With the new school year in full swing many changes have been made from last year including block scheduling, construction on the building, and staff. Numerous teachers retired last year, leaving holes that need to be filled. Over 15 new teachers have been hired, each teaching various subjects. Some of those teachers include Jenna Smith and Katherine Blackard.
“I’m excited to get the kids in my pathway involved in a club, compete, and I’m just really excited to be a part of the Blue Devil family and go to all of the sporting events and just get involved in all of the things going on,” Business and Marketing teacher Jenna Smith said.
Smith and other teachers look forward to creating bonds with their students and showing up for their school in sporting events.
“What makes me excited about this upcoming school year is being able to connect with a whole new group of students and helping guide them for life after graduation and just life outside of school,” Foods and Nutrition teacher Katherine Blackard said.
The job a teacher has is to prepare students for life after high school and give them lessons and use those lessons to help them find careers in a field they are interested in.
“I hope that they take safety and sanitation aspects from foods and nutrition and learn how to be safe and cook safe foods and cook nutritious meals,” Blackard said. “For principals of hospitality, just learning different careers within the industry as well as just understanding what the hospitality industry is.”
Not every student will know what they want to be in high school or even college. The lessons students learn in their elective classes might be the ones that help them the most in finding a career they enjoy.
“I almost failed out of college,” Blackard said. “I took a personality test through my college and career center at EKU, and the things I ended up doing in my free time like interior design, sewing, cooking could be taught and I knew that I wanted to be a teacher, so I transitioned over into that major and never looked back.”
The more passionate a person is about something the more effort they put into it. Teachers are passionate about teaching, so they pour their life into their job. They help students become prepared for the future.
“[A student’s] worth isn’t determined by the education they have, but they have access to a lot of great education and tools here,” Smith said. “I hope the keep the skills that I teach them and we can all learn the standards that I’m teaching, but more than anything I hope they have the confidence to go into an interview or into work force that they’re interested in, be confident enough to introduce themselves, and know that they are capable and know that they deserve a seat at the table.”
Overall, Smith and Blackard are excited for their new start and can’t wait to leave a positive influence on the school. They hope students will take what they learned in the classroom and apply it to their lives outside of school.
