Episode 39: Solo Sabbatical: Battling Burnout, Finding Renewal with Jailyn Jenkins

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: [00:00:00] Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Exit Interview, a podcast for black educators with your host, Dr. Asia Lyons. Um, we have another special guest. Every guest we have is special, but this person I've known for a while. On and off. More off than on, but we keep reconnecting, so super happy that she can be on the podcast.

Before I introduce her, I'm gonna read her bio. As always, Jalen Jenkins has built her career on a foundation of belonging, equity, joy, and the daily adventures of learning. Striving to install a passion for science, especially among kids of color. Inspired by cur curiosity, nature, and Exploration. Her dedication focuses on cultivating joyful learning experiences and authentic visibility in the STEM field.

Growing up, she navigated diverse spaces and actively carved out room for advocacy and [00:01:00] representation in areas where they, there were scarce and undervalued. Facing Arizona's early teacher shortage. Jaylen started her teaching career before officially earning her STEM education degree from Arizona State University.

After, after a few years of teaching in Phoenix, she returned to her hometown of Denver to teach and complete her Master's in Education Administration at Grand Canyon University. She then ventured into spaces that allow her to influence and enhance equity center communities. Becoming a lab host provided her with another platform for advocacy com, complimenting her roles as a science instructional coach, staff developer, district facilitator, and public speaker.

After more than a decade of dedicated service, Jalen identified a need to explore and expand into an organization. Committed to enhancing education systems and student access comprehensively. Joining the team at the Public Education and Business Coalition, PEBC, [00:02:00] she currently serves as a manager of resident development, innovation and coaching.

Janet also is a co-founder of the Fruitful, best Bipoc Educational Stem Thinkers Conference and Affinity groups and initiative rooted in connecting, supporting and sustaining educators, both locally and nationally. It's hard to be what you can't see. Jaylen, welcome to the show.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Thank you. It's great to be here.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Super exciting. Like I just gave your whole bio, and of course there's much, much more to it that we'll talk about, but so glad that you had a chance to stop and chit chat with us. Like I said at the beginning of the show, we met in 2019, something like.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Eight, I think. 18. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: 19. Um, yeah, when I was working in the nonprofit sector.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yes.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yeah. So you were still teaching. So, you know, we reconnected last summer, I feel like, and then [00:03:00] again, so it's just been. You know, really good to see you moving around in different education spaces. And so I said last time I talked to you, uh, at Quince Coffee, shout out to Quince Coffee in Denver. I said, let's do this podcast thing.

Let's share your story. So we're gonna start where we always start with folks. Tell us about your education journey. How did you know it was time to become a teacher? What was that path like? We wanna hear it all. Um.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: So my path probably may sound like the typical teacher I knew when I was four. I fit the stereotype of the oldest child, Virgo, all the things. Um, I was teaching my sisters how to do math before they could like read. So I was like, you all are gonna get this math. Like real quick. So, um, I just have always been intrigued by science, math, and just learning.

And so I just followed through, um, throughout my educational career and once I got to college, I just knew that was the right path. Um, despite the money not being what we all know it [00:04:00] is. Um, I just. Decided to continue and, um, I started actually as a secondary math teacher and then I realized what kind of hell they navigate in, in like the math spaces as

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Sure.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: I realized I wanna be a teacher that protects the peace and joy of students. And so I said science is probably more at my speed, given the flexibility. They're still testing, but there's still more autonomy in the sense of joy. So, um, I took that route. I became a middle school science teacher in Phoenix, and then I came back home to give back essentially to my community that I grew up in. And I started teaching in Aurora for a couple of years. I did middle school, then I moved up to high school with my last class of eighth graders. And um, then I became an instructional coach and district facilitator there. And from then I realized there were some systems that we all know that we navigate. And it was probably time for me to, um, explore. broader reach, [00:05:00] but also some more autonomy and spaces that allow hard conversations to be had and authentic change to be brainstormed and protected and sustained. So, yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yeah, that makes sense. And just backing up a little bit about that, navigating teaching as a math educator, you said that helped. So I taught middle school math and, and just to be fair, I taught sixth graders, which I've always called big fifth graders, so it's not even close to what people imagine middle school to be, which is seventh graders.

