Courtney

We’re running a series on our instructors – but the side you don’t see in the studio every day. Get to know our team even better through these interviews and hopefully we can all connect on an even deeper level.

Courtney has been teaching at SPARK almost since the beginning — she joined the team in early 2015, less than a year after we opened. After teaching fitness full time for a number of years, Courtney has been pursuing her dream of teaching and teaches 1st and 2nd grade special education but we’re lucky that she still brings her positivity and love to us on the weekends.

How are you doing?

It took me some time to process what was happening personally and professionally with my (school) teaching job as well at SPARK and Bodyrok.

School closed on March 13th and for the first two weeks I was not my best self. I checked in with my students 3-4 times a week, but there was a lot of uncertainty and I didn’t have any answers for my students when they asked, “how long will this last.” We just returned to school after another two weeks of spring break, which allowed for more time to prepare for our return. Since being back into a new routine, each day gets a bit better. My brother is home from CU and I’m lucky to be with my family and really take advantage of this time we get together.

Can you review what you teach and how it’s going now that schools aren’t physically open? 

I am a 1st and 2nd grade special education teacher. I support students with special academic needs. I work in 2 separate classrooms with another teacher and support the students. 

I was nervous to get started with distance learning for school. I thought I was prepared by setting up zoom sessions, ha! That was easiest part. I learned that there’s no way to be completely prepared for something I have never done.

I’m still on a similar schedule (my day goes from about 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., then I do a bit more work from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. on my own). I have Zoom calls during the day to support students and go over homework, answers questions parents have, and meet with other teachers. There’s a lot of moving parts and parents are a true vital of the team now.  I’m grateful to be working with two collaborative teachers.  I also have support from two amazing instructional aides.  We have all come together for the students and to support each other. Which is pretty amazing. 

How is it different now that you aren’t in a classroom?

The biggest difference is not seeing the kids. Previously I could walk into the classroom and anticipate how the day was going to go; I could see what they needed before they asked for it. Now we don’t have the interaction and I can’t be around them if they need help. A big part of teaching is being there with the students and with distance learning, I want to make sure the kids know that we’re there for them. Staying connected and knowing we care about them is a big piece to this puzzle. 

You went from full time fitness to part time fitness and full-time teaching. How was that transition?

Even from a young age I knew I worked really well with kids. I was always good at working with kids and worked at summer camps. When I was a sixth grader school if I finished my work early, my teacher would let me go to the special ed classes, I would help out and hang with the younger students.

I always thought I would get into teaching but I never thought I’d go into special education. I didn’t realize how much a teacher actually does. I was told being a teacher is easy, there’s a lesson book, it’s all done for you. Looking back on it now, HAHA that’s funny. I never gave it enough credit until I jumped in. I also learned I wasn’t giving myself enough credit. As a teacher, special ed or general ed, what we do is hard but so worth it.

Okay wait but back to full time fitness -- you’ve been teaching for a while. How did you get started? 

I got into spin in high school because my parents did it (I thought it was easy and was proven wrong when I tried it). I went to CU Boulder for college and while I was there I worked for the rec center and taught spin and other gym classes. When I taught there I wasn’t allowed to do any choreography, so it’s crazy to see how much that’s changed. 

After college I moved to L.A. and even though I didn’t teach fitness, I got certified in pilates. I moved back to San Diego to be closer to my family and saw that a studio down here was holding auditions so I auditioned and started teaching there and then came to SPARK in 2015.

Ultimately fitness just comes down to how you want to move your body. You don’t have to get fancy; it’s just what feels good to you and I love that.

Do you have any advice? 

Wash your hair…anyone else? No? just me? Make sure you look for the silver linings- even if it feels impossible.  Check in with loved ones and reach out to your peeps, if you need anything we are here for you. Everyone is experiencing the same thing but in a different way.

The most important thing for me is getting outside. I need to go for a walk and move my body in some way. At first I wasn’t working out very much!  But I’ve found that it’s necessary and I’ve had to adapt to find new workouts. Sometimes I’ll run outside but there’s nothing like that push to your limit feeling that you feel at SPARK.