Over 300 High Schoolers Attended SIUE's Future Teachers Conference
EDWARDSVILLE - Over 300 students from 20 local school districts recently gathered at SIUE for the 2024 Future Teachers Conference.
On Nov. 15, 2024, high school students who want to work in education could learn from local teachers and speakers. SIUE’s School of Education, Health and Human Behavior (SEHHB) hosted the day-long conference, which highlighted SIUE’s teaching pathways.
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“There is a teacher shortage,” said Angie White, Director of Field Placements with SEHHB. “It’s very important that we try to get more and more teachers into the pipeline. By offering this conference to all the school districts — and it’s free of charge — we hope to inspire [the students] and keep them motivated to go into a teaching profession.”
Tron Young, a three-time SIUE alum and assistant superintendent at Alton Community Unit School District #11, served as the keynote speaker. Other speakers included 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year Dr. Rachael Mahmood, Madison County CTE Director Kaleb Smith, and Gayle Appel with Southwestern Illinois CTE.
Students could choose to attend workshops related to early childhood education, elementary education, special education and secondary education. White said the conference was “jam-packed full” of sessions and experiences for aspiring teachers.
She noted that the conference aimed to address the teacher shortage by encouraging high schoolers to follow a path in education.
“The teacher shortage is going to get very serious very quickly, with more and more teachers retiring. A lot of them left the profession during COVID because it was such a crazy time for teachers, so we need to fill the void,” she added. “By offering a conference, we hope to help out with the shortage.”
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