ACTE Announces Louisiana Teacher as National Award Finalist
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2018
Contact: Jarrod Nagurka
jnagurka@acteonline.org, 703-683-9312
ACTE Announces Louisiana Teacher as National Award Finalist
ALEXANDRIA, VA—Today, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced Lauren Beard Emerson, teacher at Rapides High School in Lecompte, Louisiana, as the 2018 ACTE Region IV New Teacher of the Year. This award recognizes new CTE teachers who have made significant contributions toward innovative and unique career and technical education programs and shown a professional commitment early in their careers.
Emerson is an active member of the Louisiana Association of Career and Technical Education (LACTE), Louisiana Agriscience Teacher Association (LATA), ACTE, and the National Association of Agriscience Educators (NAAE). In 2016, Emerson was chosen as the participant from Louisiana in NAAE’s Teachers Turn the Key professional development program that focuses on providing early career agriculture teachers with the tools and support they need to grow and flourish in the profession.
In 2017 she was chosen to be an Ag Ambassador by NAAE, which allowed her to learn new ways to include inquiry into her program. Emerson presented a workshop at the NAAE Convention about using inquiry to teach biofuels. Emerson currently represents Region IV as an ACTE Fellow. She also represents Louisiana and Region II on the NAAE Member Services Committee, researching tactics to prevent teacher burnout, and serves Louisiana on the Region IV Resolutions Committee.
This past year, Emerson was chosen as an Agriscience Teacher Ambassador, and was able to attend a training during the summer. This helped her to focus on increasing student engagement and student success. Emerson teaches a hands-on curriculum that allows the students to be involved and to take charge of their learning processes.
As an agriculture teacher, Emerson requires each of her students to participate in a Supervised Agriculture Experience, SAE. Through these SAE programs, many students have successfully completed FFA awards including proficiency awards and state FFA degrees.
Emerson has industry representatives come to her class as guest speakers, allowing students to see the opportunities that await them after high school. She also plans field trips for students to see industry in action. With these connections, she has been able to add a Certification for Manufacturing (C4M) course. As a teacher, it is essential for Emerson to promote student success in her classroom. This means providing every possible opportunity for career learning and training that will help her students get a job immediately following graduation.
Emerson is one of 5 finalists for the 2019 national title. The national winner will be announced at the ACTE Awards Banquet, a dinner and award presentation recognizing the best CTE educators in the country. The event will take place on Wednesday evening, November 28, during ACTE’s CareerTech VISION 2018 in San Antonio, TX. The Awards Banquet is sponsored by Express Employment Professionals, the US Army, CareerSafe, and Stratasys. For more information about the ACTE Excellence Awards, visit our webpage.
###
About ACTE
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the nation’s largest not-for-profit association committed to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. ACTE represents the community of CTE professionals, including educators, administrators, researchers, school counselors, guidance and career development professionals and others at all levels of education. ACTE is committed to excellence in providing advocacy, public awareness and access to resources, professional development and leadership opportunities.