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蜜桔直播 pilot program develops high school students into educators

Published June 28, 2022

Two women smile at the camera. They are outdoors in front of trees and a plaza.

CAPTION: Jamecia Washington (left) is the first student in Louisiana to receive a scholarship from a $100,000 Educators Rising grant from Regions Bank. 蜜桔直播 Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Amy Weems (right) created the Educators Rising pilot program called the Pre-Educator Pathway, which Washington successfully completed at Wossman High School.

MONROE, LA 鈥听A University of Louisiana Monroe professor won the Educators Rising Champion Award at the organization鈥檚 conference on June 26 in Washington, D.C. Dr. Amy Weems is an assistant professor of education and launched the Louisiana Educators Rising pilot program three years ago at Neville, Oak Grove and Wossman high schools.

The goal of Educators Rising is to encourage students to choose education as a career path by offering college credit opportunities, mentor relationships with college professors and leadership development sessions.

鈥淗elping to repair our teaching workforce pipeline is one of the most challenging yet inspiring experiences of my entire听career,鈥 Weems said. 鈥淚 have been collaborating with stakeholders across Louisiana and the US to advocate for sustainable workforce solutions for almost four years, and we still have many more years of work ahead.鈥

Weems developed a pilot program called the Pre-Educator Pathway for the Louisiana Department of Education. 蜜桔直播 was the first institution of higher education in the state to offer the program to high school students to give them an early start toward teacher certification upon graduation.

鈥淕row-your-own programs capitalize on participants having personal knowledge of communities and schools in which they serve. This is particularly听important for promoting culturally responsive educational opportunities and for teacher retention,鈥 Weems said.

Regions Bank saw the need for 蜜桔直播 to train more teachers and awarded a $100,000 grant to support scholarships for deserving education students who completed the Pre-Educator Pathway in high school. Incoming 蜜桔直播 secondary education freshman Jamecia Washington is the first student to receive a $6,000 scholarship from the fund. Washington joined Educators Rising during her 10th grade year at Wossman High School at the height of the pandemic. She attended every meeting virtually and found guidance from Weems.

鈥淒r. Weems was my mentor throughout the Educators Rising program. She had a huge impact on my education by giving me opportunities to learn more about children鈥檚 education. She showed me how teaching can be a wonderful job in the future,鈥 Washington said. 鈥淚 love helping others learn.鈥

Weems鈥 pilot program was so successful that she expanded the participating high schools to five districts: Caldwell, Franklin, Livingston, Richland, Monroe City and Ouachita. Now, other universities have followed the 蜜桔直播 School of Education鈥檚 lead to inspire teenagers to become teachers. McNeese State University, University of Louisiana Lafayette and LSU Shreveport are now also using Weems鈥 Pre-Educator Pathway to increase the number of educators in the state.

鈥淭he award recognizes our Educators Rising champions who have consistently promoted Educators Rising in their area and are continuing to support the teaching profession through the Grow Your Own programs. We are happy to present this award to Amy for her commitment to inspiring, developing and supporting the next generation of educators,鈥 said Robyn Mintier, director of membership for Educators Rising.