At 5 a.m., Kimberly Sleezer’s alarm clock goes off, signaling the start of her long, but fulfilling day as a teacher and a graduate student.

Sleezer, who lives in Marion, is doing double-duty as an English teacher at Iowa City Liberty High School and a first-year doctoral student in the Literacy, Culture, and Language Education Program at the University of Iowa. Despite this crazy schedule, she still manages to spend family time with her high school son, Taylor.

“I'm super structured. I have one child who's still in high school at Linn-Mar,” says Sleezer, who eats breakfast in her car and dinner during her 10-minute class breaks at Iowa. “I'm taking two night classes a week, and then I teach an online class to fund my PhD. My son does not get home from football or wrestling until a little after 7 p.m. every night, and I have either dinner in the crockpot, or something made that he can eat. 

“(My son) and I meet back up about 8:15 at night. I also don't have classes Monday nights when he has football or Friday nights when he has football or wrestling.”

Why pursue a doctorate?

Sleezer, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and master’s degrees from Iowa State and Iowa, is a huge advocate for public education and keeping the state’s brightest and best teachers in state. Teachers are leaving Iowa due to a myriad of reasons, including low salaries and political factors.

“My goal is to be one of the people who recruits and retains talented individuals,” Sleezer says. “It's a brain drain when they leave. If people are leaving that sends a message that this isn't a good place to stay. We will not be able to maintain the high level that public education used to be in the state. We are not where we used to be.”

Sleezer wants to keep the next wave of teachers in the state while working at the university level, ideally at Iowa State. She interviewed for a position at Iowa State two years ago but was told she needed a PhD in education.

That news didn’t stop her. After careful consideration, Sleezer decided to enroll in the University of Iowa’s College of Education. Associate Professor Samuel Tanner serves as Sleezer’s advisor and collaborates with her to make progress toward her doctorate while maintaining her teaching commitment at Iowa City Liberty and her strong family life. 

“He encouraged me and said, 'Listen, there's ways that we can do this. Let's get creative. Start taking the classes you can take at night, and we’ll figure the rest out as you go,’” Sleezer says. “I' m grateful for that. Plus, he said, 'We need your expertise in the classroom.' I feel strongly that someone teaching how to teach should still have a foot in the door.”

Sleezer plans to graduate from Iowa with a doctorate in English Education. With a PhD behind her name, Sleezer will work tirelessly to educate our talented teachers and keep them in the state.

 “With my years of experience, I can take a stand in the state as an educator for public education. With my research background, I also can hopefully help stem the tide and keep teachers from leaving as well,” Sleezer says.

Liberty Lightning Time 

When Sleezer isn’t in a UI classroom, you often can find her teaching students at Liberty High School. Sleezer, chair of the English Department, teaches advanced classes such as English 10 Honors and AP English Literature. Her students have read literary classics like Frankenstein, 1984, and Tale of Two Cities.

After reading these books, she often has her students draft essays and literary reviews of the texts. Developing good writers is a linchpin of her teaching. In fact, she teaches her AP English Literature students in a way to prepare them to score well on the AP exam, which can earn them college credit.

“I tell them they can rewrite their (essays or reviews) as many times as they want to earn an A if that is their goal,” Sleezer says. “But my goal is to make them a better writer. They're super surprised and frustrated, but I tell them that's part of the process. I also invite them to talk to students who had taken the class before who felt the same way.”

Sleezer has read over 70,000 SAT essays, while honing her skills as a writing teacher.

“That has made me a better assessor of good writing,” Sleezer says. “I learned how to prepare my students for the test, so I could say to kids, 'Here's the formula. This is what you need to do.’”

Sleezer is grateful to Liberty administration, especially Principal Justin Colbert, for being extraordinarily supportive as she balances her teaching duties as Liberty with her student responsibilities at the University of Iowa.

“I cannot talk well enough about my employer. Whatever I’ve needed, I’ve been able to talk with them and we figure it out,” Sleezer says. “I have a great gig. But my end goal is to teach students how to be teachers.”