波尔克州立教育的学生被评为卡尔顿帕尔莫小学年度最佳员工

茱莉亚·巴雷特在拿到学位之前就已经让教育领域的专业人士赞叹不已了. She was named School-Related Employee of the Year at Carlton Palmore Elementary, where she serves as a paraeducator while pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at Polk State College.

But Barrett is no stranger to Polk State College or Polk County Public Schools. 2001年，她在从祖国洪都拉斯前往探望移民到迈阿密的母亲的航班上，遇到了国际信仰组织的一位大使，随后在当时的波尔克社区学院开始了她的高等教育之旅.

“My English was really, really bad – I hardly understood anything,” Barrett recalled. 但他向我解释说，他是通过一笔助学金把学生带到波尔克社区学院来的，这笔助学金将为国际学生提供州内学费.”

Life-changing opportunity

她和妈妈一起用假期的一部分时间参观了波尔克社区学院，并最终搬到了美国.S. to pursue her degree.

Barrett explained that although it was a life-changing opportunity, the grant funding only covered so much, and obtaining scholarships proved difficult as an international student. As an oboe player in the band and a singer in the choir, 波尔克州立音乐系为她提供了奖学金，以支持她的其余学业.

“Polk State is the affordable option, and the people really care about you – that’s what got me to graduation debt-free.”

她于2004年毕业，获得计算机网络工程理学副学士学位.

“相信国际让我来到这里，但我在澳门新葡京博彩得到的支持让我到达了终点线,” Barrett said. “Polk State is the affordable option, and the people really care about you – that’s what got me to graduation debt-free.”

巴雷特遇到了她的丈夫，并和婆婆一起在海湾社区护理中心工作, 在加入三县人类服务之前，她担任了六年多的家庭支持专家.

“This is when I realized I wanted to go back to school,” she said. “At first, I wanted to get a degree in psychology. 我一直与孩子和家庭打交道，我知道我想做一些与孩子有关的事情.”

“Then I had my own kids,” she exclaimed. “I missed my girls so much, especially during the summer, 所以我把注意力转向找一份既能有时间又能和孩子们在一起的工作. 就在那时，我的岳母建议我在波尔克县的学校里找工作, and I am glad that I did.”

An amazing moment

In 2020, Barrett became a paraeducator at Griffin Elementary. Then, COVID hit.

“我和一位四年级的老师一起工作，当她或她的家人生病时, she would be out for 10 days at a time,” she explained. “I was filling in and serving as the teacher for the class.”

At the time, Griffin was also a D turnaround school. 县和州的行政人员经常访问，观察指示和监测进展情况.

“有一天，有人在教室里观察我，问我的校长为什么我不是老师,” Barrett said. “It was an amazing moment.”

如果这还不足以激励巴雷特参加教师教育项目, her principal at Griffin continued to encourage her.

She enrolled at Polk State in the summer of 2023 and joined the first cohort of the Para Pathway Program. This allows paraeducators to continue their education while working full-time.

“我在不到一年的时间里修完了48个学分，并在我工作的学校完成了实地研究.”

“我在不到一年的时间里修完了48个学分，并在我工作的学校完成了实地研究,” Barrett explained. “I also completed my General Knowledge exams and K-6 Subject Area exams.”

她已经通过佛罗里达州教育部申请了实习途径，这将使她能够在2025年毕业前完成实习，同时获得教师的报酬.

Now at Carlton Palmore, 她对她的校长和管理人员在整个过程中一直给予的支持表示感谢.

“就在我进行实地调研和观察的同一天，他们就给了我一个惊喜，授予我年度最佳员工,” she said. “我的校长和副校长总是让我开心，他们总是在我进行实地研究和观察之前给我鼓励, and this was the greatest honor of all.”

Polk State preparation

巴雷特说，澳门新葡京博彩的教育项目为她进入课堂做了充分的准备.

“通过这个项目，我得到的最有力的工具之一就是能够在孩子们所在的地方见到他们,” she said. “我们为课堂做好了准备，因为我们学会了如何衡量学生在教育过程中的水平. From testing to planning, we are given the tools to help them get to the next level.”

她指出，那些“啊哈”的时刻是她在与学生合作中最有价值的时刻.

“We have great professors who know what they’re doing, 这包括督促我们在担任全职教师之前完成所有的背书和认证.”

“每个老师都会说一些澳门新葡京博彩学生真正有所收获的时刻,” she explained. “我喜欢用他们自己的经历来教他们大的概念，用他们熟悉的小东西，把我想教他们的东西联系起来.”

Barrett added that educators must remain learners themselves.

“We have to work – we sweat for this degree,” she said of her and her peers in the Education Program. “As future educators, we have to be committed to our own learning.”

她称赞波尔克州立教育计划将关键认可能力纳入核心课程, 是什么让毕业生带着一大堆已经完成的证书进入教室. 教师们可能会发现，当他们已经在课堂上工作的时候，他们正在努力获得这些认可和认证, but not Polk State graduates.

“We have great professors who know what they’re doing, 这包括督促我们在担任全职教师之前完成所有的背书和认证,” Barrett said. “我看到许多教师在已经在教书的情况下，还需要获得证书，这给他们带来了额外的压力. I am grateful that our professors push and help us in that regard.”

Polk State integrates English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL); Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM); Exceptional Student Education (ESE); and Reading K-12 endorsements. This customized, 以标准为基础的方法旨在为毕业生提供就业竞争优势.

波尔克州立教育项目的167多名毕业生目前在近60所波尔克县公立学校任教. Others are in private schools, other districts, or out of state.

For 2024, three graduates – Tracy Garcia, Heather Kunze, and Ray – were named Teacher of the Year at their schools. 在校学生Julia Barnett也被评为年度学校相关员工.

“We may complain along the way because it is a rigorous program,” Barrett said with a laugh, 但当我们进入教室的第一天，它就会让我们成为最好的老师.”