Anna Steed
Position: Speech and Debate Coach
School: STRIVE Prep - Rise Campus
School District: STRIVE Prep
City, State: Denver, CO
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Anna Steed was nominated by her student, Abigail Nguyen, as well as her colleague, Rachel Levine. The following profile is a summary of each nomination.
There's no doubt that Ms. Steed is an inspirational individual. She's a part of the founding staff at STRIVE Prep RISE. She helped build the foundation of her school and continues to uphold the values of social restorative justice.
At STRIVE Prep RISE, 97% of the student population are people of color. Strive Prep RISE is also a Title I school, which means that more than 80% of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch. The school is extremely diverse, and the majority of the students come from low income communities. Ms. Steed makes sure that people from all backgrounds are represented and given the same opportunities.
Ms. Steed established the RISE Speech and Debate Team during the 2016-17 school year, which was STRIVE Prep RISE's inaugural year. The team quickly gained attention in Colorado as being one of the only teams of color to participate at the varsity level. Within 2 1/2 years, Ms. Steed took this program from an unknown program at a new school to top 8 in the state, top three in the NSDA district, and nationally ranked. The first graduating class of Speech & Debate team members included two Colorado State Title Holders, a Marshall-Brennan Moot Court National Champion, a record 19 state qualifiers in the shortened 19-20 season, nine national tournament qualifiers, and five Academic All-Americans. This last achievement is particularly impressive; out of the 141,000 students who participate in the NSDA, less than 2% are Academic All-Americans.
"Everyone that is a part of the Speech and Debate team feels inspired by her," said Nguyen. "She gives people hope and gives students the chance to be themselves. The way that she carries herself with so much confidence is enough."
Through the Speech and Debate team, Ms. Steed has given students opportunities they never would've received, such as traveling to California, Illinois, Wyoming, etc. She raised funds and applied for grants to give her students the experience of a lifetime.
"Ms. Steed is always willing to go out of her way to make sure that we have everything that we need," said Nguyen. "She doesn't just make sure that we are safe inside of school, but outside of school, as well. I could remember the countless times she called and texted us during and after the speech tournaments to see how we were doing. She has always been someone I could talk to when I was feeling overwhelmed in school and at home. I know that she is going to be there for me. Even to this day, after graduating high school, she continues to reach out. She has made a difference in my life because she showed me that my voice matters. She gave me confidence within myself and my capabilities, such as public speaking and self-advocacy. I am the person I am today because of Anna Steed."
In the classroom, Ms. Steed makes it known that anyone can come to her room if they need anything at all. She's a strong believer in social restorative justice, and she upholds these standards. She even held a session during intersession week so students could learn about social justice issues and how they applies to the real world. This usually occurred after winter break to help students transition back to school. The sessions included social justice topics such as mass incarceration, immigration, and environmental justice. During these sessions, everyone began to learn more about personal experiences, the topics at hand, and how they apply to the real world. She upheld the standard of moral and ethical equality. She is a believer in social justice and human rights.
"I always felt welcomed and heard," said Nguyen. "She gave me the best advice, especially during senior year when I was struggling to choose what college I was going to attend. Ms. Steed made a commitment to all students. She was always there if anyone needed anything at all. I could always recall a time that I needed a letter of recommendation for scholarships or for colleges. I could always depend on her. Despite the workload she had and how busy she was, she always made time for her students. Her presence itself was always nurturing and accepting of all students."
Outside of school, Ms. Steed has taken on several leadership positions. She is a professor at the Community College of Aurora, where she teaches English Composition. She's also a Speech and Debate Coach, and a leader in the Rocky Mountain District for Speech.
"Ms. Steed she has committed her life to helping her students and creating a school culture that abided by the values of social justice," said Nguyen. "She is a true inspiration, and she changes the lives of all her students."
Congratulations life changer! This is so well-deserved! I am so happy for you and excited to see what else you will do!
Love,
Amy
So impressive. Always knew it. Love.
