Tyseeke Edwards: ‘I Love Coming to Work Every Morning’

When AFT Tulsa member Tyseeke Edwards and her husband followed his new job as a firefighter to Oklahoma in 1998, Tyseeke wasn’t planning on a career in education. She was simply looking for a family-friendly schedule, and turned to substitute teaching at Anderson Elementary. “I was a sports mom, subbing to fit those commitments. When I was offered a full-time job at Anderson and another school, I chose Anderson, because it felt like home.”

And Anderson chose her: When her grant-funded position as a reading professional ended, the school asked Edwards to take on the newly vacant role of parent involvement facilitator. Fourteen years later, she’s the person Anderson staff and families turn to: helping teachers connect with hard-to-reach parents; partnering with state agencies and community services; finding clothing and groceries for families in need; helping new residents start the citizenship process. Edwards is so valuable and so modest that she was the only one surprised when she won the city’s highly competitive Support Professional of the Year award in April. At the awards dinner, Edwards was actually congratulating another nominee she was sure would win, when her name was called.

“Tyseeke’s commitment runs so deep. Her students and families are always the first thing on her mind,” says AFT Tulsa President Nancy Leonard, noting that the award-selection process is an intensive one in which the union and the district collaborate. “She is joyful, dedicated and selfless, a key part of her school team. Parents and families trust her.”

Here, Edwards muses on work, community and the students and families who make her look forward to coming to work every day.

Can you describe a typical day in your role?

There is no typical day [laughing]. But in terms of the usual schedule, I come in every morning and greet the kids with a hug or a high five. I feel that kind of positivity sets the tone for the day, for them and for me. From there, I assist with a reading group, then make telephone calls and do home visits. I make sure I’m back at Anderson for school dismissal. Arrival and dismissal are the times when I can bond with the parents. Tuesdays and Thursdays I assist with after-school programs. Every semester we also have a parent collaboration group that I spearhead through [literacy nonprofit] Gaining Ground. I also help the district train new parent facilitators.

You wear many hats, including working with agency and community partners.

Yes, and our community partners are always there for us. The churches here are wonderful. I just got a donation for our clothes closet from Love Tabernacle church, and First Presbyterian is one of our strongest partners.

We work closely with local and state agencies too. I took the training to enroll families into SNAP, and I’ve helped parents enroll in SoonerCare to get health insurance. I’ve aligned some of our immigrant families with the right agencies to start their citizenship process. I’ve met with parole officers and helped families get utilities paid. It’s all part of the job.

What’s your favorite thing about this work?

It’s the community and the relationships I’ve built through the years, the close bond with families. With one family, I’ve gone to all the kids’ high school and college graduations. I sent so many Mother’s Day messages yesterday. My relationships don’t stop when the school year is over. I keep in touch with a lot of my families. There are families I’ve known a long time, but it’s also about the new families that come in, about building that bond and that trust.

For me, it’s just knowing I’ve impacted lives. It means so much to see those faces smile every day, to get those cards that have been made for me throughout the years. My job can be intense, but I really don’t ever have to pick myself up to go to work, because I truly enjoy what I do and all the relationships I’ve built over the years with the parents, the teachers, my admin. My principal tells everyone that I run the building. That overflows my cup.

What’s the secret to building trust and engagement with parents?

I listen, I don’t react, and I want them to know that they can be very vulnerable. I’m not only a parent facilitator, but a counselor and a shoulder to cry on. We tell parents that we want them to feel Anderson is like a home, because we have your kids for six and a half to seven hours a day, and we’re here in any capacity you need us to be.

I help bridge any gaps between the parents and teachers, or parents and the principal. Sometimes a teacher can’t get in touch with a parent, and I might have another number for that parent in my cell phone. If I can’t get in contact, I don’t mind doing a home visit to try to connect the teacher or the principal with the parent. Each month we do one or two parent events. It might be a meeting to talk about testing or to offer useful communications tools. We have monthly bingo nights with Food on the Move [a Tulsa organization dedicated to transforming food deserts and combating food insecurity]. They will come and bring us bags of food — macaroni and cheese, carrots, baked potatoes.

Is the affordability crisis affecting school staff and families?

I’m fortunate to have a husband who is another income, but some of the teacher assistants and paras I work with have to work a second job. It’s hard for them to make ends meet, especially when they don’t get paid during the summer and have to find a job to tide them over for that couple of months.

I’m also seeing it get harder for our families to make ends meet, especially with this year’s state daycare subsidy cuts and federal cutbacks to SNAP.

One parent of seven children called and said, “I don’t have any groceries.” I scrambled and was able to get her a $150 grocery gift card from one of our community partners.

We try to help wherever we can. Each year we give away 50 pairs of shoes for students, from donors who are as far away as New York or as close as my daughter’s or granddaughter’s closet.

A lot of AFT members are carrying on a family tradition. Did you grow up in a family with a public service/education ethic?

Yes. My dad was in the Army; he was discharged early due to medical issues. My mother worked for the postal system. I’m the baby of eight. Two of my sisters are CNAs, and another just retired from a group home where she worked with adults with disabilities.

Growing up in the country [in Southern Maryland], we grew our own gardens. We didn’t buy any food from the grocery except meats. We always had a lot of extra produce, so on Saturdays my dad would take vegetables and deliver them to people in need in our community.

He always used to say to us, “You never know who’s going to give you your last drink of water. You never know who you’re going to need in this life.” That just constantly plays in my head. We don’t know what life is going to bring us. We all need each other. He taught us to treat people the way we would want people to treat us.

Did you and your husband carry that sense of service into the next generation?

We’ve tried to instill it in our children and grandchildren. I met my husband when he was stationed at Patuxent River [Maryland’s Naval Air Station Patuxent River; they have been married for 33 years]. He served in Desert Storm. Our son, Jordan, is in the Navy, stationed in Jacksonville, Fla. We are so proud of him.

My grandson volunteers with the homeless community. We all serve in the way we best can. I tell my husband, “I can’t run into a burning building.” And my husband will say, “Well, I can’t work with kids.”

Were you surprised to win this award?

I was very shocked, but honored, because I’ve tried to give myself to my Anderson families the way that I should. My husband tells me that when I die, my casket will be filled with everything Anderson. My job is challenging, but it’s rewarding. I give it my all, and I plan to do that until I can’t anymore.

Republished with permission from AFT Voices.