91 - Latezeon Balentine: Empathy, Literacy, and Empowerment

LATEZEON BALENTINE is a mom of three boys, teacher, and founder of September Chances, Inc. - a nonprofit organization created to show the joy in reading and increase reading fluency and literacy. Latezeon is also a Donors Choose Teacher Ambassador, dog lover, an advocate for mental health awareness, and blogger. And she’s got a book on the way, stay tuned! In our conversation, Latezeon discusses the adversity that she and other educators face in her state and district. She’s definitely “in it for the outcome - NOT the income,” she laughs. Thankfully, things have improved from her first year, when she was hired and compensated as a substitute teacher - but expected to do the work of a full-time teacher. Latezeon shares her commitment to growing the joy of reading for learners, her passion for supporting other educators through Donors Choose, and her dedication to removing the stigmas around mental illness.  Connect with Latezeon: On Twitter @LHBLovesEdu On Instagram @LHBlovesEDU On her blog: https://lhblovesedu.home.blog/. Visit https://teachersonfire.net/ for all the show notes and links from this episode! Connect with Teachers on Fire podcast on social media: On Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeachersOnFire On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachersonfire/ On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeachersOnFire/ On LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/TimWCavey On The Teachers on Fire Magazine: https://medium.com/teachers-on-fire On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFDPjkAn7lZb-rahyVDttKA Song Track Credits Intro: Easy (by Mike Cosmo -- license purchased at https://taketones.com/) Outtro: Bluntedsesh4 (by Tha Silent Partner, courtesy of FreeMusicArchive.org)