This blog has been adapted from an interview with Charles King, Founder and CEO of The Educator Academy, as he reflects on the impact of the rebrand. A staff member formatted this to fit a blog, making edits solely for readability purposes.
The Educator Academy recently underwent a rebranding process because we wanted a name that more accurately reflected the scope of our current work. After extensive review as an organization over the last few years, we updated our mission, vision, values, and our name. In this blog, our CEO and Founder, Charles King, discusses the impact the rebrand has had on our community.
What does the rebrand tagline mean to you?
When we set out on this rebranding journey, one component was to update our tagline. This needed to speak to our work at both a micro and macro level, and thus we came up with the tagline Cultivating Teachers Growing Community. As an organization, it is not only impactful to work with our teachers and pour into them but also to bring change to the communities those teachers serve. We asked Charles what his mindset was when creating the tagline, and here is what he said,
“When I think about our tagline of Cultivating Teachers Growing Community, I think about how cultivating teachers means we mold an individual to be a highly effective educator and how we continue that growth even beyond that initial year of the program. How do we ensure we continue to catch folks and pour into them? And so The Educator Academy is stepping in, and we’re prepared to take on that mantle to ensure that educators in this space are sustained.”
“With growing communities, we are saying we can’t do this work alone. We always talk about the power of the network, which can be a powerful experience because alignment of a mission and alignment in terms of values is not only impactful for an individual’s classroom, but it’s also impactful for students and communities.”
What did this Experience look like for the staff?
Our staff has supported our rebrand efforts and said “yes” to evolution. We have grown, which alone has given us new insights and created new opportunities and avenues to continue this growth. Charles named, “ Our organization started with a team of nine, and now we’re at eighteen. I think what has been beautiful to watch as an organization is how we have grown as people and as individuals. Over the last four years, we’ve gone through a pandemic together and come out even stronger and I think that that has forced us to relearn one another but also work to strengthen our relationships.”
As an organization, we believe that change can be uncomfortable. However, we know that our mission for all students to have a quality education—regardless of their background, zip code, race, or socioeconomic status—drives everything that we do.
How did the Rebrand Impact Partnerships and the Community?
The Educator Academy seeks allyship with our partners as we work together toward our shared vision: creating more equitable paths to the education profession and more equitable access to quality education for students. Since the launch of our rebrand in the fall of 2023, a lot has happened, from increasing brand awareness in our community to celebrating the change and all that will come now and in the future. “Our collaboration and partnership with the schools that we serve in the community is something, I think, is a cornerstone. It differentiates The Educator Academy from other programs and organizations that prepare and work with teachers. We are constantly listening, thinking, and considering how we can best support each of our school partners.”
This also means supporting our teachers so they can effectively support their students. In our efforts to rebrand, we collaborated not only with our staff but also engaged a team representing our stakeholders, recognizing the value of their input. As Charles expressed, “We want to support the growth and development of our teachers and align with the priorities of the schools and districts within the community.”
Informed by the feedback and needs from our stakeholders, we made the strategic decision to increase our support for teachers by continuing the teacher residency program and introducing an additional certification pathway through the teacher fellowship. Recognizing the pressing need within our community, we gladly assumed the responsibility of certifying more teachers for the Kansas City Metro.
The Educator Academy name and rebrand marks a significant step forward, enabling us to explore new avenues in cultivating educators from their pre-service years through their entire career trajectory. Education is a dynamic and evolving field, and we are committed to evolving alongside it. However, our primary focus remains steadfast: creating equitable classroom experiences for all students.