulfill that side of myself.

Steve  10:22  
100%. I would say like, in addition to all that, too, is like, for anybody that's trying to shift. Like, you want to be somewhere where you're valued. And so, there are two things that come to mind with that statement. And one is, while Kami recognized early on, like, man, Steve really misses the classroom. They provide me the opportunity to still teach, right? So like, I still teach at my local university, teaching their credential program, which gets me out in the streets with our student teachers. And then I teach an adult school, some night class stuff. And they're like, No, Steve, you need to go do that. Because A, it's good for you. And B is something that, like, we want to know what's going on in these classrooms, right? Like, we want to know what the pain points. And like, when I when I go to my engineer team, or I'm having chats with marketing, they know that like the things that I'm saying are real, because I'm still in it at a certain level. The other thing too, is like, with respect to value and this little short story, and maybe he doesn't want me sharing this, and I don't know. He'll be fine. Our CEO of Kami, Kenji, he was in California recently. And he was in Oakland. I live about an hour and a half, maybe two hours away from that. And he wanted to meet up with me, on a personal level, but also just to like chit chat about that stuff. He took that drive. And mind you he was he flew up from New Zealand, that's where Kami is based out of. So like he took the time to drive all the way to my house for an hour meetup. And to me that was like, I don't even get that from a principal, right? More or less like a superintendent or like, like, there's something, there's something about, like that value. There's something about that, like it made me feel special that I was like, there's other people in California, he decided to come visit me. And not to say that he wouldn't do that for anyone else. And just like what he wanted to do at that moment. I think like where you work matters. And like Kami has given me that value. Make me feel like I'm valued. And feels like I have a voice in this company. And again, that's not always the case in public education. 

JoDee  12:34  
I'm glad you bring that up. Because I don't want people to think that a transition might just be all sunshine and roses all the time. I have a similar situation where there was some dissatisfaction in a piece of work that I was doing. And I talked it out with, you know, the manager that oversees the stuff. And I was just like, I'm just really struggling with not being fulfilled. And he said, Well, what will fill you up? Like, what will fill your bucket? And I just pitched ideas. And he came back and he was like, let's do it. Like you're valuable. You, you have great ideas. Let's pivot what you're doing and change it to this. And it's going to be great. And I just appreciated having a manager, somebody that oversees me, that just was like, Okay, let's not follow this script right now. Let's make an adjustment. Because we value you. We appreciate you. We don't want you to go anywhere. And so let's meet you where you are right now. And I think it's good to work for somebody that does see your value in that way. 

Ali  13:44  
Yeah, I think also when you're shifting, and you're going into a new, especially like a newer field, a different field that's not exactly you know, what you were shifting from. You're trying to figure out, what about your new job is going to fill you up, is going to make you feel like that connection. Like that same kind of feeling that you had maybe in your previous job. And I realized for me, and it's actually taken several years to figure this out, but that like it's the connections with people that really fill me up. So whether it's my colleagues or I've worked on grant programs, so the grant program I'm working on now is like wrapping up after four years. But I know all of these grantees like I've built relationships with them. I've got to meet them in person. And that fills me up. I really like that. So I know, no matter what role I grow into in the future. I want that to be a part of what I do. And so it's, it's interesting because when we're teachers we're so not like boxed in because we can do a lot of different things. But, you know, it's going to be similar every day. You have, you have opportunities to make things different, right? But like my relationships were always going to be with my students and with the other faculty and maybe with the parents. But now I have like a whole new world of relationships that I'm able to build and grow. And I still keep in touch with my former students and their parents and my colleagues. And so my world just is kind of expanding now to.

Steve  15:07  
I think to like, because that reminded me of, so earlier, we kind of talked about, you know, make sure you hit the right company, right? You get into the right door. The other thing about that, though, I would say is like knowing yourself. Like, because we can do a lot of different things, but I've seen it where I've seen a shift, and they shifted into the wrong place into the wrong role. So like, for me, people like, Oh, you work at Kami now and you're like, your salesperson. I'm like, no, no, I'm not sales. I'm a part of the sales team, per se. But the teacher success team at Kami, we are doing exactly what we're doing in the classroom, or we're doing in the coaching setting. But now we get to do it for the world. Like, it's really focused, really laser focused on the professional learning, and how do we support the company, and Kami users, by knowing and learning how to use it effectively, how to use it in an innovative way. So like, a lot of my sessions are not like, you know, oh, here's every Kami tool. I'm like, No, let's talk about the pedagogy and talk about the instruction. Let's talk about, like, the blended learning component. Like we have all these different things that we can do like UDL, right? We have project based learning is a lot of stuff I do. And so for me, that's the perfect role for me. I would not have taken the role if it was a sales job. I would not have taken a role. I don't think for another company. There's only like two, maybe three other companies that I would have liked left the classroom for. It's okay to be picky, right? It's okay to be like, if this is going to happen, these are the things that I need, right? And part of that, you know, money aside, and everything else, like part of that is like, what is it that you're going to be doing? And so like, if someone, if someone like tomorrow, were to ask me, like, Hey, Steve, we need you to like start selling Kami, it would be a hard pass. It'd be hard. No, I would not be good at that. I'm good at being the face of Kami, with the teaching and learning. I would not be successful at the selling. That's not a skill set I have, right? And so knowing yourself is a big part of a shift, in my view.

