If you are reading this story, you support community journalism. We need donations to serve this community and stay in business. Please go to this link to donate to support Sara, Ryn, Cuyler and Annalynn: tinyurl.com/y4u7stxj

McKenna Rosty-Unfred grew up playing school. Now, the high school senior will get her own turn leading a classroom this fall.

Eudora’s teaching pathway is paving the way for young people to take up careers in education, and restoring their faith in the field. 

This will be Katelyn Kellerman’s second year teaching the pathway, but the program has been available since 2019 when MaryJo Swann brought the state’s program, Teaching/Training, to the district.

Five years ago, six students started in the Eudora program. Since then, 18 have completed the pathway. At least three of these students have returned to work in the district. 

As 86% of public schools across the country reported struggling to hire enough teachers last year, those involved locally see the teaching pathway as playing a critical role in the future of education.

Students initially take career/life development and lifespan development classes. Traditionally, once they’re juniors, they take teaching as a career followed by a teaching internship their senior year. Students can also take the teaching as a career course as a senior, but won’t be able to also enroll in the internship.

Kellerman said she wishes she had the pathway when she was in high school. It is a simplified student-teaching experience when students are in their senior year, so not only does it give them experience in teaching, it gives them professional job experience, she said. 

Students also get to interview school officials, like Superintendent Stu Moeckel, to see how schools run behind the scenes. 

“If nothing else, even the kids who take it and say, ‘I don’t think teaching is what I want to do,’ they have a greater appreciation for what it takes to be a teacher,” she said. 

The end goal is trying to get kids excited about teaching while training them so they want to come back and serve their community, she said. Students also have the option to do their internships at out-of-district schools, she said. 

During the internship portion, students spend time in both the elementary and secondary level, so they’re able to break down lessons for all ages.

Rosty-Unfred, Andrew Lord and Abby Adams are incoming seniors who will continue in the pathway this school year. 

They all agreed teaching is a calling and, without the passion, they probably wouldn’t be where they are. 

Rosty-Unfred hopes to teach kindergarten while Lord and Adams have their hearts set on teaching high schoolers. 

During their junior years, they observed various classes and grades. They will now move on to planning lessons for a more hands-on role this year. 

Rosty-Unfred hopes to bring imagination and creativity to her kindergarteners in the age of technology, especially because her desire to teach came from growing up playing school.

“I want to be able to nurture the kids’ creativity, not only in their learning, because imagination is just like a lesson – like playing teacher, I did that so much as a kid,” she said. “They don’t do that as much because they have games.” 

Adams agreed and said learning about how to avoid burnout and speaking up for yourself and your peers is something that will serve them for the rest of their careers. The passion her generation is bringing to the table, paired with their willingness to advocate for themselves, is what makes her most motivated for the future, she said. 

Adams is not discouraged by conversations about low pay for teachers, because it’s a stable job that she will enjoy going to every day.

Although many people discuss the difficulty of the education field right now, Rosty-Unfred said she is confident her generation will be the ones to help build up students and their fellow teachers. 

Having these classes available now sets them up for a strong start in college, Lord said. 

The teaching pathway gives students a chance to explore their career options before even reaching college when people can still be trying to figure out a passion, Adams said. 

“I know a lot of students will – they’ll be set on something, and then they’ll actually learn about it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, wait, this isn’t what I want to do,” she said. “It’s just a way to ensure that you want to do it if it’s something that you’re already set on or it opens a new possibility if you’re not so sure about what you want.” 

Lord said it’s given him even more respect for teachers, which he already had in the first place. It has shown him just how much work is involved even when the students go home for the day, he said. 

Todd Roberts, director of the Kansas Future Teacher Academy, is focused on making sure young people are inspired to enter the education field amid the negativity surrounding the job. 

The academy gives high school students a look into the industry in hopes of building up their careers before they even start. Students get to stay on the Emporia State University campus for five days of presentations from other educators and professionals. They learn everything from teaching social and emotional learning, project-based learning, creating an inclusive classroom and active engagement. 

Roberts hopes the academy can teach young people that, although it isn’t the easiest job, it is a fulfilling and rewarding profession, he said. The academy helps them figure out what they’re interested in and how they can be productive in the field, he said. 

Lord, Adams and Rosty-Unfred all participated in this year’s academy and agreed it brought them friendships and knowledge they will carry with them for their own careers.

The program has increased in participation from 60 students in 2022 to over 140 students coming this year from high schools all over the state. 

Adams said being surrounded by so many future teachers was inspiring and eye-opening. 

“They make teaching even more desirable than it already was for me,” she said. 

Roberts said although there might be fewer young people going into the field, the ones who are dedicated are passionate and driven. 

What sets this generation of educators apart is their willingness to advocate for themselves and those around them, he said. They have a desire to be empathetic and focus on social-emotional learning, he said. 

“I think there’s going to be a little bit of a shift in the coming years where, you know, like I said, students are wanting to give back, they want to have a sense of purpose. That’s what we’re seeing in a lot of the students,” he said. 

Reaching students while they’re still in high school helps inspire them from the beginning, and classes like Kellerman’s teaching pathway show them what it is actually like to be in a classroom, he said. 

When thinking about the fact they could be teaching on their own in just a few short years, the Eudora students agreed it can seem intimidating, but it’s also refreshing to know they will bring a fresh perspective to the field. 

“I feel like teachers – next to your parents or whoever raises you – like teachers also raise you,” Adams said. 

Both Adams and Rosty-Unfred hope to come back to the district to teach after college, they said. 

“I never realized, like, just how passionate I am about teaching until I was talking about it,” Adams said. 

Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].