I’m Marlo Bagsik and I’ve served SMUHSD since 2016. I’m an Instructional Lead Team Member, District PD Coordinator, PHS MTSS Coordinator and an 11th grade English teacher. 

From the onset of choosing education as a career path, my aspirations were to serve marginalized, underprivileged, underserved and underrepresented communities. 

Early in my pursuit of becoming an educator, I was enlightened to see all students and their narratives as “Gifts” that they offer to us, teachers and educators. The unfortunate reality is that not every teacher or educator will see them as “Gift” so it becomes natural that students secure the wrapping or even protect their gifts by being cautious to who they offer it to. At its worst, it can be hard for them to even offer their “Gifts” to us because they’ve lost trust that anyone will receive it graciously. 

Students who have been historically underserved come to us fearful, skeptical and sometimes even defensive because they just don’t want to feel like their “Gifts” aren’t valued. I believe, as an educator, it's a great honor to unwrap their “Gifts” and celebrate with them what’s inside. This is what keeps me inspired--the feeling in working with students to become truer and freer versions of themselves is a sentiment that is worth being addicted to. 

My hope is that this team I have the privilege of serving on will help students celebrate and embrace who they are and the colorful narratives that they bring along with them.