Katie Collins is a lifelong dreamer, learner and teacher. Married for 20 years and a mother of four, she thrives amid chaos. Now in her 21st year of teaching, she first felt called to the profession in kindergarten, coming home daily and rehashing the lessons learned to her little sister.

A National Board Certified Teacher, Collins currently teaches first grade at Bluff Park Elementary in Hoover, Alabama. She has also taught middle and high school French, and English as a Second Language (ESL) in preschool, elementary and middle school settings, as well as to adults. Collins enjoys teaching learners of all ages because she’s passionate about people. She believes relationships are the foundation for student success and finds joy in recognizing and nurturing each student’s unique gifts.

Collins is dedicated to modeling her love for learning, including normalizing and celebrating failure in the learning process, designing and implementing innovative cross-curricular, project-based learning units, and facilitating student autonomy and leadership.Her proudest professional accomplishment is co-founding the Communities Family Literacy Program. Recognizing a need for parent and preschool English language services among English learner (EL) families in her district, Collins wrote grants and acquired community support to launch the initiative. What began as a grassroots program transformed into a fully funded literacy program, employing adult and preschool instructors for more than a decade.Collins believes in the transformative power of education and remains devoted to spending her life advocating for students and advancing the teaching profession.