Carson High celebrates first student educators course

Fifteen Carson High School students were honored Tuesday night for their dedication to starting a career in teaching.

The students were the inaugural class of Carson’s first EDU 110, a dual credit course with the high school and University of Nevada, Reno. The class is for students who want to explore teaching as a career after high school.

“To match a school district like ours with a great institution like UNR allows for an awesome opportunity for our students,” said American government/art history teacher and co-organizer Jenny Chandler. “This district is a fabulous place to work and it is the perfect training ground for teachers because the possibilities are endless.”

Students and their loved ones gathered at the Governor’s Mansion on Tuesday for an end of the year banquet to celebrate the work done for the EDU 110 class.

The program came about in part to address the lack of teachers and also to have teachers coming back to Carson post-education.

“The class answered any uncertainties I had about teaching,” said junior Hallery Ferrini. “I really enjoyed teaching.”

Throughout the year, the students shadowed teachers from pre-K to high school, created research papers, made and executed lesson plans and more. They also visited UNR throughout the year and worked in close collaboration with their education program and Dr. Margret Ferrara.

“Being a teacher is never boring, there is always someone to help,” said Lorena Jimenez.

Chandler said the purpose of the course is for students to have an opportunity to explore if they want to go into teaching and in what grades or subjects they may be interested in.

“As an exploratory class, we had students experience different topics and grade levels to see what they may want to do if they go into teaching,” Chandler said. “We wanted them to see what appealed to them.”

At the banquet, Chandler and math/implementation specialist and co-organizer Sarah Lobsinger presented some of the video projects created by the students for the course. These projects covered things they learned during the class or a contemporary subject, with the teachers showing videos about what it’s like to be a kindergarten teacher and the importance of lunch for school children.

Associate Superintendent Susan Keema also spoke to the students, congratulating them on their hard work throughout the year. And it has been a success this year; the popularity of the class has grown so much, the attendance level has more than quadrupled with 56 students signed up for next year.

“It is a testament for the pioneers ... you laid the foundation,” Keema said. “Considering we went from 15 to 56 students, I would consider that to be very successful.”

The class was first introduced two years ago as a club — Educators Rising — started by Lobsinger as a way for students with the interest in teaching to come together. But there was such a desire and a need for the class, the teachers decided to eliminate the club and create the class.

Each student was given a certificate of appreciation and shared with the audience their favorite memory from the class, what they learned and what their future plans are.

“We’ve had a great year and I hope this shows how proud of you we are,” said Lobsinger.

For each student, the class was a learning opportunity to see what may lie ahead of them for their teaching careers.

“I learned I am a big kid at heart because I like being in a classroom full of them,” said junior Trinity Bullock.

For Chandler and Lobsinger, this was more than just about the students, it was an example of the community coming together to help create more educators for future students.

“It is very rewarding, it’s amazing to see the different organizations so close in the school district to give students a chance to explore whether a career in education is for them,” said Chandler.