The recent coverage on changes in our public schools has motivated me to reflect on my last five years as a teacher. I am proud to be a public school teacher in Hawaii and feel very lucky to have been hired as a resource special education teacher at Wheeler Middle School five years ago.

My first year was challenging. Implementing new programs and procedures and learning a new way of thinking stretched me in many ways. But, with the support and guidance of an amazing group of administrators, mentors and colleagues, I was able to learn and grow and improve my practice.

As I grew in my own proficiency, I also grew in my leadership and my ability to innovate with the tools I had been given. For example, I was empowered by my school to develop a program called L.E.A.D. (Leaders with an Emphasis on Achievement and Determination). This initiative helped Wheeler Middle School ensure that none of our transient student population fell through the cracks during the tumultuous adolescent years. I could never have developed this program in Year 1, but through staying the course and improving my practice, and always staying grounded in what’s best for kids, I was able to work to effectively innovate and create this program for our students.

This same growth mindset is how I choose to think of the new reform initiatives that were implemented under Race to the Top. Change is hard and Year 1 is particularly challenging.

But I believe that if we support each other and stay grounded in what’s best for kids, we’ll be able to use these new tools and programs in innovative ways that will help us progress.

This year I participated in the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), a new initiative offered in partnership with the Department of Education. Through this intensive year-long course, I was able to increase my skills in data-driven instruction and began leading a data team at my school. Each area that our data team prioritized experienced growth this year. In my classroom, 96 percent of the students in my seventh-grade special education program grew two or more years in number sense instruction, an area our team worked to prioritize.

Focusing on data in ELP also intersected well with the new Educator Effectiveness System. Increased data and accountability at all levels have allowed us to have a clearer picture of our strengths and areas of improvement as teachers, schools and as a system.

It seems to me that the recent principal survey is an important data point illuminating areas where our system needs to improve ("Principals feel they’re hamstrung, survey finds," Star-Advertiser, May 15). There are also many important data points around where we are doing well: Hawaii ranked first and third in mathematics growth over the past 10 years in grades 4 and 8 respectively; schools narrowed the gap between "high-needs" students and other students over the past two years; and the college enrollment rate is steadily on the rise.

While change is always hard, I do believe that changes are resulting in better outcomes and opportunities for our kids. I’ve seen it in my own classroom, in the classrooms of my colleagues, and in the confidence and progress of our brilliant students in Hawaii. I am a public school teacher in Hawaii riding the waves of change — and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Meghan McCormick was the 2012 Central District Teacher of the Year. She is also the co-founder of Learning First, an educational advocacy organization for teachers, and an alumna of Teach For America.