Anna Steed has changed my life and others for the better. I firmly believe that my life and who I have become could not have happened without Anna Steed. I am a former student of hers, during my freshman and throughout senior year she has been by my side and helped me graduate high school. With her guidance, I was able to get accepted to college and even though she is not my teacher anymore, she continues to reach out to see how her students are doing in their first semester of college. I am always thankful to have Anna Steed in my life because I found the confidence that she always knew was there. I was able to develop skills in public speaking and she pushed me to face my fears. Traveling over several states and competing allowed me to realize the opportunities that there are to offer in life and Anna Steed was that person for me. She has always put everyone above herself, especially her students. Through tireless competitions and regular high school, she would make sure that we were prepared and successful in our academics and mental health. I am privileged to have Anna Steed in my life and this can be said by everyone that meets her. She is one of a kind and there is no one like her. She is a true inspiration and the life changer title is one that suits her perfectly.
I can't say enough about Steed. As a colleague, witnessing her passion and skill for teaching alone has been enough to drastically change my teaching practice for the better. On top of that, I had the privilege of being coached by her. Having her as a thought partner gave me the confidence to truly do some revolutionary teaching that honors the identities of my scholars and meets their needs. I am inspired by Anna's words and actions every day and cannot think of anyone more life changing than her.
Ms. Steed has impacted my life in such a good way. When I was a freshman last year, I was in her Intro to Speech class and I was nervous about public speaking. I went from being so scared of speech and debate, to competing in two competitions last year. And ever since, I have fell in love with Speech and Debate and I have Ms. Steed to thank. She challenges her students to outdo theirselves. She is like a mother figure to me. She checks up on her students, is a shoulder to cry on, and she’s just a bright light in our school! I am forever grateful for Anna Steed and the big role she plays in my life.
Anna Steed is one of the most talented and transformative educators I have seen during my 8 years in the field. When you walk into Anna's classroom you are instantly hit by a buzz that something magical is taking place. Students are transformed to a world where their only limits are the bell at the end of class, and even that does not stop Anna from providing students with life-changing opportunities to grow after school and on the weekends. The energy that Anna lights up a room with is contagious and I know my pedagogy has improved substantially from having her as a colleague. Anna's desire to see everyone who comes into her orbit be successful is matched by her actions. Away from the classroom, Anna is the coach of a nationally-ranked Speech and Debate team, a key planner of our school's weeklong Social Justice-themed Intersession, anda leading voice in our work to be an anti-racist campus and school network. Anna exemplifies what it means to be "about it" and I hope this committee recognizes the amazing individual that she is!
I knew Anna Steed way before she knew me. Originally we worked at separate campuses. I heard her speak of injustice and how teachers could do their part and be anti-racist, and how teachers MUST be anti-racist to do their part. I watched her students present eloquently and powerfully, and I yearned to understand how she elevated students to that level of confidence, poise, knowledge, and advocacy. Even from a distance, the impact that Anna had on students' lives was clear as crystal. Now that I work at her campus, I feel extremely lucky to be able to experience her greatness up close. She is a beacon of hope and a force of change.
There is truly not enough that can be written about the impact that Anna Steed has had on the students, staff and anyone/anything associated with RISE. I have been lucky enough to work with Anna Steed since RISE opened in the Fall of 2016 and every time I interact with her, I feel more inspired to improve my own teaching craft. The enthusiasm, work ethic, and joy that Ms.Steed brings to her classroom, her scholars and our whole staff is unmatched. Ms. Steed leads with gumption and grace, easily gaining support from staff and scholars whenever needed. However, Anna's teachings go far beyond the classroom. She provides our scholars with life lessons and courage and the ability to communicate with anyone, whether they look like them or not, for the rest of their lives. Everyone that comes in contact with Anna Steed, including myself, counts themselves lucky!
