Katie Smith

I was in the classroom for 7 years, and during COVID, I started to think more deeply about my career and what I wanted. I found that I really loved what I was doing, but I was splitting my time between writing curriculum and teaching, and I could bring so much more to and for my students if I could pause the classroom and just focus on writing really robust, high-quality curriculum. I started applying and trying to break into the curriculum design world, sending out over 100 applications. I got 2 contract jobs from that, which was an awesome start and allowed me to begin curriculum writing professionally. From there, I earned my full-time role with Acceleration Academies, which is a group of charter schools, and I am a curriculum specialist for them as we write curriculum. In my current role, I have my full-time job, but I also have several contracting jobs that allow me to stay connected with the classroom. I travel and work at different schools with teachers on implementing curriculum. In a typical week, I'll spend 3 or 4 days working from home, reviewing lessons, revising things, communicating with designers, and maybe 1 or 2 days a week I'm actually in schools working with teachers, supporting them in implementing curriculum. I've been very blessed to work with lots of really thoughtful, smart women, and lots of people that have been very supportive and helpful.