FORT MITCHELL, Ky. — Some students in northern Kentucky are going to Washington, D.C. this summer as a part of a program that hopes to address the national teacher shortage.

What You Need To Know

  • Northern Kentucky University is working to address a national teacher shortage through a partnership with a local high school

  • NKU is partnering with Beechwood's Educators Rising chapter, saying it wants to create a pipeline of future teachers

  • Students in the programs signed letters of intent to go into the college of education at NKU

  • Because of their performance at a state competition, Educators Rising students are headed to nationals this summer in Washington, D.C.

On Tuesday, they signed letters of intent to enroll at Northern Kentucky University to go into the field of education.

One of the students tells Spectrum News 1 she’s excited to have students of her own one day.

Madison Wells, a senior at Beechwood High School, said she appreciated the recognition.

“Teachers aren’t recognized as much as they should be,” Wells said. “Knowing that you’re going into education, having this rewarding job that no one else is really going into, because of different things in the world. To be able to have this recognition is something really special that I think should be held more often for people. I honestly wanted to be an educator since I was little.”

She got involved with Educators Rising, a national organization aimed at creating a clear pathway for high school students who want to become teachers in hopes of increasing teacher diversity and quality.

She’s now co-president of the chapter.

“We dive deeper into the meaning of being a teacher. We get different opportunities that others don’t get. We get to go into classrooms, we get to observe. We get to go teach,” Wells said. “Honestly, I was on the fence about joining at first. And I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if this is what I want to do.’ But honestly it really helped develop my want to be a teacher even more. I’m not good at learning on the screen. So to have that in-person feel of doing an in-person class, it was just a whole new experience I wouldn’t have gotten. And I’m so forever thankful for it.”

NKU, which is partnering with Beechwood’s Educators Rising chapter, says it wants to create a pipeline of future teachers.

“We are experiencing a teacher shortage, still. And this club not only educates students about the profession, but it gives them opportunities to engage in some of the work that teachers do.,” said Ginni Fair, dean of the NKU College of Education. “It was really, really rewarding to see this many students committing to the profession. The profession needs good, quality teachers. And it was extra special to see them committing to NKU in the College of Education.”

Because of their performance at a state competition, Wells and other Educators Rising students are headed to nationals this summer in Washington DC. It’s the first time they’ll be able to attend, thanks to a $6,500 check from NKU, which was also presented on Tuesday.

Wells will be the delegate for Kentucky. That’s where her focus is now, but she’s also got an eye toward the future, entering a workforce that needs people like her.

“It does give me more of a passion to do it. It gives me more of an opportunity. I love kids. So to be able to know that I’m going to help the new generations, be able to help them strive for excellence, be able to help them grow as individuals and students, is such a rewarding and heartwarming feeling that I’m so excited to do,” Wells said.

But before teaching, she’s still got a lot of learning left to do, and a lot of time to do it.

In the three years since the inception of Beechwood’s Educators Rising chapter, its students have claimed four state championships, and 47 students have qualified for the national conference.

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