Tell us about what that was like to be a math educator, a black woman in these different spaces.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: It was very interesting just to see how I learned math, but then also taking different approaches to make it fun and engaging because I knew. into classrooms where students already had this stigma around stem and trying to help them cultivate this sense of STEM identity, but also just joy in [00:06:00] STEM in general was going to be an uphill battle.

Um, a lot of students carry trauma. A lot of adults carry trauma as. Especially around math, um, and often science as well. And so it took a lot of confidence building and resiliency work essentially, um, to show that we can do hard things. You can fail. Failure like helps you move forward. Um, it's not like the end, um, and all be all.

So really just cultivating that sense of agency curiosity, stem identity, and the ability to just be resilient in the space of like math and science. So,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yeah. And that is, that's the tricky part, right? Like what does it mean to, to support a student who says, I've never been good at X, I've never been good at y and, and shift that. Mindset sometimes with only a half a semester, sometimes a year, so that you know that the next educator doesn't have to deal with really the trauma that students experience around [00:07:00] math, around science, around a lot of subjects that they, they've been told, well, I wasn't good at math as your parents, or that you can't, you know, and it's just like fighting up against that.

Yeah. Yeah. So when you, when you, you kind of moved past this, but I do wanna talk about like, what was that transition from teaching and what was your mindset thinking about, I think it's time to leave like a traditional space of education, a classroom space, and then shifting into other spaces. What was that like for you?

What was that decision like for you?

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: So full transparency, that decision came over like the span of a year and it was full of grief, if I'm being completely honest. Um, I really wanted to see my last class of eighth graders graduate and the amount of anxiety and probably depression that I was navigating in a year leading up to that decision [00:08:00] was. Extremely taxing, and I had to just figure out like what was worth, you know, what had the most value. Essentially like, yes, the kids are important and also me, me making it long term is. Doubly important. Like if I can't support my students, how are they gonna see what it looks like to be a happy, healthy, and continuously learning like black woman in STEM and in education?

And so I had to really take a step back and think like, okay, I'm feeling stressed out. Is this ever going to get better? There's a possibility for it to get better, but the system that I'm currently navigating, this like little ecosystem, is not really showing the progress that I need it to, for me to feel comfortable.

Staying in this space. And so in this same year that I was navigating the grief and the decision making and all of that, I'd been exposed to other like. Adjacent educational careers. So I'd seen what outside or outsourced instructional coaching looked like. Um, and [00:09:00] I'd never really seen myself as an instructional coach until I had a black woman that was a science instructional coach, one of my first years teaching.

So just the different like seeds of visibility made me see what was possible and it really. Stamped my career in a positive way because I was just thinking I had to be a principal and I have my license and all the certifications, but I thought that was the path that I had to take. And although I do think I would be good at it, I do value my peace and a sense of balance in my life.

And so I bypass that, um, just because I wanna have like a family and vacation and not be like. Addicted to my phone because I'm always on call and every principal has a different journey and I'm not knocking. And I have mad respect for them, but that just was not the path for me, at least right now. And so I had to really get strategic on what values I hold, what I need to do to get to the next step, and then really start exploring. So I thought a PhD would be the next step, and I realized that I needed to heal [00:10:00] first before digging into any type of research or any type of. New position. And so that's where the healing journey really started. So I noticed a transition and a transformation in my thinking of like, yes, the system is absolutely trash, but also like I'm deserving of joy, rest, and peace.

