Future Teachers Find Inspiration in Washington, D.C.

The future of K-12 education in the region is in good hands, as evidenced by the enthusiasm of local high school and Stanislaus State students who attended the Educators Rising National Conference in Washington, D.C., from June 27 to July 1.

The group of 42 attendees, who participated in sessions during the day and enjoyed some of the sights in the nation's capital in the late afternoon, included five members of Stan State's Aspiring Educators, a student organization sponsored by the California Teachers Association that supports future teachers in the state.

Thirty Modesto High School students are members of the newly formed chapter of Educators Rising, a national network and movement sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) International that provides middle school, high school and college students with early exposure to the teaching profession.

Both local clubs were started by Stan State Assistant Professor of Teacher Education Ana York, who secured a We Will! grant to fund the trip to the national conference for three years.

York learned about Educators Rising while recruiting teachers to support Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) students as part of another grant. She started the Modesto High chapter with the help of teachers she'd mentored as new education professionals when she worked for Modesto City Schools as an elementary and later as a high school teacher.

"This conference really inspired me to continue my education and pursue my goal of being an elementary school teacher. I left feeling really inspired and motivated."

Isabel Aguilar, Liberal Studies Major

She then collaborated with students to start the club at Stan State, and after the national conference, both York and her Aspiring Educators have big plans.

"They have college competitions, but none of our students competed," York said. "This time around was more of an exploration. Now we know what to expect and what to do."

In addition to plans to compete next year, Stan State's Aspiring Educators club will be recruiting members during activities in the Quad on Warrior Wednesdays.

Meanwhile, York hopes to start Educators Rising chapters at other area high schools and at Modesto Junior College.

"I'm the Central Valley coordinator, and my goal is to start more chapters," said York, who took the first California chapter of Educators Rising to the national conference. "Then we can host a regional conference, hopefully at Stanislaus State. I want Stan State to be the representative, to bring students to our school and create this pathway."

In addition to that work, York has been an educator for more than 25 years and understands the value of experiential learning, such as attending a national conference.

"We listened to the 2023 National Education Association Teacher of the Year Rebecka Peterson, and it was mind-blowing," said Diana Hernandez, a Stan State

alumna from Merced who just completed an internship at Modesto's Eisenhut Elementary School and has been hired to continue teaching kindergarten there. "One day I'd like to be a success like her, such an impressive and powerful woman."

The conference introduced Hernandez to publishers and universities with advanced degree programs, which may be in her future. For now, she wants to teach.

"I want to be that support system for first-generation, Spanish-speaking communities, especially parents who don't speak English and don't know how to support their kids," said Hernandez, who graduated in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in liberal studies. "I didn't have that growing up. I was the interpreter between my teacher and my mom. I don't think parents should ever have their kids do that. I feel like I could have accomplished more if I'd had more support, and I want to be that support system for students."

"The biggest thing I got from the conference was seeing other people who are teaching because they care about the students. They want to be there. It reminded me I have that passion to work with students, and if I decide to do something else, I know there's always going to be a teaching aspect in what I do."

-Angela Huesca, Credential Candidate

After serving as last year's president of Stan State's Aspiring Educators chapter, Hernandez hopes to have Modesto High School Educators Rising members read in her kindergarten class.

"I want to mentor them as much as I can and help them navigate college," Hernandez said.

Stan State students served as mentors to the Modesto High students at the conference, including York's daughters Angelica and Angela Huesca, who both have one more semester in Stan State's single-subject credential program.

"It was so great to be a part of that, to see the group she started, to see her chapter represent California and to be in Washington, D.C. with all these kids, showing them a pathway, an opportunity that maybe they didn't think was possible," said Angelica Huesca, who earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in business from Stan State.

The conference offered something for her, too.

"I thought it would be more tailored to the high school group, but it was open to everyone, not only students at the college level but teachers like my mom," Angelica Huesca said. "There are teachers who've been doing this for years, learning new things."

Angelica Huesca was a substitute teacher for seven years before she enrolled in the credential program with her sister.

Angela Huesca earned a bachelor's degree in biology from UC Merced, worked in a lab for two years and spent seven years as a substitute teacher before deciding it was time to teach her own classes.

"I knew I wanted it to be a part of my story," Angela Huesca said. "I just didn't know where it fit into my life.

"The biggest thing I got from the conference was seeing other people who are teaching because they care about the students. They want to be there. It reminded me I have that passion to work with students, and if I decide to do something else, I know there's always going to be a teaching aspect in what I do."

Isabel Aguilar, a liberal studies major who plans to graduate next spring, always knew she'd teach. She was inspired by her elementary school teachers.

"All of them did an amazing job, but particularly my first-grade teacher," said Aguilar, a product of Atwater schools. "I remember her class being a warm and positive space for students, and that's what I hope to do one day in my future classroom."

The bilingual Aguilar spent the spring semester volunteering in a kindergarten class in a new dual-immersion language school that opened near her family home.

The Educators Rising conference was educational and more.

"This conference really inspired me to continue my education and pursue my goal of being an elementary school teacher," Aguilar said. "I left feeling really inspired and motivated."

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