From the Director
Fall is here, and Mississippi's public schools are in session for what should be a great year of learning.
We're happy to announce the 2022 Mississippi Association for Career and Technical Education Summer Conference is scheduled for July 25-27 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi. We're looking forward to seeing our career and technical educators in person next year. Be on the lookout for more information.
Speaking of MS ACTE, I’m proud of our organization for wrapping up another successful conference this past quarter. Our second-straight virtual event provided more than 1,300 people approximately 115 breakout sessions on the newest best practices in CTE. Our keynote speaker, revered author and educator Dr. Adolph Brown III, inspired us all with his message about CTE being the key to success for students’ lives.
Our professional learning staff spent the first quarter of the new academic year working with a variety of educators from across the state. Our New Teacher Induction staff offered several Methods training programs for the program’s 10th cohort this past quarter, and regional sessions for these new CTE teachers were recently held. Coaches are also providing site visits and observations to assist these professionals as they transition into classroom leaders. Speaking of CTE, our CTE Administrator Endorsement Academy also held boot camp meetings last quarter, and additional training sessions will follow this fall and winter.
Our online teaching programs began in September, and the Research and Curriculum Unit will have new courses opening through the spring. One sign of the times is our need to open a second Certification of Online Learning class, which helps educators learn to use Canvas and become effective online teachers. Please visit our online learning schedule for more information about these classes and other offerings.
We also launched Coach U: Focused for the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District in August, which is providing tailored support to train instructional coaches, lead teachers and administrators on the best practices for instructional coaches. Future opportunities for tailored support are available, so be sure to contact us for more information about our focused programming.
The RCU is also hosting quarterly special educator meetings for the Mississippi Department of Education this year. The September meeting in Jackson was a success, and November’s meeting in Meridian will also be very beneficial for all in attendance. We’re also facilitating 12 professional learning trainings across the state for MDE’s Office of School Improvement this academic year and will host the next major convening Jan. 25-27 at the Mississippi State University Riley Center in Meridian. We’re also hosting the Early College Leaders Assembly in November at River City Early College High School in Vicksburg and the Innovative Leadership Summit at Tupelo Public School District, a noted District of Innovation, in February.
Finally, we welcomed many new employees to the RCU this past quarter.
- Altonique Binion is a project manager for the GEAR UP initiative. She is a former English instructor and school counselor with 19 years of experience who previously coordinated curriculum for the Creating Empowerment Through Autonomy Foundation.
- Lizzie Brandon is a project manager for the RCU’s Center for Cyber Education, where she supports the development and implementation of Mississippi’s K-12 computer science initiative, CS4MS. She previously taught middle school science for the Houston School District.
- Ashley Edwards is a new project manager in professional learning and school innovations. She previously taught science courses for eight years in Mississippi public school districts, including Pontotoc, Oktibbeha and Webster counties.
- Kindra Mason is a project manager in professional learning and school innovations who is helping educators produce innovative teaching strategies and diversity in learning. She spent 22 years as a teacher, coach and high school principal in Mobile, Alabama.
- Amanda Taylor is an RCU CCE project manager who also assists with the implementation of CS4MS. She spent 12 years as a middle school and high school math teacher in Columbus, Madison and Tupelo and served two years as an elementary school counselor.
- Tammie Tubbs is a new project manager in professional learning and school innovations who serves as an instructional coach responsible for training and supporting Mississippi’s CTE teachers. She has years of experience as a family and consumer sciences educator in Mississippi and North Carolina. In 2018, she was named Outstanding New Teacher by the SOCSD.
As always, our primary point of contact remains through Help Desk. You can also call our office at 662.325.2510, but please continue to monitor our online channels of information distribution, including our website, newsletters, social media accounts - Facebook, Twitter and Instagram - and emails.
We're excited to continue serving Mississippi's teachers, and we look forward to staying busy this fall and winter!
| 