So I need to pour into myself that way before moving to the next thing so that I'm not carrying this baggage and trauma every single place that I go. I can just speak on it and not feel this angst all the time. So, yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yeah, I wanna, you've said so much and I wrote down several things, so we are gonna stay in this space for a little bit.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: thing I wanted to talk about, um, was this idea of grief.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: So on the podcast we talk to people who talk about experiencing grief with this idea of loss of what they thought education systems were.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yes.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Loss of friendships that they thought that they're gonna have forever because that person or people [00:11:00] were No, were not in solidarity with the movement and support of black women or black educators. But for you, tell me, when you talk about grief, can you tell me more or tell us more about what you mean when you speak about it?

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yeah. So grief, it took on several different facets in that year. Um, the root was I really wanted to see those kids. Um, graduate, they really held a special place in my heart. Um, we all navigated COVID in different degrees too. Like I moved up from like elementary or middle school to high school with them.

So they were like my last real class that I taught full time and I really just wanted to see that through. And when I realized I couldn't do it, carried a sense of guilt because I was. I feel like I was one of the teachers that they had experienced and a lot of them vocalized this, that I was one of the first teachers to really believe in them and push them and do all these things.

So I felt this dedication to see it through, but I had to accept [00:12:00] that I can still be a pillar in their life and I can still be, uh, someone in the background rooting for them without having to suffer through a system that was clearly not built to help me in any capacity. So I. Wanted to support the kids.

And then I also wanted to help support my science educators and just really like, make it to the full tenure year mark. And I just was like, no, my health is going to take precedence over anything, whether it's mental health, physical health, emotional health, regardless. So, um, the students really was the core behind it, but there were several other things too, so, yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yeah, that makes sense. When you were experiencing this last year where you were making these decisions and kind of reflecting and stepping back. If you spoke to family and friends about it and as you were processing, what was, what was that conversation like? Were people super supportive? Was it a mix of things?

Did you feel like people were afraid for you? How did that look?[00:13:00]

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: You know, it's really interesting 'cause all the conversations that I had with people, I think a lot of people were supportive. They obviously didn't know 'cause I wasn't sure either. Um, I just am the type of person that if I'm talking about it, the decision's probably already made. So. You know, the processing had already been done behind the scenes.

And so the conversations that I had with my family, um, were, one of them stemmed from Abbott Elementary, love that show, but we were watching episode and I just like, basically had like a panic attack and just like burst into tears because I was like, this is literally what I'm navigating as an instructional coach.

This is what I see it play as an educator. And, um, my mom was like. It's probably time for you to go. And

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Hmm.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: like, oh. Like, and I felt, I didn't feel like I had to get that sense of approval, but when your parent recognizes it and they affirm that you deserve peace, but then they also give you permission to be like, Hey, you don't have to have it figured out.

Like [00:14:00] it's okay to step back. You'll figure it out. Um, that was something I really felt like I needed and I didn't realize that. Uh, because I was always like the accelerated child, like whether I was in a gifted program or I was doing great on tests or I was an exceptional teacher. Like I got teacher of the year several, several times, and just, I felt this sense of performance and I just had to always be effective. And so when I felt like my inner self was being abandoned, I didn't know where to go. Like my identity was kind of being questioned because that's always who I was. I always just had this sense of curiosity and. just felt like it was being threatened, and so when I had the permission to let go, then I started embracing the unknown. Of like, I don't deserve to be treated like this. I don't deserve to feel like this. I deserve peace. So those other conversations from that one interaction with my mom actually ended up being more fruitful because I came to the conclusion like, if I have to push [00:15:00] carts with a master's degree at King Soopers, that's fine, but I need peace.

Like I don't care what I have to do. I'm going to prioritize my peace in this next space, in this next phase. And. There's no tiles, there's no pride that has to be attached to it because my health comes first.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: I absolutely love that, and I feel like more and more folks are talking about joy and peace and rest that. In the spaces that I'm in. And it sounds like you were already down the road quite a bit, you know, with that. Um, and I, I've always said that when I was teaching that my job, if I like, had needed to like step away, would've been putting books back on shelves at the library or putting clothes back on hangers at the thrift store and like hanging things up because I was just at this place of like, I can't.

