Vandy Moore took the stage as the keynote speaker for the 2025 Educators Rising regional conference at Arkansas Tech University with an outlook on the teaching profession that was equal parts honest and optimistic.
“Teaching is not what it was,” said Moore. “It’s ever-changing, which I feel makes it ever-interesting.”
Approximately 220 high school students attended the Educators Rising event at ATU on Thursday, Oct. 23. The conference was hosted by the ATU College of Education and Health.
Moore, who holds two degrees from Arkansas Tech and was named 2022 Russellville School District teacher of the year, admitted she has observed frustration among her fellow educators as she has made her way through an 18-year career that has provided her with opportunities to teach every grade from kindergarten through sixth.
She said that frustration is caused by unmet expectations, so she sought to provide the potential future teachers in her audience with an accurate view of what it means to be a teacher by describing the profession in four words.
Moore told the audience that teachers must be inventors (lifelong learners who grow through trial and error as curricula and standards change), lighthouses (providing students with structure and safety), farmers (knowing what each student needs and tending to them accordingly while making a daily investment, even when there are no immediate signs of growth) and cups (intentionally refilling their own spirit through self-care).
“We’re meant to complete each other,” said Moore. “We’re meant to sharpen each other, and nowhere is that more true than in the field of education. I am excited for you and your early interest in becoming a teacher.”
Additional conference speakers included Dr. Tim Carter, dean of the ATU College of Education and Health, and Dr. Ellen Treadway, head of the ATU Department of Teaching and Educational Leadership.
The theme of the conference was “Teach with Purpose, Lead with Passion.”
Students representing 15 high schools learned about public speaking and finding their purpose. They engaged in a student panel discussion and took a tour of the ATU campus.
While the students were attending breakout sessions, their teacher leaders had the opportunity to participate in sessions on mindfulness and self-care and TRIO Student Support Services.
After lunch at Chambers Cafeteria, the high school students attended a campus information fair at the Doc Bryan Student Services Center Rotunda.
According to information provided by the organization, Educators Rising is “a career and technical education movement that aims to inspire high school and college students to serve their communities by entering the field of education.”
ATU, the Arkansas Department of Education and the Walton Family Foundation are among the entities engaged in a partnership that seeks to establish more Educators Rising chapters at high schools around the state, update the curriculum for introduction to education classes at high schools and support competitions for potential future teachers.
Learn more about Educators Rising in Arkansas at https://sites.google.com/pdarkansas.net/edrisingarkansas/home.
Learn more about the ATU College of Education and Health at www.atu.edu/ceh.
