Delegates prioritize work over play
Posted on July 1, 2023

 

Educators Rising, as a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO), is a student-led organization. As competitions and breakout sessions wrapped up on Saturday, and students headed to Orlando theme parks or the hotel pool, a group of student delegates gathered to make decisions about bylaw changes and national programming. Eighty designated voting delegates and national student leaders attended the meeting led by Jose Carrillo, EdRising membership development associate and former national president.

Delegates were asked to weigh in on several matters of importance to the future of the organization. Participants had the opportunity to share their views on the various items on the agenda, and then they took a vote.

The first vote was to adopt a new Educators Rising tagline: Forming Future Leaders. They also decided on a theme for the 2024 national conference: Discovering Your Potential.

Some votes decided on the direction the organization should take for the next few years. Delegates determined that the organizational project for the 2023-24 school year would be to highlight underrepresented voices. And they voted that areas of focus for the next three years would be showing the good in education, teacher salaries, and school funding.

Although the meeting was scheduled for 60 minutes, students had a lot to say about these resolutions, and the meeting ran over, cutting into students’ afternoon free time. One group of delegates had plans to go to Universal Studios, and the rest of their chapter was all set to go. But the delegates wanted to stay and finish the meeting because, they said, “This work is too important.”

Their teacher leader found a way to get them to Universal after the meeting, so they could continue the work and still enjoy a well-deserved break with their friends.

Contributors

EdRising Influencers

Educators Rising Influencers Program

We're proud to announce the launch of an updated program for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year! Students and teacher leaders alike may know about our ambassadors program. This year, we're modifying that program and calling it the Educators Rising Influencers Program....
Where do you fit in?

Where do you fit in? Educators Rising can help you decide.

Students often tell us that they joined their school’s Educators Rising chapter because they were invited. A friend or a classmate may have said, “Hey, this group has a lot of fun.” It could be that a teacher suggested the chapter would be a good fit.  Some...
Podcast Episode 45

Becky Rowe on Costa Rica, Courage, and Coming Back Changed

Travel, it's said, can change you. Educator Becky Rowe recently traveled to Costa Rica thanks, in a small part, to a PDK travel scholarship. "Teaching is a universal language of love." — on meeting teachers at the school in La Fortuna  Becky Rowe teaches Teaching...
Rapid Responders for 2026-2027

Rapid Responders for 2026-2027 School Year

Educators Rising’s Rapid Responder program is an active corps of students willing to opine and respond to a variety of timely topics related to public education. The questions asked are a mix of topics developed by our student leadership team and Educators Rising’s...
Keynoters

Meet the Keynote Speakers at #EdRising26

Two Teachers Worth Listening To If you're heading to Portland this June for the 2026 Educators Rising National Conference, you already know the energy in that room is going to be something. But before you get there, it's worth getting to know two of the people who...
Rising Voices: Calvin Plainte

Calvin Plante & Finding his purpose

Calvin Plante wanted to make a difference. EdRising showed him how he could achieve that goal as a teacher.  It was the fall of 2020.  Calvin Plante was starting his freshman year of high school amid the COVID-19 pandemic. His cross-country season had just...
Classroom Environments & Spring Cleaning

Student Perspectives on Classroom Environments

Rapid Response Survey March 2026: Spring Cleaning One of the joys for some during the spring season is the opportunity to roll up your sleeves and pull out the gloves and supplies to “spring clean” your home. The ritual we call spring cleaning became the topic for our...
Rapid Responders

Next-Generation Educators Share What Will Shape Their Decision to Teach

At a time when schools across the country are struggling to recruit and retain teachers, a new RapidResponse poll from Educators Rising offers something rare and powerful: direct insight from the next generation of educators. Respect and support will determine whether...

Honoring all our competitors

Congratulations to all the students, teacher leaders, and others who attended our conference this year. We hope your experience at this year’s conference in Orlando was one of connection, inspiration, learning, and laughter! If you missed the awards ceremony, check...

Around the conference on Sunday

The final day of the conference featured lots of breakout sessions, tired student and teacher leaders packing up, and networking lunches for students and teachers. The traditional human bingo game gave students one last chance to meet and interact with others as they...