I have known Anna Steed since high school. At East High School, Anna Steed was on the Speech and Debate team with my sister. They were a duo, or team, and they were fierce. They faced discrimination from judges, they faced racism from other components, yet they kept winning in the face of adversity. Anna Steed was a force to be reckoned with as a speech and debate student, and as a Speech and Debate coach and teacher, she brings this force and fighting spirit to our team and school. RISE and STRIVE are so lucky to to have Anna Steed as an educator in our network. The scholars-leaders at our school will tell you that Ms. Steed did not come to play! As demonstrated last summer with the scholar led protest, Ms. Steed instilled in them the values of social justice, the skills of public speaking, and the importance of social action. Anna Steed deserves this nomination and win. Congratulation and good luck! iFelicidades y buena suerte!
I have had the honor and pleasure to work with Ms. Steed the past 4 and half years. During that time, I have witness her develop the strong foundation for our RISE Speech and Debate team, which is amongst one of the most prestigious teams in the state. She also has taught concurrent enrollment classes for literature through the Community College of Aurora, and also serves an adjnuct professor at CCA.
Through helping our school being part of the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA), Ms. Steed had led and coached our Speech & Debate team to compete at the varsity level against schools from across the state and nation. Through this process, she has led our scholars to develop growth and have eye-opening experiences in professionalism training and practice, networking, individualized scholarship, exciting competition, lifelong lessons and memories, and participation in a varsity-level activity. I have been able to witness Ms. Steed develop confidence in scholars receiving special education services, emergent blinguals, and gifted and talented scholars in public speaking skills, writing skills, and professionalism. She creates a very collaborative cutlure in her classroom, where scholars are practicing and giving each other explicit feedback. During class, Ms. Steed gives in-the-moment feedback as scholars present oral oratorys, speech pieces, improvs, etc.
In her concurrent enrollment courses, scholars have gained a rigorous college course experience in the high school setting, while earning college course credit. I've observed Ms. Steed lead scholars through guided discourse, push thinking back on scholars through universal prompts, ask strategic questions to targeted scholars in response to scholar error, and push scholars growth in writing skills through a cylical revision process.
It's been a privilege to work alongside Ms. Steed.
You are amazing, Anna! I know our Speech & Debate program is one of the biggest points of pride for our network and it would not be possible without you. Thank you for being such a life changer for our scholars!
Anna builds confidence in scholars in ways I have never seen in my professional career. Her ability to both provide constructive criticism to perfect a speech piece, often while interrupting scholars, asking them to do it over and over again until each scholar has reached their potential for performing the piece is exciting to watch and is an incredibly powerful experience for a young person. As noted by her most recent graduating class in many of the other comments, the impact she directly has on unlocking future opportunities for scholars will last well beyond their years with her at RISE. Through Anna's tireless dedication to her craft, she provides scholars with the gift of public speaking. Her curriculum is thoughtful, social justice based, creative, intense, and demanding of scholars. The bar she holds for every single scholar to reach is never lowered, even when a new group of freshmen arrive in her classes each year unsure of what to expect, her commitment to success of each scholar never wavers! Prior to COVID, during school breaks, you would find Anna traveling with her speech team, sometimes driving hours in the snow to and from tournaments out of state, sometimes flying for a quick 2-3 day trip across the country just to expose her team to the highest level of competition. Anna's dedication to her scholars is relentless. During speech season Anna is on 6 days a week between teaching and speech meets facilitating and/or judging on Saturdays. This is not a job for her, but rather the fabric of who she is. Four years ago, Anna set out to build the (now) incredibly successful team at RISE. During pep rallies, the speech and debate team had the most (and the biggest) trophies of all CHSAA programs at RISE to date. Anna is a gifted teacher who gives 110% in every interaction with every scholar, every single day. Twice a week she is also an adjunct professor of English at the Community College of Aurora. Her impact on language acquisition in our city cannot be understated for historically marginalized communities. Anna is the definition of a Life Changer not just to scholars but to all she encounters. The world is a better place with her in it. #LCOY
The amount of effort and love that Ms. Steed pours into her students and the RISE community is inspirational! She changes the lives of both her students and also those in the community around her. I greatly appreciate all she contributes to making this world a more just and equitable place for all.
