Educators Rising-RJSH gives school board presentation about program to develop next generation of educators

During the December 4 meeting of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) school board, some rising young educators from Redington Junior/Senior High School (RJSH) took time to talk about the program Educators Rising, which is helping them become invested in a career in education.

Educators Rising is a diverse, teacher and student-led grassroots movement that aims to inspire high school and college students to serve their communities by entering the field of education.

Students can participate in the program through a CTE dual-enrollment class with the possibility of earning 3 credits from the University of Alaska Southeast.

Educators Rising holds monthly meetings to discuss different topics related to education, such as this month’s topics, which focused on behavior and discipline practices.

School-based chapters are located in every U.S. state, where students practice the necessary skills to lead a classroom while adding student voice to National discussions centered around education. As one student told the board, at the local level, students in the program collaborate with teachers within their own school and partner with local elementary schools all in an effort to better serve the community.

There is also a national conference in which students representing the program compete in national level. This year’s conference was held in June in Washington D.C., where RJSH’s Anfisa Matveev placed first in the Pre-K Children’s literature competition.

“I wrote and illustrated a Pre-K children’s literature book,” she told the members, as well as recognizing fellow student Valentina Polushkin for her Top Ten placement in STEM Lesson Planning.

“She taught one lesson to 2 middle school classes, and presented her lesson plan to the judges at the conference,” Matveev said.

Other local students who placed at the National Conference were Emily Reich, who placed second in Lesson Planning and Delivery in STEM, and Marcellina Fagaltinmad who placed second in Lesson Planning and Delivery in Humanities. Both students are from Palmer High School.

Matveev also spoke about her experiences participating at the National Conference, telling board members that aside from the competitions, students also participated in breakout sessions to learn and discuss topics related to education, as well as learn from keynote speakers, such as the National Teacher of the Year. Matveev said they also had the opportunity to explore the nation’s capital.

The students also announced that for the first time, the state conference will be held in Anchorage, and along with participating in the conference, where they will be focusing on AI Creative Literature and Children’s Literature. The students expanded on the topics, telling the board that in Children’s Literature, students are able to write a story directed at a specific age range. There are 2 age groups-Pre-K, or Pre-K through third grade.

The AI Creative Lecture is a 7-10 minute speech on a designated prompt, and this year’s prompt is the double-edged sword of AI, and students will have to research and form an opinion, prepare and then give a presentation on the topic.

The students will be also able to tour the UAA campus as well as the Native Heritage Center.

The students also spoke about their partnerships with Knik Elementary and Dena’ina Elementary School and the summer reading program they designed, Camp Read A Lot. The students also help out with field trips and host Title I events. The partnerships are valuable to the program as they allow students to gain classroom practicum experience. “We can’t emphasize how excited we are to be partnered up with both of our feeder schools.”

The mission Of Educators Rising is to foster excellence within the state of Alaska by supporting middle school through collegiate level students on their path to become Alaskan educators.

To learn more about the program, please visit www.alaska.edu/educatorsrising/