Go any further here. I don't know what is past this, but I can't go any further. And it's interesting, [00:16:00] um, that you talk about like if I have to do this thing, but what we find is when we do have a chance to rest, we do get to get, become much clearer on, okay, like my nervous system is healing or it's healed.

Okay, now maybe I can put the thrift storage room to the side. Maybe I could do it right. Maybe I could do something else. I absolutely love this. Um, and so my next question, just thinking about your experiences that you just talked about, is knowing that there is a black educator shortage. Knowing that here in Colorado there less than 1000 black teachers that teach our students every day.

What do you think that school districts unions. Other educators admin can do to keep black teachers in classrooms. And when I say keep black teachers in classrooms, obviously well keep them in their well and whole in themselves. What are some strategies that you feel like would be [00:17:00] possible or should be considered to keep black teachers and and also recruit black teachers at stake?

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yes. Um, that's honestly the million dollar question. There's several things and some of the work that I do now is rooted in retaining black and brown teachers. Um, but what I would say just generically is move beyond the intent to recruit and actually. Ground yourself in the intent to, to retain educators of color, particularly black teachers. Um, we know that like racial fatigue is real. We, we know that everything, um, like all the data shows like a disproportionate amount of stress and fatigue, um, in our community. And so. When we move beyond just recruiting people and actually retaining them, honoring the brilliance that they bring to the table, asking, um, their opinion, and authentically listening and utilizing that for decision making. Um, one thing that really killed me in my journey was this, like faux collaboration. Please do not [00:18:00] invite me to a meeting or a committee where you already have the decision made if the purpose of the meeting is to have dialogue. By all means, I will give my opinion and my my rationale, but if you already have a decision made, honor my time and honor my humanity by giving me the space and just gimme the decision.

You know, some things I understand, like I have an admin license. I know some decisions just have to be made, but let's not like entertain the bureaucracy and let's just make the decisions, keep the kids at the root. Hopefully see the fruit of positive growth, but it has to move beyond recruitment. Like if you recruit somebody and then they see how the sausage is made, they're not going to be retained.

So, um, the intention and some of the intention comes to fruition, um, through that authenticity, through mentorship, um, through community. A lot of us, I know I had a coworker a long time ago, we would sit in DEI trainings and although I'm a firm believer of DEI, [00:19:00] she probably recognized that like it was exhausting me because amidst sitting in DEI trainings, I was being microaggressed.

And so it's just like, are you really getting out of that? Like they would ask me and so someone would always buy me like lunch or coffee 'cause they're like, I'm so sorry about my counterparts. Please go have it. It was just, it's one of the sweetest things like I never thought that would ever happen, but it really opened my eyes to people see the system.

It's just a matter of what they're doing to mitigate the impact on those who are disproportionately affected.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yeah, I absolutely love all of that. Thank you.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: And this, this folk collaboration is so real.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yes.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: It is so real. The last couple folks that we found on the podcast have talked about letting or opening spaces for black educators to bring in their authentic voice. Um, but that part about before, you know, we make the decision, don't [00:20:00] waste my time.

And I love that humanity. Don't waste my, like, don't play in my face. Don't.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yes,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Right. Uh, I love that. So when we get back from my break, there's a couple of questions I have to ask you and we're gonna talk about your exit strategy. 'cause this is what we were getting into about like sabbatical and all the things when we met at the coffee shop.

So we'll be back in a minute and we'll dig into that.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Perfect.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Alright, everybody, we're back and we're on this, uh, episode with Jaylen Jenkins and she's talking all the things that I love, discussing her journey, talking about what it means to grieve, not being able to see your students graduate from high school, talking about deserving rest and peace. And so. We are going to talk about that rest in peace place because this is really, really important.

