For the past 8 years I have worked with at-risk students in non-traditional schools. Often, more than ninety percent of my students were eligible for free or reduced lunch, and they were all failing my school. Debt recovery programs have become their last chance to graduate in a timely manner. My primary goal was to figure out how to help students struggling with significant educational deficits and push them to pass all standards at double the rate of a regular classroom. Until recently, my schools had no sports programs, no music programs, no journalism programs, and precious few elective courses. I am in the ninth year of my teaching career and am only now working in my first comprehensive high school. Until recently, my students have struggled academically and personally. From the beginning of my career, I have realized that the process by which schools adapt and refine curriculum needs improvement. Knowing that I was working with a challenging educational model, I volunteered to participate in district leadership to develop the AZCCRS curriculum and found that this was just the beginning. The experience with my leadership team has shown me that we must change how schools approach curriculum at the district and school levels to ensure that educators are providing the highest quality education to our children. Despite a less-than-stellar undergraduate GPA, in my opinion post-baccalaureate program, I earned a 4.0 and realized that I have the courage to pursue a higher degree. Soon after starting my career, it became clear that returning to school to earn my Master's degree would further enhance my teaching skills. During my first year of teaching at a district alternative school, I volunteered to join the cadre group that had been charged… mid-paper… that students were irrevocably falling behind. Curriculum development may be key. If educators know how to reach every student, if schools tailor instruction to include these diverse students, if we master the art of engagement and increasing complexity, providing these students with the education they deserve will be a possibility. Today's classroom is not the same as the classroom of the past. New ways of teaching are developed every day as a result of brain-based research. I intend to become a driving force of innovation, helping to direct learning in a positive way. I intend to be a voice for positive change in my career. Teaching is not just a job. Teaching is a vocation. Driven by more than just a career path or a paycheck, I am propelled forward by the light in the eyes of my students, who look to me for guidance, support, and ultimately, education.