Orioles spotlight educators on staff

While daily life looks different for many of us, school systems in particular have made drastic changes to keep the academic year in progress, even though buildings have closed. With a transition to virtual education, teachers have had to adapt to new ways of implementing their lesson plans. Many have gone from years of face-to-face instruction to using new tools and technologies to help educate students.

Virtual education has brought many challenges, including lack of access to technology, scheduling conflicts and converting lesson plans meant for a classroom to a virtual platform. Despite these obstacles, teachers continue to educate children daily, developing new and engaging ways to connect with students.

The Orioles are proud to recognize the next Virtual Birdland Community Hero as The Educators. These individuals are teachers of all types who have gone above and beyond to educate their students in the face of crisis. On behalf of The Educators, the Orioles are making a $5,000 donation to Learning in a Box, a local organization which distributes complete home-learning kits containing hands-on learning resources and activities that are supplemented by, but not dependent on, access to the internet.

As teachers often have some available free time during the summer months, many find part-time employment with the Orioles. Teachers are part of our ballpark operations staff, box office employees and members of our productions crew.

Betsy Brininger
Brininger has been a ballpark usher since 2002 and an Orioles fan since the age of six. She has been at her “spot” near the Orioles' dugout for the past 16 years and, at the end of each game, you can find her standing on top of the dugout.

Brininger became a teacher because she wanted to share the world with others. She spent most of her teaching years in Title I schools, and now teaches on the base at Fort Meade. She feels that her elementary students are very physically connected to their teachers and peers, so this time is especially troubling for them. She is helping to combat this by giving them creative projects, such as telling a story through yoga practice or writing a rap verse about their experience at home. She also gives her students assignments that encourage participation for the entire family.

Like many other teachers, Brininger left her classroom in March not knowing the next few months would bring a new educational environment for her students. She is learning new technology, responding to school and state directives, and “reaching to the depths of imagination and skill to keep students engaged.” She does this because “our students are our heart.”

She notes that her workload has dramatically increased because of the amount of planning and work that it takes to develop a self-explanatory online assignment. A student may spend 30 minutes on a project that takes her 10 hours to create.

"These students will remember these days for the rest of their lives, and educators have the ability to turn them into positive experiences that persevere along with them," said Brininger. "After all, these students are our future, and will be able to protect the generations that follow with their knowledge and strength.”

Megan Healy
Healy has been with the Orioles since 2016, first starting out as a ballgirl. She held that role for two seasons, then became the game entertainment assistant in 2018, helping execute pregame ceremonies on the field.

Healy found her passion for teaching from her own instructors who inspired her to pursue her love of school and learning. She strives to give her students a welcome environment where they can feel safe taking risks and growing as people.

Her favorite part of teaching?

“Seeing the 'light bulb' go off when a student truly understands something, hearing them share their ideas and observations, or seeing them get excited about something new they learned,” said Healy, who teaches in Baltimore City and has many English as a Second Language Learners in her class.

When schools first closed, Healy wrote letters to her students and included her cell phone number so that they could call or text her anytime. She rode around the school neighborhood on her bike and delivered the letters to let her students know they were still supported. Since the school has been distributing technology, Healy has been working to help connect kids to "class" and different resources. Healy and other members of her team try to keep open communication with families, including reaching out to the families they have not heard from.

Healy notes that many of her students rely on meals at school, and many families are struggling with this right now. The school system has been doing its best to provide for all families that are food insecure and connect them to local services.

Healy knows her work is important, as she shares that teachers support students and families in so many more ways than just academics.

Catherine Hopkins
Hopkins worked with the Orioles as a member of the gameday staff. For the past two years, she has worked in the box office along with her daughter, Molly. She has been an educator since 1987 and shares that she became a teacher “because it is something that a person is born to do. It is inside of you.”

In her words, the best part of the job is the kids. She says that when schools announced they were closing, teachers at her school provided children with enough activities for roughly two weeks. School closures have been extended much longer, and flexibility has been key. Hopkins said that all teachers are doing the very best in the new educational climate.

"Do your best and be there for the students and remember that it's more than math and reading that they need," said Hopkins. "They need the emotional and social support, too.”