Um, when we met at [00:21:00] Quince Coffee, you talked about going into a different field or, or, or leaving, teaching the traditional sense. And you said, before I go from one job to the next, I need some space. You talked about your strategy, you talked about where you went, you talked about all the things, and we, the audience needs to hear every single thing.

So I need you to slow walk through this whole process that you had from the time you decided to leave, to the time you started that next job that you are working at right now, and you're in this particular part of your career.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yes, and I will gladly walk through this 'cause it's actually like the two year anniversary right now. Um, it was around this time, two years ago in 2022, where I like crawled into like. One of the classrooms that wasn't being used for testing to call my financial planner and say, Hey, I don't think I can do this.

Like, I don't know if I can make it to may. Like this is actually going to kill me if I do not like figure out what I need to [00:22:00] do. And at this time, I had been taking. Every Wednesday off because I was waking up with like crippling anxiety and that was the only day where I didn't have to teach. So I didn't feel like I was really impeding on anybody else's piece at school.

So that was my two days on, one day off, two days on. And so I had to build this practical strategy to sustain myself long term. Um, but at that point I was just like, how am I supposed to make this? Work. Like I, I have like 10 weeks left of school. Can I really, really do this? And um, at the time there was like talk of a black educator stipend that was going to be awarded. There was talk of that not being applicable to me because I was coaching teachers. And so there were just all of these nuances where I was questioning my value in the space that I was in. And I just really had to evaluate like, is it even worth making it to the end? Like retirement's gonna be there no matter what.

So do I really need these next couple of checks like. [00:23:00] what's the real deal? And by then, you know, COVID had kind of settled down. The economy was what, not nearly where we are now, but I felt like I had more flexibility. And so, I had a little pep talk with my financial planner and she was like, Hey, remember like she was also a former teacher, ironically. And she was like, Hey, if you make it to may. You have those extra months for a buffer of vacation, so then you can maybe extend your, your leave or your vacation, um, for longer if you can make it to May. But I totally get, if you need to be done at the end of this month, whatever, whatever works, you have to take care of yourself. think about the pros and the cons. So that was like that little push that I needed because I was able to really sit down and analyze, okay, if I quit now, what are the implications? What are the positives? If I make it to the end of the year, may like 24th, what are the implications? What are the pros? And so I [00:24:00] had to dig in and launch my day at a time attitude. Um, I couldn't. a weekend ahead anymore. I really had to dig in for each day and find joy each day, whether

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Mm-hmm.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: outside and taking a walk, whether that was making breakfast for dinner, like whatever it could have been. Um, I really had to find that glimpse of joy each day.

And I would say probably in a week, my skin just showed a difference. And that really showed me like, okay, if I do this, I can sustain myself. For the rest of this year, I can let go in peace and when the kids graduate, I can come back, be healed and maybe give them a check when they're ready to leave, you know?

And so I really was able to just dig in, like I said to that day at a time approach, find the daily joy, and through that I was able to literally make it to the end of the year. And when I made it to the end of the year, I ended up getting the bonus. They [00:25:00] advocated that I'm teaching, so I should be getting the bonus for retention.

So. Shout out to the people in the background who were able to do that. Um, and through that I felt like I could justify taking like sabbaticals in vacations. And so I needing to back up for just a second when I was weighing the pros and the cons of. early. I was at the point where I said, if I have to pull my retirement and live off of that, I will do that because I'm still worthy of an investment internally to protect my peace and to pause and really like rest. And you don't realize how much you're doing until you take just a day to literally sit still guilt free and how much you're carrying. Just all of that. Um, I was debating like, do I just live off of retirement until I find a job? Do what? Like what, what strategy should I take? And so that bonus and making it to the end was helpful because I was getting paid through the summer and then I also got the [00:26:00] bonus, and then I had, if I needed to. Pull some retirement, I could do that. Um, and some people agree with it, some people don't. But in my opinion, some of the systems specifically here in Colorado, teachers don't make enough to be having that much money taken outta their checks. Um, because that was like more than anybody could ever save in a lifetime. And I'd only been teaching in that district for like five years.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Mm-hmm.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: was really interesting to see how I was having to live and how others had to live and what was being taken outta checks. So that's my own other spiel. But, um, I really had to about the financial aspect and the implications. So when the end of the year came. took June to just like hang out with my friends, rest, take care of my house, do those types of things. And when July came, I knew I wasn't working in July for the first time in 10 years. So I took the time to really go see the world. And one of the things that I knew I needed to do was go regulate my [00:27:00] nervous system.

