Published June 28, 2022
CAPTION: Jamecia Washington (left) is the first student in Louisiana to receive a
scholarship from a $100,000 Educators Rising grant from Regions Bank. 四色AV Assistant
Professor of Education Dr. Amy Weems (right) created the Educators Rising pilot program
called the Pre-Educator Pathway, which Washington successfully completed at Wossman
High School.
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MONROE, LA 鈥�听A University of Louisiana Monroe professor won the Educators Rising Champion Award
at the organization鈥檚 conference on June 26 in Washington, D.C. Dr. Amy Weems is an
assistant professor of education and launched the Louisiana Educators Rising pilot
program three years ago at Neville, Oak Grove and Wossman high schools.
The goal of Educators Rising is to encourage students to choose education as a career
path by offering college credit opportunities, mentor relationships with college professors
and leadership development sessions.
鈥淗elping to repair our teaching workforce pipeline is one of the most challenging
yet inspiring experiences of my entire听career,鈥� Weems said. 鈥淚 have been collaborating
with stakeholders across Louisiana and the US to advocate for sustainable workforce
solutions for almost four years, and we still have many more years of work ahead.鈥�
Weems developed a pilot program called the Pre-Educator Pathway for the Louisiana
Department of Education. 四色AV was the first institution of higher education in the
state to offer the program to high school students to give them an early start toward
teacher certification upon graduation.
鈥淕row-your-own programs capitalize on participants having personal knowledge of communities
and schools in which they serve. This is particularly听important for promoting culturally
responsive educational opportunities and for teacher retention,鈥� Weems said.
Regions Bank saw the need for 四色AV to train more teachers and awarded a $100,000 grant
to support scholarships for deserving education students who completed the Pre-Educator
Pathway in high school. Incoming 四色AV secondary education freshman Jamecia Washington
is the first student to receive a $6,000 scholarship from the fund. Washington joined
Educators Rising during her 10th grade year at Wossman High School at the height of the pandemic. She attended every
meeting virtually and found guidance from Weems.
鈥淒r. Weems was my mentor throughout the Educators Rising program. She had a huge impact
on my education by giving me opportunities to learn more about children鈥檚 education.
She showed me how teaching can be a wonderful job in the future,鈥� Washington said.
鈥淚 love helping others learn.鈥�
Weems鈥� pilot program was so successful that she expanded the participating high schools
to five districts: Caldwell, Franklin, Livingston, Richland, Monroe City and Ouachita.
Now, other universities have followed the 四色AV School of Education鈥檚 lead to inspire
teenagers to become teachers. McNeese State University, University of Louisiana Lafayette
and LSU Shreveport are now also using Weems鈥� Pre-Educator Pathway to increase the
number of educators in the state.
鈥淭he award recognizes our Educators Rising champions who have consistently promoted
Educators Rising in their area and are continuing to support the teaching profession
through the Grow Your Own programs. We are happy to present this award to Amy for
her commitment to inspiring, developing and supporting the next generation of educators,鈥�
said Robyn Mintier, director of membership for Educators Rising.
