She wants the students see her work ethic as an example that they can achieve greatness by doing the right thing always, in line with Moral Focus™-based education.
“My hope is that they see me and know that it is possible,” she said. “If I can do it, anybody can do it.”
Through her baking business, Blessed Cakes and Dips by Nini, Walker hosted a school supply drive and giveaway before Pathway’s first day of school. The event, in its fourth year, gave hundreds of students backpacks and other school necessities, along with raffles for toys and gift certificates.
She is transitioning the school supply giveaway under her nonprofit MJ Cares, which she named after her late mother and her generosity. Walker gained her love of teaching and passion to help others from watching her mother run her own childcare center.
“She also helped out anybody in any capacity that she could,” Walker said. “My goal is to utilize my nonprofit to break familiar barriers and then correlate that with student success.”
Walker is in her third year at Pathway after starting as a teacher in residence. She quickly assimilated herself into the school community, becoming a kinship caregiver for one of her cheerleaders and becoming known for her students’ adherence to properly following directions.
Walker credits Principal Cathy Miller for providing meaningful professional development and structure that ensures prep work is complete and any events throughout the year are fully prepared.
“She really cares about her staff and she ensures that we are set apart from other schools because she makes us do like a lot of different things that other schools don’t,” Walker said. “It helps make the year go smoother and those things are very important to us.”
In addition to the staff, parents and students are also invested at Pathway, which has outperformed the district for 17 years. Working toward a common goal of student success makes the school a destination to look forward to each day, not an obligation.
“When people ask me, ‘Do I like my job?’ I tell them, ‘No, I love it,’” she said. “That’s really big for me to say because I've come from other places where I felt that when I went home I was just drained. Here, every day that I come to work, I look forward to it. I’m able to laugh. I'm able to get my work done and it's just a great experience.”
Keep up the excellent work, Mrs. Walker!
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About Pathway School of Discovery
Pathway School of Discovery is a tuition-free, public charter school in Dayton, Ohio, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA®) network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through high school across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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