The Heart of an Educator: Kashandra Murphy's Quiet Revolution in Texarkana's Classrooms #spotlight
- The LME Media Team
- Sep 30
- 5 min read
There's a moment that stays with Kashandra Murphy—one that captures everything about why she's spent 19 years pouring her heart into education. A young Black male student sat in her classroom, shoulders heavy with doubt, whispering words that broke her heart: "I'm not going to pass. I can't do this."
But Kashandra saw something different. Where others might have seen struggle, she saw untapped potential. Where the system had whispered "failure," she heard possibility.
Born and raised in Texarkana, Kashandra embodies the quiet strength that defines this unique city straddling two states. The daughter of Stan and Karen Elliott and the late James Collins, she's a woman shaped by profound love and devastating loss—experiences that have forged her into the educator and human being her community desperately needs.
A Foundation Built on Love and Loss
Kashandra's story isn't just about academic achievements or teaching awards, though those accolades speak volumes. It's about the constellation of people who shaped her heart. Her late grandmothers provided the foundation—pillars of grace and wisdom who taught her that strength doesn't need to be loud to be powerful. Her mother modeled unwavering dedication and resilience. The loss of her brother changed her fundamentally, inspiring her to live with intention and carry forward his legacy through every interaction.
Today, her daughter Kaydence serves as one of her greatest motivations, pushing Kashandra to be the best version of herself—not just as a parent, but as a role model for what's possible.
The Moment Everything Clicked
Back to that student who believed he couldn't succeed. Kashandra refused to accept his self-doubt as truth. Day after day, she worked with him, offering extra help, encouragement, and something perhaps more valuable than any curriculum: unwavering belief in his potential.
When test day arrived, nervousness filled his face. Weeks later, the results came back—he had passed. But the real victory happened in that hallway encounter afterward. "He had this hesitant smile on his face, but his eyes, they sparkled with something I hadn't seen before... hope," Kashandra recalls. "In that moment, his success wasn't just about reading or test scores. It was about him starting to believe in himself."
That transformation—that spark of hope—is why Kashandra does what she does.
Carrying the Weight of What Could Be
But Kashandra's story carries shadows too. As a Teacher Leader in the Texarkana Arkansas School District, she's experienced the heartbreak that comes with loving deeply in a profession where you can't save everyone. Former students lost to gun violence or trapped in cycles of incarceration weigh heavily on her heart.
"I think about the ones I couldn't save, the ones who never got the chance to show the world what they could do," she reflects. This pain doesn't paralyze her—it propels her. Every day becomes an opportunity to be the one who sees students, who believes in them when they don't believe in themselves.
Breaking Through Barriers
Kashandra's journey hasn't been without challenges. As an African American educator, she's navigated systemic barriers that sometimes limit recognition of her contributions. Despite demonstrating tangible literacy growth in her students, she's often found her impact confined to the classroom rather than expanded to build capacity across the school community.
Her response? Consistent self-advocacy, relationship building, and letting data tell the story of her students' success. She's created a network of colleagues who see her value, slowly opening doors through trust and demonstrated excellence rather than waiting for recognition.
"The change I'm trying to create is not always immediate, it's generational," she explains. "The work I'm doing now to uplift students and colleagues will have ripple effects far beyond just the classroom."
A Vision for Tomorrow
With master's degrees from Southern Arkansas University and Texas A&M University-Texarkana, plus recognition as a 2024 Top 14 Regional Finalist for Arkansas State Teacher of the Year, Kashandra could easily rest on her accomplishments. Instead, she's looking ahead to broader impact.
Her goal is transforming underperforming school systems from the inside out—whether through educational leadership or her own consulting business. She envisions creating environments where educators are empowered, supported, and continuously growing, particularly in schools serving underrepresented communities.
The Texarkana Spirit
What Kashandra loves most about her hometown perfectly mirrors who she is as a person. Texarkana's unique identity as a city straddling two states creates something special—a blend of cultures, histories, and communities that converge into something greater than the sum of its parts. It's this same spirit of bridging differences and finding strength in diversity that Kashandra brings to every classroom.
"The talented, intelligent, and brilliant individuals from Texarkana carry with them the core values and principles of the place, no matter where life takes them," she reflects. Those values—resilience, community, and quiet strength—are evident in everything Kashandra does.
More Than Recognition
Being selected as an Unsung Hero means something profound to Kashandra. "Education can sometimes feel like quiet, behind-the-scenes work," she admits. This recognition affirms that her daily efforts don't go unnoticed, but more importantly, it reflects the collective effort of colleagues, students, and community members who inspire her growth.
The honor doesn't change her mission—it strengthens it. Kashandra isn't motivated by accolades but by impact. Every struggling reader who finds their voice, every student who discovers they're capable of more than they imagined, every moment when hope replaces doubt—these are her true measures of success.
A Legacy in Progress
As a member of Park Avenue Baptist Church and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and co-author of the award-winning anthology "Centering Our Voices: The Brilliance, Persistence, and Significance of Black Women Educators," Kashandra understands that her story is part of a larger narrative. She's not just changing individual lives—she's contributing to a movement that creates more equitable opportunities for all learners.
From her 2017 Junior League of Texarkana Teacher Take Wing grant to her multiple Teacher of the Year awards, from one-on-one reading interventions to system-wide vision for change, Kashandra Murphy represents the best of what education can be when it's driven by love, persistence, and an unshakeable belief in human potential.
Her classroom may be in Texarkana, but her influence radiates far beyond city limits or state lines. In a world that often overlooks the quiet revolutionaries working in schools across America, Kashandra stands as a reminder that the most powerful changes often happen one student, one moment of hope, one transformed life at a time.
Every day, she shows up not just as an educator, but as a beacon of possibility—proving that sometimes the greatest heroes are the ones who simply refuse to give up on the children others might too easily dismiss. In Kashandra Murphy, Texarkana has found not just a teacher, but a guardian of dreams and architect of futures yet to be written.
Kashandra Murphy continues to serve as a Teacher Leader in the Texarkana Arkansas School District, where she specializes in English/Language Arts and works tirelessly to ensure every student discovers their potential. Her story reminds us that true heroism often lives not in grand gestures, but in the daily choice to see possibility where others see problems, and to kindle hope in hearts that have forgotten how to dream.
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