JoDee  17:07  
But some teachers might be good at selling. I know, I've had teachers that are like, I want to go into sales. I'd be great that and I'm like, oof, not for me. But for some people it is.

Ali  17:18  
I think what I heard from you, Steve was two things. One is like knowing yourself, but then also, it's so nice to be at a company that values your education background. Like, obviously, your company is supporting, like educational resources, and you're you're directly working with teachers. But JoDee, like I know, your clients, like they value your expertise as an educator. And, you know, I think it can be hard when you're transitioning. Because sometimes the field you might want to go into may not see that as such a positive thing. Like, oh, they were a teacher. And so like, I know, for me, I wanted to find a space where my education background would be seen as a positive and would be, could be incorporated into my day job. And it wasn't like, Okay, I'm leaving everything behind and going to something new. Some people do want that. And that's totally fine. You know, you have to do what works best for you. But I think that's part of like knowing yourself, and then also knowing what you're looking for in your future employer. And you've touched on several of those things like, what type of roles would you be offered? Thinking long term, like, is there going to be room to grow within those roles? Or would you have to move into like a sales role if you want it to grow? And then you know, will they respect and understand your education background and desire to continue in that space? And those are all really key components, I think, to a successful shift, and a fulfilling one. I think we all have, we're all kind of sharing like, what, what's making us feel good about how we've shifted in this episode. And it's really, it's a fun conversation to have.

JoDee  18:52  
Can you tell us like what you do, though? Like, you know, you've shifted in into this PD space, and you're in the ed tech industry. And so a lot of times what we forget to unpack on episodes is, like what you actually do on a daily basis. Because I did see I went, I immediately like, anytime we interview people, I always go to their website to see if they're hiring. And I saw that there was a teacher success champion role available in Canada. You have to be English, French, Canadian, bilingual. And so I was thinking, Well, what does it look like if you were to step into your role or a role like the teacher success champion? What are you doing?

Steve  19:36  
Yeah, so we are, we are trying to structure regionally. And for me, personally, that wasn't the original structure. So originally, I was looking after 25 of the 50 states with people, with districts that have had Kami for a while, right. And so now I'm structured west coast for the most part with California being my main focus. But kind of the day to day like what we do. We are delivering that professional learning, that professional development. We're also doing a lot of making sure that these accounts, that these districts are set up for success. Because a lot of times, like, we're like, you know, this is a, an unhealthy account, or this is like an unhealthy region. And people will be buying Kami, and then they're not using it, right? And so like, why is that? We're trying to provide that support as to help them figure out why. And so like, a lot of times, like I'm meeting with a tech director or a leader, an IT person, right? I'm just like, okay, cool. Like, here's your account. Is it deployed correctly? Oh, it's not deployed correctly. Oh, you've not even told your teachers that they even have Kami. So you buy the thing and you don't tell anyone, right? And so that's not every situation. But that's like an example of the kind of support that we offer. And so we're out there trying to make as many friends as possible. We kind of see on our end, like what what is working in different regions, within a state, in a larger region. And we are helping them find like back end support. Again, we're also trying to support growth for the company, too. So I do work alongside the sales team. I do work alongside a few salespeople that are looking at new sales versus standing accounts. And those two different buckets, my support looks a lot different. So like, on the one hand, you might have a district that like, look like we've had Kami for a while, but our teachers really need help with beyond just like annotating a document. I'm like, Cool. I'm your girl for that. Like, I'll go in. I will be like, Hey, this, I use Kami in a collaborative setting. This is how you use Kami in an SEL context. This is how you use Kami for this, that and the other. Teaching, like the feedback, the cyclical, ongoing feedback, whatever it is. And then for, you know, kind of more like the new sales side of it, when they restructured us it was awesome, because like, no one knows at Kami, no one knows California that way I know California. I know the pain points. I know the curriculum. I know what's going on at the state level, right. And so I know policy. I mean, being a former government teacher, like my ears open to that. And I'm very in tune with all that. So be able to help people in the company understand what's going on in my area, what's going on in the state to best support and best support that growth, right. And because I think that that's part of the shift to understanding that the metrics, the gradebook looks different, right. And so I hope that answered that question, but that's part of like my day to day. It's part of my, my roll at Kami.