Life changer of the year would be limiting to the extent of Ms. Steed's work and impact. With the emergence of a new high school, there was an opportunity to create, succeed, and flourish a whole new wave of students. And that's exactly what Ms. Steed did. From the first year that STRIVE Prep - RISE was open, she pushed all her students to amplify their voices. At times, it seemed silly and embarrassing. Over the years, however, students looked forward to the silliness and embarrassment because it was manifested into so much love for us to grow. In December of 2016, Ms. Steed took her speech and debate classes to the University of Denver for the Mile High Invitational tournament. For a class full of first-generation students and Americans, being inside and exploring a college campus was a first. Then, we went the next year. Many tournaments and years later, the speech and debate team found itself at the University of California - Berkley, Arizona State University, Nebraska, Illinois, Texas, Washington D.C., and Wyoming. Not just attending, but winning trophies and creating an undeniable reputation for the team. That was just the start. The real life changing happened outside of classroom walls and tournament schedules. It was during the words of truth and passion that she instilled in us. From respect, to love, family, identity, college, and career-- Ms. Steed helped us all. She is the reason I believed I could do more than the bare minimum, why I face every situation with "Let's try it," rather than fear, why I am in college, and behind the material of my character. And she did this all while balancing the workload of a college professor, speech and debate coach, and school board member. Not just any teacher does that. Life changers do. Her effort, dedication, love, and aura are everlasting.
Ms. Anna Steed is a ROCKSTAR! Her commitment to ensuring scholars are prepared for post-secondary opportunities shows up in all of her work. She is a true leader, a fierce advocate for our scholars, innovative, creative, warm, and HIGHLY effective!
You will not find a more dedicated, harder working, engaging, supportive, uplifting and genuine teacher then Ms. Anna Steed. She has made it her life goal to education her students to the highest degree possible and has helped to open many doors for the kids that she has worked with. Through coaching and organizing the Debate and Speech teams at her school she has blessed her students the with power of self- confidence, self-worth and self-respect. She is undoubtedly a true LIFE CHANGER!
Ms. Steed has always pushed me to be better and this began in my freshman year of high school. I was thrown into her Speech and Debate class in my second semester of my freshman year. She assigned us to memorize a William Shakespeare sonnet and perform it in class and I completely failed that assignment! We had a small discussion on public speaking afterwards which helped me gain some confidence. From that day forward she continued to motivate, encourage, and support me in everything in and out of school for all 4 years. She was like a second mom for me, someone I could trust with anything I needed. She helped me to contribute to a very successful and new Varsity Rise Speech and Debate Team (Who’s the team to be? R I S and E)! My duo partner and I accredit a lot of our achievements to her because she was always so constructive when it came to how to bring out the best of ourselves out on stage. Aside from our amazing team, she was one of my biggest motivations to pursue a post-secondary education. I know I am not the only kid in all her years of teaching that she has impacted this much, she has touched so many people’s lives for the better. I will forever be grateful that she is apart if my life, even if she did give me an F for my Shakespeare sonnet! This is why I believe my teacher, my speech coach, and mentor deserves this award.
As a parent of a former student, I am eternally grateful for everything Ms. Steed did for my son! All the support and sincere love she shows for all her students makes her one of a kind. I was confident my son was in good hands when attending Speech and Debate competitions. I honestly wish there were more educators and people like her, this world would definitely be a better place!
It is an honor to know Ms. Anna Steed as she educates, encourages and empowers our future leaders. As a volunteer Speech and Debate judge, I have seen firsthand her enthusiasm, commitment and rapport with her scholars. The way she encourages, coaches and creates trust is highly individualized to each ones personalities and needs. She shows each one that she values them by listening, encouraging, respecting and going out of her way to support them. From bringing breakfast for her team before a Speech Meet to individually writing letters of recommendation to being available to her students outside of school hours, I have never witnessed a teacher with such dedication, enthusiasm and ability to inspire.