Hopkins is impressed with the industry’s ability to transform their work to a remote and virtual environment. Although she has used technology in school, it was not to the capacity she has had to rely on it during the pandemic. In just two short weeks, they uprooted the traditional “brick and mortar” teaching lessons and moved to providing all lessons online. Because access to technology outside of the classroom is very limited, she and her fellow teachers returned to the school to sign out over 500 Chromebooks for students. They have helped families obtain internet access and shared resources to provide free meals and basic necessities.

Hopkins shared a quote that still moves her to this day: "Be the teacher you needed when you were young."

She also has a special message for her students and students everywhere: “To the kids: we love you, we miss you and we cannot wait to see you again.”

Jen Manly
Manly has been an Orioles ballgirl for the past four seasons. Her positive smile and infectious energy are recognized by Orioles fans and visitors alike. Manly found her love of working with children while volunteering with Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization that uses running to help girls reach their potential.

Manly became a teacher because she wanted to share her passion for learning with kids and help them find their passion, too. Teaching allows her to empower kids to become the best versions of themselves -- to learn and grow from failures, collaborate with their peers, and discover what they love to do.

“I get to help build lifelong learners who recognize and lean into their own abilities,” said Manly.

For Manly, the current situation is a reminder that not all students have equal access to necessary resources.

"The biggest challenge is that distance learning is simply inequitable and amplifies existing inequities in the school system," said Manly. "With distance learning, some students lack access to tech or reliable Wi-Fi, while others are in less-than-ideal learning environments. Some students might need to work extra hours to help support their families. Others might have younger siblings who need learning support, or may end up getting sick or needing to be caretakers for relatives who might be sick."

Manly has developed some innovative approaches to teaching virtually, emphasizing that mental, physical and emotional health are more important than schoolwork. She gives students overarching objectives for what they need to learn for the week while offering choices in both how they will learn the material and how they will show their mastery. She has been flexible with due dates and does not deduct late points. Manly also makes instructional videos and packages the learning experience for each week, allowing students to progress through the lessons at their own pace.

Manly shared that all teachers are doing the very best they can and encourages parents to share thank you notes with their children's educators.

Rocky Seagroves
Seagroves, a team leader for the Orioles' ballpark operations staff, has been with the club since 2017. Teaching runs in Rocky’s blood -- his mother was a teacher for 35 years, and his brother and sister are both teachers as well. Seagroves has always loved to learn and tries to share that love of learning with his students. He loves the interactions with his students, colleagues and the community.

Seagroves shares that there are many challenges educators are facing right now, including having to become technical experts overnight. He also stated that many teachers are “on call” at all hours of the day and are presented problems and situations that they have not dealt with before. Teachers everywhere are really trying to meet the needs of every student, especially those that have been put in less-than-ideal situations because of the school shutdowns.

Seagroves feels that schools have proven to be an integral part of the communities they serve. Not only have they been charged with ensuring the continuing academic success of students, but they have now been tasked with monitoring their physical and mental well-being.

Like many working parents, Seagroves hopes everyone remembers that while teachers are caring for their students, in many cases, they are caring for their own children as well. He reminds families that it is difficult for educators to create and grade assignments and coordinate daily virtual meetings while also engaging with their own families.

Brian Wolff
Wolff was hired by the Orioles in March of this year and was looking forward to his first season with the club. He grew up in Baltimore and is a lifelong Orioles fan. He turned to teaching as a profession because he felt like he could meet a real need -- he was not the biggest fan of school growing up, and he knew he could help students in the same position.

One of Wolff's favorite things about teaching is that the classroom is different each day. He enjoys the opportunity to learn from his students, as well as to instruct them. His favorite teaching moment is seeing a struggling student finally “get it” and knowing he was able to help.

Wolff suggests that one of the biggest challenges the students are facing is missing the routine of being in school -- following the daily schedule, as well as seeing classmates and other teachers. He states it can often be difficult to schedule recurring virtual meeting times and provide assignments to various platforms the students might not be familiar with. He is working to combat these challenges by staying available as much as possible to his students and their parents.

He sometimes feels disconnected from his students and colleagues, and he has concerns about being able to adequately help pupils if they struggle with the material. Still, Wolff is working incredibly hard each day to help students feel as normal as possible during this unprecedented time.

We thank all of The Educators across Birdland for their compassion, dedication and selfless work to teach and instruct our youth.

And a special thanks to all of the teachers on the Orioles staff.