WACO, Texas — 40 Waco ISD Students are advancing to the Teach Tomorrow Summit held in Round Rock from Feb. 28 to March 1, 2024.
- Students have the opportunity to select various projects to compete in such as Differentiated Lessons, Ethical Dilemma, Teacher-Created Materials, Professional Development, and the Educators Rising Moment Speech.
- Waco ISD students that are a part of the Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE) are preparing for a future career in education with hands-on learning experiences.
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A good education can help make a difference, but a good teacher can be a game changer.
“Knowing that they’re all really going to be the next generation coming into our school, I’m just excited to see and feel the energy and feel the excitement,” said Beth Brabham, Dean of Waco ISD’s Future Educator Academy.
40 Waco ISD high school students are advancing to the Texas Association of future Educators Teach Tomorrow summit, happening in early 2024 — a program that can jump start a future teacher’s career.
“I think the TAFE competition benefits students who want to be future educators because it gives them, not only the experience of competing, but, through that competition they’re having to research things in the field of education," Brabham said.
"Whether it be ethical dilemmas, whether it be things outside of our schools they didn’t know about that existed, that they get to share in spotlight across the state, so I think the more they know, the better prepared they’re going to be as the next group of educators that will come and teach for us."
This will help to spark a light early on in a young adult’s life, so they can prepare and gain real-life experience.
“It would help me prepare and learn more about kids and the education and how to handle certain situations and things like that,” said local student, Alexceyah Taylor.
With multiple categories to compete in, these future teachers collect research and discuss ways to make them stronger leaders in the classroom.
“Ethical dilemmas I would say, they give us a scenario and as future educators we just think we just give our point of view on the scenario and what we would do, what we wouldn’t do with a situation, just a whole bunch of different things, ” said local student, Nahyeli Villa.
This will help the students to gain experience to rule their own classroom, just like one former program student that’s back in the school district.
“They give you really great feedback and you can use that in your own setting and to be a teacher," said Sarah Barahona-Gomez, English Language Learners Tutor at University High School.
"You get that feeling and like, 'Hey, you know what you’re doing,' and you get to work with the kids, you get to see it play out, even in you’re in high school, so it was a really great opportunity."
These students are getting an early start for a bright future ahead.
“You decide, you make the project, how you want to do it, so it’s a really good thing to do,” Barahona-Gomez said.
