As the Saturday breakout session led by Lisa Rollins of PDK International began, participants discussed the challenges of the educator shortage as well as the lack of representation of educators who reflect their communities. Rollins asked attendees to stand up and stay standing if they had at least one unfilled position in their school this past year. They were asked to stay standing for 5, 10, 15, and 20 vacancies. At the end of the exercise, five participants were still standing, meaning they had more than 20 unfilled positions this past school year. This is a staggering number of openings that we must find solutions for.
Participants then examined the four steps of growing your own educators beginning in high school by first starting an Educators Rising chapter, attending the Educators Rising National Conference, and working on their chosen competitions. They talked about having a strong education and training course founded on the Educators Rising curriculum, dual enrollment, preferred colleges, and finally, the last step of ensuring students come back to work in their community.
Rollins and attendees then took a deep dive into the components of the Educators Rising curriculum and the resources and materials available to help support Grow Your Own efforts through an Educators Rising chapter or class. Participants explored the standards, features, and updates to the Educators Rising curriculum. They learned how it can be adapted to meet the needs of student learners while providing current teachers the tools they need for students to be successful and prepared future educators. Funding options and ways to tailor the curriculum to meet the needs of all learners were explored. Also discussed were ways to ensure it is aligned to standards. Participants also learned about additional resources like the Educators Rising Microcredentials and the Educators Rising Teaching Fundamentals.
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