Impacting the lives of children and adults

New Edison Charter Schools leader reflects on her career

By Tony Bennett

"I've been with Edison for 22 years," says Tammy Rackliffe, the new Head of Schools for that organization.

Given that the two schools operating under the Duluth Edison Charter Schools banner have only been around since 1997, that means Rackliffe has been working within that framework for a good portion of her entire career. It's been a wild ride for Rackliffe, who started as a classroom teacher before eventually moving into the administration side of things, and she now finds herself as the captain of the ship. Really, it's something she's been preparing for even since she was young.

"I knew I always wanted to be a teacher," Rackliffe said. "When I was a young kid, I would play school with my stuffed animals. And my mom and dad would get so frustrated with me, because, at the end of the year, when teachers would clean out their classrooms, I would come home with most of it."

Teaching was in her blood, it seems.

"I never had anything else that I was going to do," she said. "This was it."

Rackliffe grew up in Moose Lake, graduated from the College of St. Scholastica, and worked at a few different schools around the state, starting in 1992, before coming back to Duluth to teach for Edison. Right away, she knew she had chosen the right field.

"It was everything I wanted it to be," she said. "I love kids. When I came to Edison, my first job was teaching kindergarten. I taught half a year, and then I looped with my kids to first grade, and that's where I stayed until I went into administration.

"I have always loved teaching them to read, and finding what helps them," Rackliffe said of her students. "Those youngest kids — they're so innocent and so eager to learn. They want to please you."

Rackliffe said that when she entered the world of Duluth Edison Charter Schools, she hadn't been that aware of what the organization even was.

"It was an opportunity that arose," she explained. "I didn't know anything about charter schools, because I was in Grand Rapids and Greenway. They had the traditional public schools."

After she started working for Edison, Rackliffe said she became aware that some in the Duluth community were wary of what it was.

"I was playing volleyball," she recalled, "and there was a traditional public school teacher that I didn't really know very well, and we were talking about what we did, and I said I worked for Duluth Edison, and she said, 'Oh, you're one of them.' My response was, 'Yes. I am one of them.'"

Back then, charter schools in Duluth had yet to be truly accepted or understood. It took time for the idea to grow on people.

"What really made the difference was who we are as a school," Rackliffe said. "I believe in our mission of personal academic excellence. I believe in the core values that we teach. I believe in the decisions that we can make. We can have an idea and go with it. We don't always have that red tape. We're one big family, and we support each other. I've been fortunate to work for the Edison charter schools for as many years as I have."

Rackliffe's predecessor, Bonnie Jorgenson, held her position for just over two decades, and Rackliffe says she was "so supportive." The initial plan was for Rackliffe to just be the interim Head of Schools for the 2020-21 year, but her destiny was to eventually take the mantle for real this year.

"I always wanted to be a principal," Rackliffe said. "But I always figured I was going to teach for a good amount of years. Twelve years ago, my principal at the time said, 'Hey, Tammy, I haven't seen your application yet for the Student

Achievement Coordinator, which was an administrative position at our new building. And I said, 'Well, I have an impact on 25 kids, and I'm happy with what I'm doing.' And he said something that's always stuck with me. He said, 'Tammy, you have the possibility of impacting a thousand kids with student achievement.'" She took that position. With time, she climbed the administrative ladder, and she worked closely with Jorgenson, who often made comments about being succeeded by Rackliffe.

"I thought, 'No, I don't want to do that,'" Rackliffe said. "I want to be with the kids. I kept telling her 'No.' When she retired, last year, I did not apply. I had some pretty significant health concerns, and I thought (there was) no way that this stressful job would work for me."

But Edison wasn't able to find a replacement right away. And Rackliffe kept thinking about the opportunity.

"I've dedicated my teaching career to Edison, and I thought that I just can't let them give it to anybody. And so I told the school board chair at the time, 'If you choose not to hire anyone, I can be an interim. I can do anything for a year.’ The board approved me as an interim in August, and, by October, I knew that this was what I wanted to do."

She's even feeling healthier.

"This has actually worked out better," Rackliffe said, "because I can adjust my hours. I can work from home."

There are many challenges and tough decisions to make ahead of her. Edison has been in the news due to some racial tensions. COVID-19 is still a factor, as are the repercussions of how it affected kids over the last two years. Budgeting concerns are evergreen. But at the end of the day, Rackliffe says she is still the same person she always was — someone who loves to help kids learn and grow. And the 1,300 students at Edison's two locations are counting on her.

"I've dedicated my career to teaching and leading," Rackliffe said. "It's exciting to see that I and we are impacting the lives of children and adults." D