Name
Andrea Cook
Role
Director of School District Partnerships
Bio
From long-term substitute teacher to Coordinator of Technology Implementation and Integration, Andrea Cook's 20-year career runs the gamut of education. Andrea has a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science, a Master's Degree, and an Education Specialist Degree in Educational Technology, both from the University of Central Missouri. Andrea has also presented nationally at the International Society of Technology Educators (ISTE), internationally at the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), and has been published in ASCD on Flipped Model professional development.
Andrea is a wife and mother of four grown sons whom she loves to share Sunday dinners with. Andrea also loves traveling, all Kansas City sports, and listening to Hip Hop.
Why I gravitate towards this work
For generations, students have been told that they are to sit down in rows, learn from the “sage on the stage” teacher, follow directions, graduate high school, go to college, get a job, have a family, work for 30 years, retire and enjoy the rest of their life. There has to be another way. Why not approach the learning process as a lifelong adventure? We should be passionate about what we choose to do in life and acknowledge that passion has no timeline.
I truly believe that the journey of life is a learning process. People should thirst for knowledge. And yet, the educational system as we know it is frequently robbing our students of their passion to learn. Students understand at a very early age how to “play the game” of school. We can work together to change the educational system narrative by ensuring students are learning for the love of understanding, not just to pass an assessment.
Fun fact
I am the Great, Great, Great, Granddaughter of Cpl. Rufus Vann, member of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry who fought in October of 1862 at the Battle of Island Mound in Bates County, Missouri. The battle marked the first time that African American troops were engaged in Civil War combat.
