The influential and caring role of a teacher who had a difficult childhood inspired high school student Leilani Carrera's career path, which was solidified Tuesday. Rise of the educator National Signing Day.
The senior of Sussex Central High School inside Indian River School District Signed a letter of intent to continue his education at the Old State House in Dover. University of Delaware To earn a degree in Elementary Education.
“I’m so excited about this moment,” she said. “I've wanted to be an educator since I was in second grade. So being able to come here and sign on to go to college to get an education is probably the biggest thing that's going to happen. I've been waiting for that day.'' And it's been a long time since I became an educator. ”
She said her family experienced many hardships and traumas from a young age.
“And I had a teacher who always cared enough. I want to be that teacher for someone else,” she said.
Carrera was joined by 87 students from 12 high schools across the state on signing day. Signing Day will be similar to National Signing Day in college athletics, but will be open to fourth-year students enrolled in the state's Teacher Academy learning program.
Other representative schools are as follows.
- smyrna high school
- delmar high school
- Polytech High School
- Apokinimin High School
- middletown high school
- caesar rodney high school
- milford high school
- Thomas McKean High School
- Alexis I Dupont High School
- Cape Henlopen High School
- laurel high school
There are 87 students this year, an increase of about 50% from the 2023 signing date, said Alison May, public information officer. Delaware Department of Education.
Michael Hill Shaner of the Department of Education said that in addition to being part of the relief effort for the ongoing national teacher shortage, the day also marks the start of the day to prepare students for their next journey after high school. , said it was also intended to force great options for college and work in Delaware. He is a deputy official with the Delaware Department of Education and the state director and advisor for Educators Rising.
Educators Rising is a national organization that helps shape the future of educators.
We partner with states to implement several programs.
In the high school program, students are formed as student leaders and advocates for education while learning instructional skills and gaining clinical experience as seasoned teachers even before entering college.
With the majority of teachers working in schools within just a few miles of where they grew up, Hill-Schaner believes there is a lot of talent being developed that can give back to Delaware and help improve our declining education system. I pointed out that it means
Lyle Jackson, also a senior at Sussex Central, signed a letter pledging to: Delaware Technical Community College Advance elementary education and special education.
Like Carrera, Jackson's affinity for his former teachers helped fuel his passion for educating others.
“When I was younger, all I really had was my teachers, so I want to be able to give back to students who need someone,” he said.
Jackson said Signing Day is an exciting and happy experience, but also scary because his high school career will soon be over.
“I'm really entering adulthood, and I have no idea what the next step in my life is going to be,” he said.
But he said he would be happy to help increase the number of educators in the First State.
“I feel like when we come together and have a group like this, we can show others that it’s okay to be a teacher,” he said. “You can be a teacher. This is great and you can inspire others to become teachers too.”
Our students are committed to more than 15 post-secondary institutions, including Delaware Technical Community College, Delaware State University, University of Delaware, and Wilmington University.
Post-secondary plans for students include:
- early childhood education
- Primary Education
- secondary mathematics education
- Secondary history education
- science education
- English education
- art education
- physical education
- special education
- Bilingual/multilingual/foreign language education
- Speech and language pathology
- psychology
Hill Shaner said she is proud of the students and what they have accomplished over the past few years. Many Educator Rising students entered the program as freshmen or sophomores and continued until graduation.
More than 1,000 Delaware students have participated in the program, Hill Shaner said.
Carrera said she plans to begin her career in elementary school, but plans to transition to high school teaching.
She is a big fan of educator pathway programs like Educators Rising, and says she would like to start a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) in her school or district when she eventually moves on to post-secondary education.
Her work with this program led to her becoming Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Educators Rising Delaware.
State Educators Rising Students Delaware Pathway Teacher Academy Program.
Students who participate take a three- or six-course career and technical education (CTE) program that prepares them for careers in elementary and secondary education.
Opportunities for observation in a variety of age and discipline settings, special needs and non-classroom environments provide hands-on experience while enriching learning.
During their senior year, students participate in long-term training and gain in-depth classroom experience.
“This program supports our efforts to provide learning opportunities for students and develop a diverse and culturally competent workforce of educators,” said Chancellor May. It will help ensure the success of education for generations to come.”
Carrera said participating in Educators Rising as a student and state employee taught her how to use her voice and use it to help others. Ta.
“I want other students to feel safe going out and using their voices for the better,” she says.
According to her, the shocking incident happened when she was in the second grade, when she had many difficulties staying at home and was commuting from her grandparents' house to school, which was two hours away.
“Many teachers at Teacher Academy helped me,” she said. “I went back and forth a lot.”
She wanted to enter an art competition.
“I wanted to try this because it's something I'm passionate about, I love art, and I really wanted to continue doing it,” she said. “So my teacher knew that I was really passionate about art, so he helped me and allowed me to take time off from some classes to work on this book. And in the end, we won first place.”
She said she wants to support the growth of Educators Rising and Pathways programs like this one. She said it's hard to know what kind of job to get as a teenager, so the idea is to have the opportunity to explore the field of education rather than forcing people to teach too much.
Jarek, who grew up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in political science from Temple University in 2021. After he ran his YouTube channel for CNN's Michael Smerconish, he became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald and then joined Delaware Live News.
Jarek can be reached via email at: [email protected] Or call us at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz and on LinkedIn