Burnham Mathematics & Science Academy teachers and staff members were in full swing Friday morning, preparing for students’ first day of the school year.
Kid-sized light blue and apple-green furniture sits in Edward Gardner IV’s classroom, which also hosts a “calm corner” — cushy seating surrounding a large, flat, circular light that emits subdued colors, much like a peaceful campfire scene, to help children who may need to reset. Puzzles and games rest atop organizing drawers of orange, blue, and green. Welcome to Gardner’s world. His sweatsuit matches the warm, sea blues sprinkled throughout his classroom.
After years as a special education classroom assistant, or SECA, Gardner was promoted to a special education teacher at Burnham, in South Deering, helming a class of five students on the autism spectrum. Though his path as an educator was unconventional, Gardner said he always knew he’d be working with kids — mentoring, coaching, teaching.
“It’s a childhood dream come true,” he said. “I have moments where I’m still like, ‘why me?’ But it quickly goes away. When you pick education, it picks you — you’re really chosen for it.”
At age 11, Gardner was inspired by the late educator Joe Louis Clark, portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the film “Lean on Me.” Gardner remembers watching the film, in which Freeman’s Principal Clark turns around a New Jersey school riddled with crime, drugs and low test scores. That was when he told his father and aunt he wanted to have the effect Freeman’s character had on his students. More than two decades ago, Gardner took his first steps toward that goal while assisting with an after-school program at Arthur Libby Elementary and Middle School on the South Side.
Within two years, he was on staff. Then, years later, as he cleaned out his work email, he came across Chicago Public Schools’ teacher residency program, which offers full-time, paid training for aspiring educators. He filled it out and began taking classes at Roosevelt University in 2024. In May, he graduated with honors, an achievement he acknowledges was helped by encouragement and discounted tuition.
After 19 years as a special education classroom assistant at Libby and several interviews for teaching jobs, Gardner is nothing but smiles as he recalls his journey and excitement about becoming a teacher at age 48.
CPS opened 60 cluster programs throughout the district — Gardner’s is one of 60 new cluster classrooms in the district, designed for special education — where he will teach diverse learners math, science and English language arts. With a history of working with families labeled “at-risk,” Gardner said he loves showing children they don’t have to live within society’s constraints and stereotypes.
“I love working with them to show no matter where you come from, you can be whatever you want to be and go wherever you want to go,” he said.
Teachers don’t always get to see the final product when their students reach milestones and experience success, but Gardner said that’s fine by him.
Monday through Saturday, Gardner is helping enrich the lives of other people’s children, a feeling that is both rewarding and challenging, he said. On off days, he coaches high school football for Perspectives Charter Schools.
That energy and passion set Gardner apart from other applicants to join her team of nine special education instructors, Latresa Moore, Burnham’s special education case manager said.
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“Starting in the role of a SECA and answering the greater call to step into something that’s even more challenging because you see there’s a need — that’s what spoke to me about him,” she said. “He had a lot of experience, a lot of expertise, but it started from the heart. If you still have that love, drive and passion after being in it for so many years, I know that’s a calling for you and not just a job.”
Stepping into this new phase in his life, Gardner says his nerves are rooted in the joy of stepping into his new teaching role — not whether the district’s financial uncertainty and teacher layoffs will affect him directly. “I can’t concern myself with that,” he said. “I’m here getting my classroom ready for day one with my students. He’s too busy trying to show who he is and what he can do, he said.
Gardner may be new to running his own classroom, but he’s no rookie. “The confidence I have comes from knowing I have the skills,” he said. “Now they’re coming to class and paying attention to me and that’s where the little bitty nerves come in. I remain self-assured, but humble.”
Born and raised in Park Manor, the Hales Franciscan alumnus wants to be a representative that young Black and Brown scholars can look to, and an inspiration for other SECAs and paraprofessionals who want to transition to a full-time teaching role, as he did.
Despite thinking he might want to be an accountant at one time, Gardner’s family and community supported him on his educational path, he said. He lost his parents at different parts of his life, he said, forcing him to pivot from four-year universities to community colleges along the way to reach his teaching goals. CPS’s two-year teaching residency program pushed him to the finish line. In five years, he plans to earn a master’s degree.
“It’s all divine timing and God’s plan,” Gardner said. “I truly believe he felt I was too comfortable and not making moves he decided I should be making, toward what I was chosen to do.”
The South Chicago resident is planning to build relationships and help families feel comfortable entrusting their children to him and his educational process — one where reading, literature, and math are connected to life skills.
“When they’re here, they don’t have to worry, Mr. Gardner’s got ’em,” he said.