TEACHERFEST 2016

Educators Rising NH- TEACHERFEST 2016 #trickorteach

On Friday, October 21, 2016, Educators Rising NH hosted its first fall TEACHERFEST on the campus of NHTI- Concord’s Community College. Educators Rising NH was approved as an official CTSO for Teacher Education Multiple Levels programs by the NH Board of Education in June 2016. Since that approval, Educators Rising NH director, Sue Bergman and the TEACHERFEST planning board had been organizing this event. The planning board consisted of Valerie Koch- Concord Regional Technical Center, Paula Vaughn- Pinkerton Academy, Dawn Russell- Seacoast School of Technology, Stacey Libby- Rochester School District, and Cheryl Baker- Plymouth State University. Kelly Dunn, Education Department Head at NHTI- Concord’s Community College, was responsible for securing the location.

Approximately 350 Teacher Education students and teacher leaders from nine NH CTE centers attended the event. TEACHERFEST 2016 kicked off with a keynote speech by the 2016 NH Teacher of the Year, Ashley Preston. Ashley is a preschool teacher at Parker Varney School in Manchester, NH. Ashley spoke candidly about the challenges and rewards of teaching young children. After the keynote, students spent the rest of the day attending a college fair and professional workshops. The college fair featured nine NH colleges and universities that offer degrees in Education. Thirteen education professionals from throughout NH offered thirty minute workshops on such topics as Occupational Therapy, planning for college success, effective parent communication, STEM education, and connecting with students. Each student participated in three of these engaging workshops over the course of the day.

Other activities included voting for state officers, a selfie photo booth, a graffiti wall answering the question “What excites you most about becoming an educator?”, and “Education Rocks!” where students Zentangled™ (doodled) designs and words of inspiration on a rock to take home. The event concluded with donated raffle prizes, students sharing their experience attending the National Conference in Boston last June, and the announcement of the first Educators Rising NH state officers. Congratulations to Laura Seymour (CRTC)- President, Jennika Mannesto (CRTC)- Vice President, Megan Coelho (PA)- Recording Secretary, and Emily Aham (PA) and Abigail Beaudoin (PA)- Public Relations Secretaries