And I started this like venture of solo travel and I took myself to a lavender farm and the lavender farm in New Mexico. one of my favorite places on the planet. I love lavender. Like if I have a girl, I'm naming my child lavender. Like I am dedicated. So, um, the lavender farm was a great space for me to launch solo travel because I was able to really sit with myself and do some stuff for my business, but also like. Really just take a pause and think about the ways I'm showing up in the world and what's exhausting me, what's filling my cup up, um, and just really think about what I needed to then move forward to the next space. I don't like, for example, personally, going from relationship to relationship. I want to take a pause, like regardless of the time length, um, just taking a pause to reflect, take those lessons and move forward. The same thing goes with your relationship with the workplace. And so I felt like I had a lot of baggage that required me to go [00:28:00] sit on a farm, eat top tier food, sniff some lavender and go on some adventures, and that was. So healing to me. Like you could see my waitress at the end of the trip. She was like, you look so refreshed.

Like you can see it in your face, like you look like you've been healed. And I was like, yeah, like I honestly need to like buy a plot of land right here, to be honest, because this is what I've needed. And so. That was the inner work that I had to do that wasn't always looked at as so pretty. It was a pretty location, but that was hard to do, like to just sit down for a couple days and really dig into why am I feeling this?

What went wrong here? What went well here? How do I move forward from here? Um, and then I came back home, debriefed with myself, got back into society, and then I took myself to Hawaii. for five days then, so I did five days in New Mexico, [00:29:00] five days home, five days in Hawaii, and I wanted to go to dc but DC flight one way was the price of a round trip flight to Hawaii.

So I was like, yeah, I'm gonna go to an island anyway, so let's just make it happen. So. I went to the big island on the more secluded side, and I just got to just see nature and be immersed in it, and I was right on the beach. Water is known to be healing and peaceful and all the things, and so I just really. Just woke up every day and just kind of yolo it. Like some days I'd wake up and just go sit at the beach and snorkel, and some days I'd wake up and go to the other side of the island and go adv, go adventure. And it really just depended on what I woke up and felt like I needed in my spirit. And that's really how I moved. And when I came back from that, felt like I could actually work and more context probably two weeks after I came back from Hawaii. [00:30:00] I did start my job that I'm currently at, and um, I tell people this all the time, people who want you will respect your time off. And I could have started my current job in July and I could have missed out on both of those healing experiences for myself and just chugged along, chugged along and been a little worker bee. Um, but I said, Hey, like Jalen, you already know you have a saying Yes problem sometimes, like you just wanna do all the things and you know you're doing good work, but it's time for you to put yourself first. I said, Hey, I can start in August. I need to get these things done. I need to transition all the things in life first, and then I can come join your team.

And everyone was just fine with that. Super respectful, adamant, even like, yeah, totally do that. Take care of yourself. And when I started in August, night and day, night and day, if I would've start started in June, I would have been burnt out by December and. [00:31:00] Um, I probably would not have had the creative space of best, um, that we created months shortly after I joined the team. Um. If I had not taken that pause. Um, and in my workplace right after I joined, we started reading the four pivots and that was something that had reawakened myself as well. Um, I just learned to really appreciate just the slowdown, like getting clarity about who I am, what I wanna stand for, what imprint I wanna leave on the mark on the world, and just do all that kind of thinking. And that is what shifted my perspective of. Do I need to fight all the time or do I want to reimagine what's possible? And fighting is important. Things need to be dismantled. But in the process, we're still worthy of joy and, you know, belonging and community. So, yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Okay folks, [00:32:00] I hope you had your note, your notebooks. I wanted to, to really say something about this idea of pulling out of retirement if need be, because I've had so many folks who called me, who emailed me and said like, I'm gonna leave teaching, what should I do next? And I said, really, you should take some time to, to heal.