Ali  22:55  
So another thing that you do, probably not daily, but you're also the host of a podcast, Under The Hat. And I'm wondering if you can tell us like, what's it like podcasting in the education space? And do you feel like that expands your network?

Andrew  23:12  
So the show is fairly new. And for a long while, I've been a person just to come on shows like this. But I got to a point. I was like, I was like, on a podcast weekly. I was like, Wait a second. I can do this. Oh, I see how they do it. I see you all. I see it. And I'm like, wait, I can do this. And so I know that you both are pretty connected with Fonz, on My Ed Tech Life. And so Fonz and I really good friends. We've connected. He did a lot of support for me with just like starting the show. I'd be like, like Fonz, how'd you do this? Because, you know, like, there's all these like back end things that that are involved. 

Ali  23:49  
Yeah, and it's different. Like his show is like live. And so it's different than like a recorded podcast. So it's cool. I mean, it's interesting to learn about all that stuff.

Andrew  23:57  
Yeah, absolutely. And so it's fairly new. I think the the first episode dropped this last December. I take a similar approach to Fonz in like, mine is also live. The questioning is different. The theme is different. But I wanted to do something that was not boxed in so much. Like, My Ed Tech Life, while it's an amazing shows, like I want it to be bigger than that, have a bigger, you know, reach. So Under the Hat is really like what is under your hat. What is top of mind in education? And that could be a leader. It can also be a teacher. It can be a coach. It can be a college student, right? Like, it doesn't have to be, you know, somebody that feels like, Oh, I'm an expert. I'm like, no, no, no. We all have voices. So the goal is to really amplify those voices, regardless of context, right within reason. In terms of networking, yeah, I would say so. Like, I try not to mention Kami too much on the show. I purposefully isolated those things mostly because, you know, it's no secret that if you work for an ed tech company, there's certain things that you can't say or promote, right? Which makes a lot of sense to me. So on the show I, I might have a guest... like I had a guest on last night, talking about a wide range of things. Figma being one of them, right? So potential competitors. And they can do that for sure. I'm just not going to as a host. But still, like, empower their voices, still encourage them, still make it feel like I'm in support. I'm in their corner. But yeah, I'm connecting, I'm going to be connecting with more people now in person at Iste this summer. 

JoDee  25:45  
Where is Iste this summer? 

Steve  25:47  
It's in Denver.

JoDee  25:49  
Yeah, I like this mission of yours to give voice back to the teacher. Ali has heard me tell this story a million times. But you know, I've sat in on panels and things that have talked about teachers and education and students, and there wasn't a single teacher that they invited to be on the panel. And that just makes my stomach churn. And I think one of the benefits of podcasting is the ability and freedom to bring the most authentic voices to the table that are in it right now. The, the boots to the ground people that can offer that voice that has, you know, historically you, you see, you know, just the the people at the top being the voice of that. But what about inviting the people that are there one to one, with the students? In terms of networking, I think that's one of the biggest surprises that Ali and I've had from podcasting, is how our network has expanded. And I know in my work specifically, I've collaborated with several of our guests on projects. And Ali and I are making connections all the time. And we went into it, you know, wanting to hear these stories, wanting to support and validate a lot of the feelings and experiences teachers are having when they want to make a shift. But we did not plan on just having this even stronger, more robust, connect to people in all types of industries: nonprofit, Ed tech, university, wherever it might be. And that's been one of those just surprising things that I am so glad that we went through this endeavor just for the mere fact that we are building our own little PLC, our own little Teacher Shift community.

Ali  27:37  
I think that's such a great way to round us out today. And I want to share with our listeners, how they can connect with Steve. So you can find him on his personal X at Martinez underscore ed tech. And then Under The Hat on x is at under the hat pod and check out his website underhatpod.com Thank you so much again for your time today, Steve.

Steve  28:01  
Yeah, thank you for having me. It was fun.

Ali  28:11  
Are you interested in suggesting a topic for Teacher Shift? Being a guest or recommending a guest? Please see the episodes page on our website to make a submission. And if you'd like to write for us, see our blog page. If you liked Teacher Shift, give us a five star rating and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Apple podcasts, Spotify and Amazon music. Today's episode was written and recorded by me, Ali Simon and my co host, JoDee Scissors. Executive produced by Teacher Shift. Produced and edited by Emily Porter. Original Music: Emoji by Tubebackr.