NC Teacher Cadet - Calling Our Own to Transform Our Classrooms

Over 100 public school students made their way to Raleigh this past weekend for the first face to face North Carolina Teacher Cadet Conference in over three years.  The North Carolina Teacher Cadet is a class that high school students in public high schools can take to learn more about teaching as a profession.  Additionally, the program supports the development of leadership and citizenship as secondary components of the program.  The course has a heavy focus on critical thinking, reflection, writing, problem solving, creativity, collaboration, and communication.  The Teacher Cadet program has been around for several decades but with the challenges of putting a highly trained, quality teacher in every classroom, programs such as the North Carolina Teacher Cadet may be a solution to responding to the Human Capital needs in our public schools.  For schools to offer the North Carolina Teacher Cadet course, the instructors must attend a two day training to learn about both the program and curriculum.    In full disclosure, I also serve on the Teacher Cadet Cadre, the group responsible for creating and delivering the training.  

This year's conference was held at the Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh.  The conference is two days and designed to provide cadets an introduction to professional conference.  For many of the cadets who attended, this was the first time that they have been to Raleigh.  Many cadets even confided that this was the furthest that they have been away from their home in their lives.   

On both Friday and Saturday, cadets attend general sessions with a keynote speaker who  challenges them to think about their impact while inspiring them to become a high quality educator in the public classrooms of North Carolina. This year, Mr. Tabari Wallace, the 2018 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year, served as our opening keynote and fired cadets up by encouraging them to think differently to support the various challenges of creating classrooms where all students are included and have the ability to be successful.  He also shared the various components of Operation Polaris and outlined how these components will create classrooms where all students have opportunities to "learn, grow, and successfully transition to the post-secondary plan of their choice."  If you have ever had the opportunity to hear Mr. Wallace speak, you know that the cadets experienced an awakening and transformation as a result of Mr. Wallace's energy, passions, and commitment to improving learning outcomes for all students.  

Cadets also had the opportunity to visit with representatives from various Colleges of Education including Elizabeth City State, Western Carolina, UNC-Greensboro, Appalachian State, UNC-Pembroke, and UNC-Asheville.  For many cadets, this was their first time to learn about many of these universities.  The recruiters from the various universities remarked how impressed that the cadets were.  Cadets also had the opportunity engage in a Goosechase, a digital scavenger hunt tied to Peter Reynold's Book "Happy Dreamer."  This gave cadets the opportunity explore literacy though a children's book while expanding their creative thinking. 

On Saturday, the cadets elected state officers and heard from Freebird McKinney, the 2018 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year and the immediate previous North Carolina State Board of Education's Director of Legislative Affairs and Community Outreach. Mr. McKinney's keynote challenged cadets to understand the importance of the stories of their students and how educators can impact students.    Immediately after Mr. McKinney's keynote, cadets chose breakout sessions tied to the conference's theme "Making Your Mark."  These breakout sessions centered on communication, leadership, and impact.  

Cadets also had the opportunities to work with other cadets from around the state and learned about each other.  For many cadets, they made new friends and created lasting bonds through the conference.  The conference proved to be a transformative experience for cadets as they begin to see the larger picture of the importance of education in North Carolina and the role that they can play to ensure that all classrooms are staffed with highly effective and caring educators.  I was truly inspired by the insights of many of the cadets as well as their desire to become the best possible teacher for their students.  Be sure to check out the video below to see our cadets in action.

​The North Carolina Teacher Cadet program is administered by the North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children.