I thought my first official blog post as a small business owner would be a bit more personal in nature…I want to share a little bit about myself and why I’ve started this small business.

Some of you may know me and know my story, and some of you may not. So, if we’ve never met, here’s your official introduction. 😃👋  My name is Kristin Schulze. I’ve
been in education for 23 years now (hard for me to believe because internally, I don’t think I’m much older than that…although my graying hair and growing wrinkles tell another story).  I'm mom to the world's best 17 year old daughter (Yes, teenagers can be wonderful!).  I currently teach 5th grade English in a private school.

Here I am with my boyfriend Ned - Thanksgiving 2023

At Dave Matthew Concert - I realized I was old when my bedtime reminder went off in the middle of concert. 😂

End of Day - tired teacher (note eyebags as text evidence)

Over the course of the last 23 years, I’ve had a lot of different roles in education. I’ve taught Kindergarten, First grade, second grade, and fifth grade. I taught virtually for one year (what an experience that was! Who’s with me on that?). I’ve also worked as a teacher evaluator for my former school district, been an instructional coach, taught in the Early Childhood department at a community college, taught Read to Succeed 📚classes for teachers in my district, and even been an adjunct professor for a graduate class at Clemson University on instructional effectiveness.

I’ve learned so much throughout my career. Through my different roles, I’ve been able to see so many different teachers and that has allowed me to gain an understanding of all the great things teachers do that work well with students.

There’s a lot I would do differently if I were coaching again. I would give teachers more time to plan uninterrupted. (Sorry to all those teachers who had to sit and listen to my yap on about the standards, when you already knew what it was you needed to do!) I would trust teachers more. I would have focused less on what the district said teachers should be doing, and focus more on what teachers know they need to do to meet the needs of their students. I feel like I have a unique perspective having been a coach and then going back into the classroom. I can see the disconnect between what we’re told to do and what we need to do.

That’s where my business comes into play. I want to make teaching easier for teachers by giving you what you need.  I'm especially thinking about my public school teaching friends.  Being a public school teacher is definitely the most challenging job I’ve ever had, and it seemed to grow even more challenging as time went on!

I want to bridge the gap between theory (what we’re oftentimes told we need to do) and practice (what teachers know we need to do and what we actually do).  I’d like to do this in two main ways.  My initial focus is to build instructional materials that are easy for teachers to implement and clear for students to understand.  My second goal is to provide meaningful professional development.  The Professional Development teachers often receive isn’t related at all to what we need and want - it’s irrelevant to our daily work. Then there are the materials…I’m wondering if any of you have struggled to make the materials your district or school provides fit the standards and students you teach. There’s a reason teachers pay teachers is a multimillion-dollar business!

My company seeks to bridge the gap by providing meaningful and relevant online professional development coupled with instructional materials📝 you can use. FT2P seeks to provide instructional materials and PD that are related to the standards, rooted in research, and connected to the work that you actually do.

 As a teacher 👩‍🏫 you have so much on your plate, you work so hard, and you have so little time and energy left after a day’s work that you shouldn’t have to waste what’s left on irrelevant and meaningless PD. I want to give you the time and space to think about those things that your students struggle with (nonfiction inference or summarizing - who’s with me?) and then the materials you need to use in class with your students. FT2P  seeks to serve teachers and help “lighten your load” by giving you what you really need and want.

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