NATCHITOCHES – The Gallaspy College of Education and Human Development at Northwestern State University will host the 2020 Educators Rising Louisiana Conference for over 235 high school students who want to become educators on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

 

“We are super excited to host the first EdRising state conference in Louisiana. Several other universities have hosted regional conferences; however, this year is the first year for the state conference,” said Jessie Church, clinical instructor of the College of Education and conference chair.

 

Organizers expect more than 235 high school participants, 21 speakers, six competitions and campus tours during the event.  Keynote speakers will be Dr. Leslie Blanchard from Louisiana State University, Laurie Savail of the National Integrated Cyber Education Research Center and Chris Dier, 2020 Louisiana Teacher of the Year.

 

“The attendees are high school students who are interested in becoming teachers. Some are enrolled in Educators Rising classes at the high school level, and some are in other future teacher clubs,” Church said. “The students are learning about current issues, interests and trends in education while attending speaker sessions such as Full STEAM Ahead with Phenomenon-Based Learning, Preparing Rising Educators to Reroute the Cradle to Prison Pipeline, Education Then vs. Now and Explaining Complicated Topics to Lower Age Audiences.”

 

Several of the conference speakers are high school students and they will hold sessions on Confronting Bias Toward Immigrants, Join Dat Club and Confronting Bullying with Self Love. Teachers will attend sessions to learn about growing their own club and EdRising classes and participate in a work group session to share ideas, Church said.

 

Sponsors of the event include BOM Bank, Tony Davis, vice president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and District 4 representative; Reba Phelps, Natchitoches Parish School Board District 6 representative; Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana, Louisiana Association of Educators and the Gallaspy College of Education and Human Resources.

 

Educators Rising Louisiana, formerly known as Future Educators of America (FEA), is the non-profit student organization and/or class for middle and high school students interested in the field of education-related careers.  At the national level, Educators Rising and Phi Delta Kappa partner to create a national network that helps students build resources and create connections that can significantly impact educational opportunities through co-curricular and extracurricular activities.
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As a national affiliate partnered through LaSTOY (Louisiana State Teachers of the Year), Educators Rising Louisiana offers students, through school or individual membership, opportunities to participate in coursework and projects that assist and recognize educator practices through local, state, and national conferences as well as performance-based competitions.

More information is available at https://www.educatorsrisinglouisiana.org/.