Jordan School District’s twelve career pathways provide students with opportunities to learn career skills, build relationships and access real-world job experiences. For students who think they want to be a teacher, the education pathway includes three college courses—taken through their high school or Jordan Academy of Technology and Careers—and practicum hours spent teaching in actual classrooms.

“They get the opportunity to go do practicums and get a feeling for what it's really like to be in a classroom in various types of settings,” Jordan District CTE Director Jason Skidmore said.

Mars Lawson, who has always been interested in becoming a teacher, is taking education classes at Copper Hills High School.

“You learn a lot about how people learn and I think that's really cool because you can use that in your career,” he said.

Lawson also joined CHHS’s Educators Rising club and became an officer.

CHHS sophomore Avery Pitcher is also involved in the club.

“I’ve wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember,” she said. “When I got to high school and found out that there was a club for it, I’m like, ‘Obviously, I'm going to join that.’”

She has loved the experience.

“Being around other people who want to be teachers, they help inspire me to keep pushing toward it,” she said.

Educators Rising clubs from around the state participated in a competition in March. Completing projects in a variety of categories encouraged students to explore different aspects of the teaching profession.

Lawson took third place in the Pre-K Children’s Literature category with a handmade rhyming picture book about self-discovery and self-love. Pitcher placed third in both the Lesson Planning and the Public Service Announcement categories. They are among the top winners who qualified for the national competition in Washington, D.C. this summer.

For her lesson planning project, Pitcher created and taught a lesson on ancient Greek history to a class of high school students. She said the experience confirmed her decision to pursue a teaching career post-high school.

“This is what I want to do,” she said. “Yeah, it may be hard and stressful, but yeah, I know I want to do this. Teaching is hard, but it’s worth it.”

Kelly McPherson, who teaches the education pathway classes at Copper Hills High School, said the classes, the club and the competitions all help prepare students for teaching careers.

“We’ve got a teacher shortage,” she said. “We need to help kids develop and help get them started.”

Jordan School District Superintendent Dr. Anthony Godfrey celebrated the future teachers at an awards ceremony held for the competition winners from JATC, Copper Hills and Riverton High School.

“I'm thrilled that this is a growing movement in our district, that more and more students are interested in teacher education programs,” Godfrey said.

He promised students he is doing what he can to increase pay and benefits for teachers.

Utah Legislators are also working to improve benefits for Utah teachers. This year’s legislative session resulted in additional funding for recruitment and retention incentives for teachers such as a mentoring program, performance-based bonuses, funding for classroom supplies and professional development training, and a $6,000 stipend for student teachers. λ