And they'll say. I don't have money for that. And I don't know how many of those folks have retirement. I have no clue. I've never asked it. But we've been to, we've been told so often, don't touch a retirement, the taxes, da, da, da. And that fear mongering

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: as if, and I think this is the thing that people don't really seem to be thinking about.

If you are at a mental space where you are just not your full self, how do you know you'll make it to retirement?

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Exactly.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Right? Or how do you know because you're crying, you having all these [00:33:00] panic attacks, all these high blood pressure, all these other things that you won't have to pull out of your retirement for your medical bills.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Exactly.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Right? And so I'm gonna put it out there to folks listening. If you have retirement. Maybe it's not the, I mean, we are not saying pull the whole thing. Who knows? We don't know your financial, uh, situation. But if, if five or $10,000 or $200 or whatever it's gonna get you to sit your behind down a lavender firm or go visit family or soak, go sit in a yurt or driving cir, whatever it is, isn't it worth it?

Right. We have to question some of the things we've been sold about. Like, you have to, you have to save it. You have like, but do you really have to? Right. Especially like Jalen just said, I'm so much better for it. Right. And so I, I, when you told me that at [00:34:00] Quince and I said like, we have to have you on the podcast because so many folks are just at this place of, I can't go forward any more than I'm, I'm, I'm at a breaking point.

I need to take a break. And I don't know how to do that. Right? And so this is something that folks are doing. I'm talking to the audience right now. People are figuring these pieces out. It's a bonus, it's a whatever it is to get them to sit down for a couple weeks or a month. Shout out to Rhonda, um, who's been off for a year since I, she, she kept her some mad money, right?

But that healing is important. And, and yes obviously for you, but it's also important to the next people you work with. They don't want somebody that's snappy and on edge and crying at their at their desk and just being off in this new space because you assumed you'll be better 'cause you have a new job.

You take that trauma with you.[00:35:00]

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Exactly. Exactly.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yeah. Yeah. Love this. I love this. So I had to get down to the meat and potatoes. That was a question that was burning all in my, in my soul. But I'm gonna backtrack a little bit. Um, a question we love to ask on the podcast is, is there a educator, a black teacher, that you'd like to shout out on this episode, uh, on your episode of the exit interview?

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Ooh, me on the spot. There's several.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Go for it.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: okay. Um, one, I would say there's a couple. So second grade, my first black teacher, Ms. Gray. and then in college and my professional career, Lejo Gardner and Nicole Scales, were the visibility that I needed to see, um, to see myself beyond just a principal.

Not that a principal is like. A shot at anything, but just, you [00:36:00] know, beyond just that trajectory. And then teachers at best, my educators and um, STEM professionals in. The best conference, affinity groups, they inspire me and they drive me every day. Um, that's, that's my brainchild, that's my baby. So them, and then my KP fellows that we support, um, we have a group of Bipoc lab hosts that we are cultivating and coaching, um, over this past year essentially.

