Sprouting scholars: Teaching as a Profession pathway grows future educators

Considering the low pay, safety concerns and mistreatment, the teacher retention rate across Georgia continues to decline. Nearly half of new educators resign after five years, according to the state Department of Education. Through a new Teaching as a Profession pathway, the Athens Community Career Academy (ACCA) is attempting to alleviate this disparity.

“This is worldwide. In every country, everywhere, you have to have teachers to build up the education of the next generation. It’s so important to find other people who have a passion to make sure students are improving on literacy, math and science, and are improving career preparation,” ACCA instructor Candice Jones said. “That’s why it’s so important for this specific pathway to train highly effective future educators.”

ACCA offers students opportunities to explore career and professional pathways outside of the traditional high school scope. In the future educator pathway, Jones instructs students about the field of education and advises how to manage appropriate student behavior. Though Jones wasn’t the individual who started this program, she has extended her love for teaching into the pathway and has poured her hard work and time into it for the past three years.

From an early age Jones knew she wanted to be a teacher. She studied family and consumer science and later obtained her teaching certification in Memphis, where she later began teaching high school. At the beginning of the pandemic she then moved to Athens and began working at Hilsman Middle School where she again taught family and consumer science. In 2021, the former teaching as a profession instructor retired, and Jones took the opportunity to run the program.

Though Jones has been teaching for 17 years, this is her third year instructing this class. She hopes to elevate her students’ minds by showing that there are countless methods of teaching.

“I think that the best way to inspire my students is to show them that it’s more than just standing up at the front of a class at a podium and lecturing and going over numbers and equations and formulas and things like that. You have a long lasting impact on somebody for the rest of their life,” Jones said.

The program is composed of courses in foundations of education, contemporary issues in education and an internship where students work with young children at the Early Learning Center nearby the ACCA building. 

“For the whole class period, 90 minutes, I rotate and I observe them based on observation rubric. Then the remainder of the week we’re in the class and we’re learning skills from lesson planning and blend different teaching methods and how to create assessments. They practice everything with each other. We do a lot of hands-on activities,” Jones said.

For Cedar Shoals senior Kamiyah Jackson, ACCA and the teaching pathway have allowed her to prepare for the future.

“If you want to get ready to be an adult or have a career, ACCA is a good place to go. You don’t have to want to be a teacher to do the teaching profession pathway. You could be a principal or administrator,” Jackson said.

To best instruct the students, Jones structures the class with group and interactive elements in mind. She asks students to think and act from a child’s perspective sometimes to consider all elements of the classroom. In an effort to provide realistic aspects of the job, Jones also tasks students with creating a lesson plan for elementary school children. 

“Last semester, we made our own lesson plan (for the children). I just love watching them (her classmates) teach the kids. They are very funny so it’s just nice to be in an environment like that,” Jackson said.

This internship course helps students in the future educator program to experience realistic perspectives of how their own class activities can be implemented.

“Children work differently than adults. Right now, we’re learning different ways you can teach because children learn differently. There’s a lot that goes into it. Sometimes you have to be the parent for students, depending on the situation,” Jackson said. “You have to have a lot of patience.”

Students in the program are also encouraged to apply to the work based learning program for paid opportunities to work in local after school programs. After applying and interviewing, students in the future educator program can earn $15 per hour if they are accepted into the WBL program while gaining even more valuable experience working with younger children. 

Working with young students is complex, and making the learning environment comfortable for all students is crucial. Jones helps make the learning process comfortable for her students with her honest personality. She strives to foster an environment where these future educators are encouraged to share their opinions.

“It’s really a democratic class. We all have opinions. We all get to share our opinions. And I think she (Jones) makes the environment pretty comfortable, where I can get along with everybody in the class. She’s just one of those teachers that you can really get along with,” junior Alandra Huff said.

Jackson has experienced a similar comfort level in the program.

“We have a lot of conversations, and she’s (Jones) a very open person. You can come to her with anything,” Jackson said. “She’s gonna tell you straight up what the truth of teaching is.  Depending on the material she has to teach us, where it would be this one way but she shows you the other way.”

Jones finds joy in teaching, finding enjoyment in watching students achieve their dreams. She relishes opportunities to help her students achieve their desired futures, such as by writing recommendation letters.

“I’ve given out so many letters of recommendations to students receiving scholarships and getting into college. To see them in their careers now, and remembering their plan that they put together, that’s one of the most worthwhile things. That’s one of my why’s: knowing that you’ve helped the student,” Jones said. 

Engaging students and promotion to make students aware of this pathway is a huge part of persuading students to enroll. Career Academy holds various workshops for rising and current high schoolers to view what pathways they have available. Teachers at individual schools can additionally nominate students who they think would thrive in the pathway.

During this semester Jones has had thirteen students taking her class this year, but the number of students enrolled next semester has nearly doubled with a whopping 23 students officially beginning the first pathway and another nine completing their final course.

“The biggest goal is just to increase the number. That’s always the goal: to gain more participation,” Jones said. “We want students who are really engaged and interested in becoming an educator or an administrator, or guidance counselor, or even have that little inkling or someone has told them ‘You’d make a great teacher.”