CWU-Des Moines builds interest in Teacher Academies with virtual forums

A group of 40 Puget Sound Skills Center students joined CWU-Des Moines staff and student ambassadors last month for two virtual information sessions designed to build interest in the teaching profession and opportunities at Central Washington University.

Coordinated by Academic Advisor Doug Jensen and Puget Sound Skills Center teacher Katelyn Asare, the two-hour Zoom workshops offered aspiring educators a glimpse into the education profession and the growing CWU Teacher Academies program.

Jensen said the secret to the event’s success was having several Teacher Academies Student Ambassadors (TASA) on hand to answer questions from the workshop participants — many of whom are first-generation students from similar backgrounds.

“These forums gave us an opportunity to put a particular type of CWU student in front of high school students to see if college might be right for them,” Jensen said. “The Skills Center students could really relate to our student ambassadors because they offered a unique perspective about why they chose to go to college and how it has benefited their lives.”

About 20 students attended each of the Zoom forums, which were held May 9 at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. The sessions were patterned after a pilot program initiated by Cami Bello, a CWU academic advisor.

Jensen thanked Bello for sharing her idea and Asare for helping make the CWU-Des Moines forums a resounding success.  

“A lot of credit goes to the teacher, who made sure each of the students had access to their own computer so we could see all of their faces,” he said. “That really helped the conversation flow more naturally, as opposed to having everyone in the room on one screen. The students also came up with questions in advance, which made for a really robust and exciting conversation.”

After the forums were complete, Asare shared with Jensen that a number of her students expressed a desire to attend Central after having a chance to connect with the TASAs, who each participated in Teacher Academies when they were in high school.

“They are a very engaged and dedicated group, and they genuinely seem interested in pursuing education as a career path,” Jensen said, adding that the same group of 40 students visited CWU-Des Moines last winter.

During the forums, the Skills Center students also got to learn more about what college is like, while the ambassadors were able to dispel some preconceptions the participants had about college life.

“A number of the kids said they thought going to college would be scary or stressful, but our TASAs helped them realize that CWU has a ton of resources to help you succeed,” Jensen said. “You’re not in this alone, and I think hearing that was very illuminating for the participants.”

Hands-On Mentoring

Aside from last month’s successful Zoom forums, the Teacher Academies team at CWU-Des Moines also engaged with its school district partners this winter to help students for the upcoming Educators Rising national conference.

Back in February, the center hosted three teachers and 37 students from three Renton School District high schools for the Educators Rising Winter Convening at Highline College.

As Jensen explained, the purpose of the event was to provide an opportunity for local students to practice and develop the presentations they hoped to showcase at the national conference, scheduled for June 26-29 in Orlando, Florida.

“We saw an opportunity to work with Renton School District students on the project development, editing, and refinement processes prior to the competition so they could represent themselves and their schools with the strongest projects possible,” Jensen said.

CWU faculty and staff have been involved in preparing students for Educators Rising since 2023, but until this year, they hadn’t played such an integral role.

Jensen explained that the February event provided the Teacher Academies team with an opportunity to more thoroughly integrate the support they offer to students at Educators Rising with the support activities the program offers during the academic year.

“The convening also enabled our team to directly participate in the intellectual and personal development of Teacher Academies students, which helped draw a more concrete through-line from considering their futures as high school educators to seeing CWU as a clear next step in that journey,” he said.

Jensen also noted that the Renton School District is traditionally one of the largest Teacher Academies partners, and having an opportunity to work directly with dozens of prospective students serves as an invaluable recruitment tool.

“Working with them on their projects gave us an exciting opportunity to connect with students who are thinking about CWU, and now they see us as part of the puzzle,” he said. “They feel part of the CWU family when we show up to their events and cheer for them.”

Also this winter, CWU Teacher Academies team members helped a group of contestants from seven high schools prepare for the Hacktivate Education Conference through Arizona State University.

One CWU advisor and two TASAs offered feedback and helped judge projects at the Yelm High School event designed to prepare participants for the Educators Rising national conference.

Two Yelm High students won first place in their fields — one for Teacher-Created Material and one for Children’s Literature — and the Yelm High School team finished second overall in the Hacktivate competition for an all-encompassing plan they developed for the ideal third-grade school.

Jensen added that one of the winning Yelm High students, Taliah Boyd, has committed to enrolling at CWU in the fall.

“These face-to-face interactions make such a huge difference, and we look forward to getting even more involved in these kinds of activities in the future,” he said.