And. They also drive a lot of my work because I can see tangibly how education's impacting them. Keep a pulse on education firsthand, but then also support and sustain educators of color. So those, it's a big list, but people.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: I love that. And so you, that's a perfect lead on to our next question, which is, you've left, uh, a, a school district's traditional space of education. What are you doing now? Tell us about best. [00:37:00] Tell us all the things we wanna know.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yes. So I work

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: I.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: a nonprofit that's locally, um, known here in Denver, but it's nationally supporting educators called PEBC, public Education and Business Coalition. Um, I'm a manager of resident development, innovation and coaching. Um, so what that means is I support the incoming teachers, people who typically have pursued like a career change, and they are pursuing alternative licensure. So I coach them. I teach them different lessons from culturally responsive pedagogy to how to write a lesson plan. It just really is a whole different continuum of how we support these educators. And then another part of my role is professional learning, where I go around the country and I provide professional development to educators, particularly in Steam, but. Other things as well. So we have math institutes that we'll do, um, we'll do like math, justice, stuff like that. So, um, those are my two [00:38:00] facets of my role. But out of that hybrid role came best and me and my partner in crime, Satya Wanzek, she and I, um, created this brainchild of best bipoc educational stem thinkers.

And that really is a space for educators of color, community members of color. Um, STEM professionals of color to come together and create this sense of community belonging, joy, and healing in this space. Um, initially it was geared solely toward educators, but we had large amount of people who support education and wanted to create this interdependent sense of an ecosystem like mentoring and stuff like that. Um. needed that community too. So I found out quickly that this was a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between, let's say engineers and teachers to continue to enhance that pipeline and exposure for young kids. Um, so they could see themselves in the profession as well. [00:39:00] So that is my and butter.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Oh, I love that. That's fantastic. Um, and Best is having its next conference. Tell us about the win, the where, the how.

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Yes. So the next best conference is June 29th and 30th. It's a weekend and it's going to be hosted at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Um, this is just a two day conference where we, like I mentioned, get to cultivate joy, community belonging and awareness. In this two day essentially retreat, we get exclusive access to the museum, to the zoo, and different, um, sponsors have created different experiences for our participants. We have things from like a panel to different, um, like STEM activities. It's really just a space to connect with people and cultivate that sense of stem joy, because. A lot of people didn't have the chance to see themselves in these fields and also in these spaces, and to just embrace their inner genius.

So this is what [00:40:00] we've created to do so. yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: I love that. So folks, if you're in the Denver area in that time, please make sure that you find out more information. We'll have a link to register or get more information in the show notes. Last question that we ask folks, which bringing you joy these days?

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Ooh, what's bringing me joy these days? Honestly, walking has really been doing it for me. Um, between taking walks on sunny days to jumping at trampoline parks, um, to just having a good meal with someone I haven't had the chance to connect with lately. That has really been giving me joy and. other things.

Getting sleep, water, and reading for pleasure instead of just reading for work. So balance is really just answer.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: I love the trampoline part piece, because I remember when you were at Quince, you had a trampoline bracelet on

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: and I was like, I know she don't have no [00:41:00] kids, so what's going on? And I talk, talk. Talk to us a little bit about that please. How did you come about thinking that was something that you wanted to do just on a whim or not?

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: I really, I grew up with the trampoline, so I love just like bouncing around to be honest. And all the time I don't wanna. Throw weights like I do weightlifting, like I've been doing that for years and years and years. And sometimes you need to switch it up. And I believe in unleashing your inner kid.

So I will, I have a membership to, uh, trampoline park where I go to a couple times a month and just jump around, flip, do whatever I gotta do, have some fun, and then go back to work. So I believe in having like a kid friendly, a kid, child based, um. and healing your inner child, um, activity. So yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: All right folks. You heard it all. The gems from Jaylen's episode. Jaylen, thank you so much for coming on the [00:42:00] podcast. Thank you so much for reconnecting with me so long ago when we were at the, uh, the golf place, where we were at, at the fundraiser. Um, and one last thing, if people want to email you or reach out, what's your email?

jailyn-jenkins_1_03-12-2024_133043: My email is Jalen period, jenkins7@gmail.com and then my professional one is jJenkins@pbc.org.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_1_03-12-2024_133043: Awesome. All right, you all. That was another fire episode. Uh, if you have questions, you wanna reach out to us, you wanna be on the podcast, support the podcast, let us know. Until next time, peace.

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