Hosts: John Hendron, Molly Kauffman
Guests: Suzanne Clemons, Moriah Miller, Stephanie Cody, and Becky Tomaso
Alabama faces one of the nation’s most severe teacher shortages — over 800 vacancies in early childhood and elementary alone. In this webinar, PDK International sits down with Alabama State Coordinator Suzanne Clemons and three standout teacher leaders — Becky Tomaso, Moriah Miller, and Stephanie Cody — to share how Educators Rising is turning today’s high school students into tomorrow’s educators. Hear how one program grew from 40 students to over 200, how students published their own bilingual children’s books, and why the best teacher recruiters in Alabama are the students themselves.
What you’ll hear:
- Why Stephanie tells teachers on the fence: *”Don’t look back. Jump in with both feet.”*
- How Mariah’s students turned a children’s literature competition into a fundraiser — pre-selling over 100 copies of their own published, illustrated books
- Becky on integrating AI literacy into future-teacher training through a National Science Foundation grant
- The moment a district realized its teachers didn’t reflect its students — and how Grow Your Own became the answer
- How students who weren’t traditionally seen as leaders are now running signing days, mentoring elementary kids, and getting hired as paraprofessionals before they graduate
- Why the curriculum matters, why community matters more, and what “signing day” looks like when 150 people show up to cheer future educators
Alabama went from fewer than 200 Educators Rising-affiliated students two years ago to roughly 600 today — with 1,300 attending state conferences this spring. This is what a movement looks like when it’s built on the right foundation.
Learn more and download the free Grow Your Own Playbook at educatorsrising.org.
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