In this episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by international educational ambassador, former Teacher of the Year, and the current CEO of The Children's Initiative, Sandra McBrayer. From a less than confident first-time teacher to teaching the world about teaching, Sandra shares the story of her Founding of The Monarch School to her current work on improving the lives of children in San Diego and California.

And how does she improve lives? By deeply understanding the challenges that many families and children face, particularly in communities lacking resources, time and money to nudge their children forward. Sandra chats about the absolute essentiality of having books, magazines or comic books in homes and the need to read to children - a surrogate or friend if the parent is not able to do it. She also talks about the patience and persistence it takes to become an excellent teacher. Truer words have never been spoken!

Some amazing takeaways from the interview with Sandra McBrayer:

- Some families have to choose milk or rent over buying a book and we must address this
to increase literacy
- How to properly use data in determining which communities need support and how
best to support them
- The importance of diving into a story with an immersive mindset when reading
- How time is a luxury for some, but not all, when it comes to reading to children and how
we must think about we create more time for parents
- The answers to the Rapid Fire questions!

A very special interview with an international asset and local icon, Sandra McBrayer. Thank you, Sandra, for your tireless contributions to the children, families, literacy. and for joining us on The Gap Minders.

Enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the show.

If you have any questions or want to contact Nancy or Jose, please send an email to podcast@uwsd.org. Thank you for listening.

To learn more about the two social impact organizations making The Gap Minders possible, please visit www.TheGapMinders.org.