After being involved with Future Teachers of America in high school, freshman history secondary education major Adam Moore was excited to be a part of Appalachian’s newly re-installed chapter of the statewide organization Student North Carolina Association of Educators, or SNCAE.
“Jan [Stanley, the director of the Appalachian Teaching Fellows,] approached me about being involved with the organization after she learned about my involvement with a similar program in high school,” Moore said. “I’m really excited to be president elect of the organization. It’s our first year on campus since about 2000, so I’m excited to help build the program.”
Before Stanley contacted Moore, she spoke with the Dean of the Reich College of Education, Robin Groce.
“Dr. Groce came to me because she knew I am involved with the Teaching Fellows program,” Stanley said. “I am now co-advising the chapter with Dr. Jim Brooks. He contacted Dr. Groce about bringing the chapter to Appalachian, but works off campus, so I’m the on-campus advisor.”
Since getting re-started, the organization has hosted informational seminars once a month for its members. They had their first meeting of the semester on Tuesday.
“The last chapter of the program just sort of fizzled out several years ago,” Moore said. “So we’re trying to plan really exciting things.”
Stanley believes being aware of the politics surrounding education is extremely important for future teachers.
“There have been a lot of education programs being cut, and a lot of funding has been cut by the state government,” Stanley said. “It’s important that students have a full understanding of what they could possibly face in the workforce.”
Moore said the chapter focuses its seminars around these issues.
“The SNCAE program focuses a lot on the politics behind being an educator in North Carolina, so as a chapter we try to invite speakers that will come and share their political experiences with us,” he said, “Since it is a college program through the professional program North Carolina Association of Educators, the three official, main pillars of focus are professional development, service and political advocacy.”
According to www.ncpublicschools.org, the amount of textbook funding per student has gone from $68 per student in 2008-09 to about $15 per student in 2014-15 and dollars for instructional supplies have been reduced from $59 per student in 2008-09 to about $28 per student in 2014-15.
Moore said he likes the opportunities the organization provides for education students.
“As a student, I like that this program allows students to be actively involved, rather than passively,” he said. “It is really set up to allow students to share their voice, and be as hands-on as possible.”
Junior history education major Troy Colvard is also a member of SNCAE, and said he was impressed by the correspondence and relationship of the chapter with its headquarters.
“At the last seminar I attended some representatives from headquarters came to campus, and talked to us about teacher rights,” Colvard said. “I thought it was cool because it showed how invested in their chapters they are. It was really meaningful.”
The next SNCAE meeting is Feb. 17 in the College of Education, and will feature a seminar on bullying.
“We are really excited to see how the organization can grow,” Moore said. “The next few semesters we are really going to work on expanding our network, and getting as many students involved as possible. Appalachian has awesome, dedicated future educators and I’m excited to work with them all.”
Story: Madison Barlow, Intern News Reporter