Missouri teacher moves from classroom to state house politics

Kem Smith is an English teacher at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Smith previously joined Here & Now in 2022 to talk about a new advice column she started to uplift teachers new to the field.

This year, Smith won an election for a Democratic state house seat and will leave her teaching position before she gets sworn in this January. She joins the show to share her updated story with host Deepa Fernandes and why she decided to leave the classroom — a place she loves — to pursue a career in politics.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.