There is no better testament to an educator and leader than to witness what actions they inspire in their students. Anna's deep commitment to empowering our future leaders was never more evident than this past summer 2020. Because she fosters a learning environment that is based on trust, respect, diversity and social justice, her scholars did not hesitate to reach out to her in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement to express their feelings. Instead of shying away from a difficult topic or invalidating their feelings with platitudes or telling them what to do, Anna replied as a true educator: What do you want to do and how can I help? Because of her empowerment, the scholars organized several extremely well-run and impactful events including a pandemic- and family-friendly march and several voter registration events. Her scholars are passionate, respectful, committed and beyond impressive. As I think toward the future, it is an honor to say that a world led by Anna's scholars is a world I want to live in!
#LCOY
I have known Anna since our freshmen year of college and I am not surprised she was nominated for an award called "Lifechanger of the Year." Her commitment to education - both her own and now that of her students - is unparalleled. She speaks of her students with love and pride as if they are her own children. She has made it her life's work to improve the lives of her students and teach them to be citizens of the world.
Anna is a great person dedicated to the improvement of young people. She has always been concerned with others welfare and really found her calling. She is an inspiration to everyone.
When I think of Anna, I instantly feel happy. She lights up a space before she even enters. She's made like that - with spark and grit, and with the milk of human kindness running through her veins. Her passion for her students and her work is relentless and natural. She can't help it - she's just great! I am so glad her hard work and dedication are recognized and celebrated.
As the lucky mother of Anna, she has shown a special light all her life. Born with the gift of natural enthusiasm, she has always brightened every room she walked in to. Her energy and creativity are key in overcoming obstacles for her school and her students. She has always been a hard worker and it seems that others around her are inspired by her dedication to any project. She truly believes in the potential of every student and expects great things from them even when they have learned not to expect much from themselves. She taught for several years at the University of Maryland while working on her Masters and PhD, but eventually decided that wasn’t her path and unexpectedly found that she LOVES working with high schoolers. Students failure or success in high school affects the entire rest of their lives. When taking 20 students to California for a speech meet it was the first airplane flight most had been on. I remember her saying “It’s all about the exposure to the bigger world for them”. She fights every day for their successes. Her students know she loves them. LCOY
As one of Anna's sisters, I see firsthand how hard she works to pour into her students and her team. I watched how speech and debate changed her life in high school and gave her confidence that still shines today and I know she works to provide the same opportunities to her students. She is loud and hilarious and she is also brilliant, talented, compassionate, kind and holds herself and her students to the highest of standards. She is truly a life changer! #LCOY
I’ve had the privilege to help assist Ms. Steed with the Speech & Debate program over the last couple of years. Life changer of the year is so appropriate for her impact! As a former educator, I can without a doubt identify that she has an unparalleled impact on student lives that is at the very top of all educators out there. She acts as both a loving and strict secondary parent to her students - she pushes, encourages, and holds them accountable to empower them to be their very best and be social change-makers in the world. They sometimes talk about college and professional sports coaching trees, but her coaching tree is so much more as it truly changes lives rather than just winning sports games. She is empowering the next generation to be the next life changers - her tree is and will continue to blossom into love and justice in the world!
I would like to begin this comment by saying that Ms.Steed is an amazing person and deserving of this award. Over the past 4 years that I’ve known her, she has changed my life in so many ways. She taught me how to be resilient, how to be comfortable voicing my opinions, and how to fight for what I believe in. The insurmountable love and support she has given us all is no match to the fire she instills in all of her students. She’s the second mother I never knew I needed, the coach that continues to push me past my limits, and the teacher who’s knowledge I will forever treasure. Thank you for all you’ve done Ms.Steed. #LCOY
