Educators are Essential Conference held in Columbus
The Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce held the event to support and show appreciation to all of the dedicated educators in the community.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Educators’ lives often revolve around their students.
But paying that attention back to educators who give so much is just as important.
That’s why the Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce hosted its “Educators are Essential Conference.”
Without educators, communities wouldn’t have the foundation of knowledge they need to grow, said Carrie Martin, The Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce director.
“Unsung heroes,” Martin said. “I mean, really, they are so underappreciated. They set the ground for everything that adults are.”
Columbus High School assistant principal, Kyetta Skinner-Richardson, said she loves to help grow the future.
“We know the children are the future,” Skinner-Richardson said. “So, I do it because I know I’m growing those who are going to be my doctors, my lawyers, the people who are going to represent me in the community. So, I just love what I do.”
Penny Mansell, the Director of the Center for Education Support with the School of Education at MUW, said educators make an everlasting impact on the communities they serve.
“Our teachers are so incredibly important to what they do for our students, and our schools, and those families that they go home to,” Mansell said. “When they believe in those kids, and that’s their first priority, those kids are more ready to learn. They’re ready to listen. They’re ready to grow. And so, these teachers aren’t just teaching the academics. They’re also building up their social emotional skills and their self-esteem. And so, for the teachers to be able to do that back into the community, we have to also uplift the educators.”
Mansell said uplifting educators is vital to keeping them in the field.
“We know teachers are leaving the profession in droves,” Mansell said. “And events like this help us give back to our teachers and educators so that they’re more confident in their roles. And they know that the community is supporting them, and we’re there for them, and that we really believe in what they do. They are incredibly important to the future of our community and our region. And we have to have educators that are in the field, and that feel uplifted and celebrated so that they stay in those professions.”
Skinner-Richardson said students are powered by teachers.
“Children are the source,” Skinner-Richardson said. “But I tell my teachers, you are the power of the source. This sometimes can feel like an arduous task. So, when people give us things back, we’re saying, ‘Somebody sees us.'”
This celebration of educators was possible because of public-private partnerships between communities and schools.
Martin said this sharing of resources and information could mean the world to a young person.
“It starts young,” Martin said. “I can remember when I was in third grade and a vet came and visited my class and I was like, ‘Oh, I might want to be a veterinarian.’ I mean, obviously it didn’t work out, but, you know, get them thinking about that at an early age. Get them thinking about all the opportunities out there.”
Skinner-Richardson said it takes a village to make children successful.
“When you have community buy-in, which is the village, the village can nurture the child,” Skinner-Richardson said. “And we know it takes a village to make these children successful.”
In the 2020 – 2021 school year, 8% of teachers, and 12% of private school teachers in the US left the profession according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
