Kelly Casey

Kelly Casey
English Teacher, Advisor
Classes: Spanish 1, English 9/10, Freshmen PE, Health, Intro to Drama
Education: UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate, Sacramento State Teaching Credentials
Email: kcasey@bitneyprep.net

I really care about working with kids and being in a position to be a role model for kids. I have a difficult time imagining myself not being in a position that would involve not being there to support youth. When I was a Senior in high school and weighing my options with what to do with my life, I was doing English homework with a friend. He told me “Duh, you’re going to be a teacher. You’re going to teach high school English”. And that’s what I decided to do. So a few years ago, I took a substitute job at Bitney and was inspired by how small the student body was and that it was a school that was about letting kids be kids.

Big Picture is a form of educational reform, radical and different ways to think about school, which is something that I appreciate. There’s more flexibility by providing students more real world opportunities. That makes school feel more like real life, rather than something that’s structured and not like real life. I’ve taught at a big traditional high school in Sacramento where I didn’t get a chance to know the kids and the kids had less of an opportunity to do real life stuff, like internships. I think Big Picture is great.

A couple of the things I really like at Bitney is the ridiculousness of Friday assembly and the relationships that staff have with each other as well as the students. A lot of the things that happen at Bitney are like a big inside joke that we’re all in on.