As the youngest of five children, Michelle Zurita-Sharpe always wanted a younger sibling and found herself gravitating toward young children. “I love their enthusiasm and their energy,” she says. As the child of a Deaf mother, she was also attuned to different abilities. Those factors—coupled with a program in middle school where she read to elementary-age children and a high school job volunteering at a public library—prompted Michelle to pursue a degree in education; specifically with young children.  

Today, Michelle is a special education teacher in a blended pre-K classroom at Blair Early Childhood Center, a Chicago public school. Blair serves children in prekindergarten through second grade. Almost 80 percent of the center’s population includes students with developmental delays and/or disabilities.  

Besides her teaching, Michelle serves on the public policy committee of the Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children (ILAEYC). In 2024, the Illinois State Board of Education named her Early Childhood Teacher of the Year. Following are excerpts from a recent conversation.  

You’re a classroom teacher, policy advocate, and past mentor of teacher candidates. What issues from the field resonate with you? 

Definitely the teacher shortage and educators’ low compensation. Teachers in the United States work more than teachers in other countries, yet we are paid less and experience greater stress when compared to other working adults. That combination of low pay-high stress is a big issue we’re facing. There’s also a significant pay disparity between educators in home and center-based programs and in elementary schools. That contributes to our fragmented system. We can’t do right by children until we have some unified efforts around equitable compensation.  

I’m very privileged to be teaching in Illinois because our current governor, J.B. Pritzker, cares about early childhood education and care. His Smart Start Illinois initiative is a multi-year plan to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into our state’s home visiting, early intervention, child care, and preschool programs. The plan’s goals include efforts to minimize child care deserts and to support quality improvements, such as raising the salaries and wages of early childhood staff. I’m hoping all the goals come to fruition.  

Share a little about your classroom teaching: What are your joys and challenges at Blair? 

I teach two half-day classes. I coteach with a general education teacher and two paraprofessionals. My favorite part of the day is in the morning, when the children come through the doors. I love getting down on their level, making eye contact, and greeting them by name and with enthusiasm.  

I get to work 30 minutes or more before my contractual hours begin, so I can prepare. Adequate preparation time is essential for early childhood educators. That’s because individualization is the application of equity: What does each child need to be actively engaged? How can educators identify and draw on every child’s strengths? Teachers need time to think about their lessons and prepare hands-on materials. We also need time to create visuals, which are a universal support for children with disabilities and for multilingual learners. We need time to create, print, cut, and laminate visuals. We need time to pull out manipulatives, to count them, to figure out how many we’re going to use, and to sanitize them after use. I have the privilege of working with three other professionals. To be one teacher and have to do all that—and do it well—is unrealistic. We need to prioritize policies that lower class sizes and increase educators’ preparation time. 

How has NAEYC supported you in your work? 

I learned about NAEYC through my teacher preparation program, and I joined ILAEYC at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was through NAEYC’s 2021 Public Policy Forum that I first learned about how to be an informed and effective advocate for young children. I began and have continued to meet with my elected officials to share my experiences, discuss issues, and troubleshoot solutions related to early childhood and the teaching profession.  

The Illinois School Board of Education named you Early Childhood Teacher of the Year in 2024. What project were you recognized for? 

As a first-year teacher during the COVID-19 pandemic, I led professional development for the teachers at my school to help them set up their Google Classroom sites and to use interactive tools for virtual instruction. I also wrote a social story about remote learning and created three different DonorsChoose projects to help pay for materials I used to strengthen families’ abilities to engage in hands-on activities with their children at home. Outside of the classroom, I was recognized for my work on equitable funding and the importance of representing Illinois teachers’ voices in the state’s early childhood decision making. 

You’ve said that you’re near the end of your five-year plan. What’s next for you? 

I’ve become passionate about educating our next generation of teachers. I’m recently certified in foundations of college teaching and am seeking adjunct faculty positions. As a Teacher of the Year, I have opportunities to be part of advisory groups to the state board of education. I hope to continue engaging in policy and advocacy. But I want to do these things as I continue to teach full time. I have no plans to leave the classroom. I’m still in love with it! 

Photographs: Courtesy of Michelle Zurita-Sharpe.
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