Fellow Cindy Willis, left, with her IMPACT director of support, Jill LaRosa.
One of our College’s outreach programs, IMPACT Arkansas Fellowship, supports K-12 education in the state by building leadership capacity in high-needs schools. Cindy Willis is the lead teacher at the Harrisburg Juvenile Treatment Center, working with incarcerated students in seventh through 12th grades.
Willis will graduate in December with a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Arkansas. IMPACT coursework is delivered virtually to students across the state using several technologies that allow for live instruction and a social, cohort-based learning experience with U of A professors and highly accomplished school leaders.
Read more about Cindy’s experience with IMPACT:
Where are you teaching right now?
I am the Lead Teacher at the Harrisburg Juvenile Treatment Center (HJTC). This is my 8th school year at the facility. I am currently employed by Rite of Passage (ROP) who contracts to the Arkansas Division of Youth Services (DYS). I facilitate online learning for our students grades 7-12 with Virtual Arkansas. We have a partnership with Arkansas State University Newport – Jonesboro campus to provide GED education for our students that are ordered to obtain their GED. I have had two students that attended college courses through a pilot program through Crowley’s Ridge College in Paragould, AR.
My other duties include but are not limited to the ROP State 504 coordinator, district admin for the libraries at HJTC and Mansfield Juvenile Treatment Center, and any other duties as assigned. I have a very good track record of having our students graduate high school. I have had several students who have asked their judges to stay longer in order to graduate from high school.
Where did you teach prior to HJTC?
I previously taught at Atoka High School in Atoka, OK. I was the English Department Chair, 10th grade English teacher, Student Council sponsor, and journalism teacher. We updated and maintained the school’s website and online newspaper.
When we moved to Jonesboro it was the middle of the school year and I took a break from teaching. I was burned out and needed a break. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the classroom and working with kids is where I belong. I was looking for a teaching job and accepted a traveling teacher position with Consolidated Youth Services in Jonesboro. I traveled between two facilities at taught English. In 2017, the facilities were taken over by DYS and we began our partnership with Virtual Arkansas. Five school years later, we have the most successful program in Arkansas at HJTC. It was here that I found my true calling and that this population of students is who I am supposed to teach.
What prompted you to apply for IMPACT?
Dr. Marcella Dalla Rosa, our state superintendent, encouraged me to apply for the IMPACT program. She has also believed in me and pushed me to becoming a better leader. I had decided to go back to school and earn my masters. This program just came along at the perfect time in my life.
How has the program changed your life so far?
The program has changed my life in that it allowed me to fail and then taught me how to grow. I have had many hard conversations with my leadership coaches and my approach and leadership style. I have always been considered a leader, but IMPACT taught me how to be a leader. I was taught to have the hard conversations with adults. Students, I could work with them all day but managing the adults and especially one with a personality such as myself had to be learned. It was hard work and there were days that I felt like quitting, but I am reaffirmed daily that this was the right program for me. It has made me a better teacher, mentor, and has even given me growth in other leadership roles outside of work.
I hope to have the opportunity to move to leadership within ROP or DYS in the next year. ROP employs two principals for the facilities. One for the main campus in Alexander, AR and one for the other three facilities. We have an assistant superintendent and state superintendent through DYS. I am excited to grow the education program here with DYS and ROP. I want to show teachers how wonderful these students are here. They are truly amazing kids and I’m blessed to be part of their lives and the IMPACT program.
