Five Erath High School students made Vermilion Parish history this month as they became the first ever group of aspiring teachers in the school district to earn the Educators Rising “Classroom Culture” Micro-Credential! The five included three juniors -Morgan Conner, Kathryn Mire, Michelle Spaziante as well as, two seniors Anne Renee Toups and Aliyah Wyble.
Micro-credentials, or digital badges, are performance-based assessments in which rising educators can showcase their growing skills. The “Classroom Culture” Micro-credential is the first in a series of five different “Beginning to Teach” credentials offered through the Educators Rising curriculum for preservice educators. Each micro-credential submission requires an estimated 5-15 hours of work.
Submissions, in the form of portfolio pieces that include classroom observation hours, reflections and written essays, are reviewed by expert educators, ensuring that achieving a micro-credential represents a meaningful early step on the path to accomplished teaching. The micro-credential on “Classroom Culture” allows aspiring educators to explore the five critical components of positive classroom culture, which include: honoring student experience, thoughtful classroom setup and structure, shared inquiry and dialogue, social and emotional safety and values-based behavior management.
The Educators Rising course is offered at Erath High School and Abbeville High. Amy LeBlanc teaches the course at EHS, and Carrie Varino teaches the course at AHS. Next year, the district is expanding the program to North Vermilion High School.
Vermilion Parish has partnered with LSUA to recognize the micro-credential achievement through a dual enrollment course. Students earning the credential will earn college credit for one of the introductory education courses offered through the College of Health and Human Services, School of Education.
For more information on Educators Rising, visit educatorsrising.org. For more information about the micro-credential process, visit educatorsrising.org/micro-credentials.