Monticello Live

The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announces Amber Hairston, a Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) teacher at Monticello High School in Monticello, Arkansas, as the 2014 ACTE Region IV New Teacher of the Year. The ACTE New Teacher of the Year award recognizes CTE teachers with 3-5 years’ experience (at the secondary or postsecondary level) who have made significant contributions toward innovative and unique career and technical education programs and shown a professional commitment early in their careers.

During Amber Hairston’s four years as a FACS teacher at Monticello High School, membership in the school’s FCCLA chapter has doubled. Four members in the chapter qualified to move on to National FCCLA Students Taking Action with Recognition (STAR) events after winning gold in their district for the 2013-2014 school year. One of her students ran for and was elected district president in FCCLA. Inside Hairston’s classroom, students are required to take ownership of their learning. Real-world examples and projects require the student to be the employee within the content field: from food preparation to parenting, teaching and personal finance, students are given realistic tools and goals to simulate real-world experiences.

Hairston has pursued opportunities to further her professional development and enhance best practices not just for her classes, but also for the entire school. When Monticello High School was selected by the Southern Regional Education Board to pilot the Literacy and Mathematics Design Collaborative, Hairston was recruited to serve on the committee to pilot the program and was trained on how to implement Common Core State Standards into the FACS classroom. Since then, Hairston has presented trainings at the national level on Common Core State Standards and incorporating FCCLA into the FACS classroom. Suzanne Jones, program advisor at the Arkansas Department of Education, says of Hairston: “She is a dedicated and energetic teacher who strives to stay current in her profession and promote the skills, values and knowledge of Family and Consumer Sciences.”

Hairston is one of five finalists for the 2015 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, In November.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2014 at 6:37 am and is filed under Monticello School News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.