Approximately 120 students from nine Arkansas high schools are scheduled to participate in an Educators Rising regional conference hosted by the Arkansas Tech University College of Education on Thursday, Jan. 27, and Friday, Jan. 28.
Students from Fayetteville High School, Gentry High School, Greenwood High School, Magazine High School, Pottsville High School, Rogers Heritage High School, Rogers New Technology High School, Russellville High School and Van Buren High School will gain information about obtaining a teaching license, financial aid opportunities available to future teachers and the outlook for the teaching profession in Arkansas.
Participants will also have the opportunity to enter competitions that may lead to opportunities to attend the Educators Rising 2022 national conference June 24-27 in Washington, D.C.
“We are so thankful to be able to support high schools in our region that are encouraging students to consider entering the teaching profession,” said Dr. Theresa Cullen, coordinator of the Educators Rising regional conference and department head and professor of curriculum and instruction at ATU. “I love that we can help students be career ready and realize how challenging and rewarding the teaching profession can be.”
Thursday’s workshops and competitions will be conducted in a virtual environment.
Susanna Post, 2021 Arkansas teacher of the year, will offer the in-person conference keynote address at 11:30 a.m. Friday. Post is a math and business technology teacher at the Belle Point Center in the Fort Smith School District.
The speech and the announcement of the winners of the contests will be live streamed at https://bit.ly/edrisingclosing.
In addition to the keynote address and awards ceremony, high school students attending the in-person events at Arkansas Tech in Russellville on Friday will also tour the campus and meet with current students and faculty.
ATU, the Arkansas Department of Education and the Walton Family Foundation are among the entities engaged in a partnership that seeks to establish more Educators Rising chapters at high schools around the state, update the curriculum for introduction to education classes at high schools and support competitions for potential future teachers.
Arkansas Tech students with an interest in establishing an Educators Rising chapter at ATU are invited to an informational meeting at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28, in Dr. Robert Charles Brown and Jill Lestage Brown Hall room 435. Raven Harris from the Arkansas Department of Education will explain the benefits and opportunities available to Educators Rising members. The meeting is open to any ATU student with an interest in exploring any available pathway to become a teacher.
