50 Kansas high school students attend first Advanced Kansas Future Teacher Academy

by Brandy Nance

Emporia, KS (08/16/2023) — Fifty high school students from around the state of Kansas attended the first Advanced Kansas Future Teacher Academy (KFTA) on the campus of Emporia State University from July 25-28, 2023.

The Advanced academy was student-driven, based on feedback from prior participants of KFTA. Students wanted to learn more about classroom management, said Todd Roberts, KFTA director. Sessions included tips and tricks in the classroom, managing students in dysregulation and bringing mindfulness into the classroom.

Members of the 2024 Kansas Teacher of the Year (KTOY) team presented to students, providing them tactics and advice for teaching students.

"Our future is bright knowing that these teachers are going to be leading the way," said KTOY team member Melissa Haney, Goddard USD 265 "They are inspiring and bring a ton of hope."

The week's engagement at KFTA was the 2024 KTOY's first appearance as a team.

"I cannot think of a better way to kick off a speaking engagement than spending it with aspiring educators, with future teachers," said KTOY team member Cherryl Delacruz, Topeka USD 501. "It was such a great experience and a great opportunity."

KFTA not only gives future teachers skills and knowledge in their future career, it also gives students a sense of community.

"It is affirming to know that we aren't the 'odd ducks,'" said KTOY Team member Erin Pittenger, Rock Creek USD 323. "There are young people who have that passion like we do, and it's really cool to be amongst like energy and like passion."

KFTA participants also took part in a poverty simulation, where students navigate through a month of living in poverty, learning what it takes to work, pay bills and raise children. Students found they often ran short in funds and had to resort to loans or other means of getting money for their families.

The simulation helped the students understand as future educators what their students may be going through.

"It was really difficult seeing how hard families have it," said Lauren Saenger, from Minneapolis/Bennington. "Knowing that actual families go through this stuff is really difficult to understand."

Saenger, who will be a senior in high school in the fall and plans to major in early childhood, said she will always check on her students after what she learned and felt during the simulation.

"I will make sure they are okay," she said. "I will help with as much as I can as a teacher."

For Cherilyn Hernandez, from Overland Park/Olathe, the poverty simulation was a visceral experience.

"It was kind of re-living a moment in my life that was really difficult," Hernandez said.

Hernandez, who will be a freshman at Emporia State in the fall, said her experience at KFTA and the simulation made her realize that there is a need to check in more often with each other.

"Because of all the chaos that was occurring (in the simulation), we never turned to a neighbor and asked how they were doing," she said. "In real life, for me, maybe I need to do a better job checking in with my neighbors."

The experience of KFTA gives students agency and ownership over their future as educators.

"They sought out to be here, and they are fully invested," said KTOY Team member Taylor Bussinger, Olathe USD 233. "I was impacted by their professionalism, their engagement and their talent."

The Kansas Future Teacher Academy was founded in 1989 and is recognized as an established and highly respected training opportunity for students throughout the state of Kansas. More information on the Kansas Future Teacher Academy can be found at emporia.edu/kfta.

NOTE FOR MEDIA:

STUDENTS ATTENDED FROM THESE HIGH SCHOOLS: Augusta, Bonner Springs, Burlington, Canton-Galva, Chanute, Council Grove, De Soto, Eisenhower (Goddard), Herington, Jefferson County North, Macksville, Maize South, Manhattan, McPherson, Mill Valley, Moscow, Olathe East, Olathe North, Osage City, Paola, Prairie View, Pratt, Sabetha, Satanta Junior/Senior, Seaman, Shawnee Mission West, Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, Southwestern Heights, Spring Hill, Stafford, Topeka West, Wichita East, Wichita West, Wichita Heights, Winfield

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