A Navy veteran is using her training in a new way. Instead of ships and radar screens, she is focused on fractions and eighth graders at Miami Norland Middle School in Miami Gardens.
From combat to classroom service
Chastaine Starke spent six years in the Navy as an operations specialist. She also served in combat. At 5-foot-1, she is often mistaken for a student in the hallway. That works to her advantage. It keeps students on their toes and makes her classroom feel approachable.
“Sometimes they don’t even see me walking,” Starke said with a laugh. “When they’re running I say, hey, slow down. They turn around and say, I didn’t see you there.”
Teacher accelerator program opens doors
Starke is in her first-year teaching at Norland. She got there through Achieve Miami’s Teacher Accelerator Program. The nonprofit recruits and prepares new educators to help address the teacher shortage and places them in classrooms with coaching and support.
A tight but encouraging ship
Her classroom runs like a tight but encouraging ship. During a recent lesson she guided students through graphing lines while pushing them to think for themselves.
“I give them grace, but I also give them discipline,” she said. “This is not the time to play around. This is a very important time in your life.”
Students say approach makes learning fun
Her students say the approach is working.
“She doesn’t make it boring like how other teachers do,” said eighth grader Skyy Harrin. “She makes it fun and still educational.”
Classmate Gabriella Williams appreciates Starke’s balance of help and independence.
“She helps me with the work I’m struggling with. She tells me what to do, but she doesn’t give me the answer. She gives me a hint or a clue.”
A new mission, same purpose
Starke calls it a new mission with the same purpose: service.
“I wore a uniform to protect people,” she said. “Now I show up to help kids.”
