Three students won first place at the Educators Rising state competition and conference for their video Inside Our School. Their video showcased how teachers incorporate project-based learning in their classes at the high school.

Kamilah Kirkwood (12), Isabel DiSalvo (12) and Carleigh Lindsay (11) are all enrolled in Education and Teaching which is a course taught by Ms. Mary Favazza and designed for students pursuing a career in education. They are also involved in Educators Rising, a national student organization for future educators.

On Wednesday, April 11, the Pattonville students attended a state conference where they participated in competitive events in which aspiring educators got a chance to showcase their skills in education.

Family and Consumer Science teacher Ms. Mary Favazza explained the event.

“Isabel DiSalvo, Kamilah Kirkwood, and Carleigh Lindsay participated in the Inside Our Schools competition and they needed to showcase a new instructional method that’s being used in the district,” Favazza said.

The trio interviewed different teachers who have incorporated project-based learning into their class.

“They created a 5-minute video incorporating project-based learning that they presented at the conference and won the competition.”

DiSalvo said she really enjoyed working on this project.

“We went to the University of Missouri to compete last Wednesday and there were two other people in our category and we ended up winning first place which was really exciting,” DiSalvo said. “All of the teachers were really helpful.”

Kirkwood loved having partners to compete with.

“It was really nice working in a group,” she said. “It made the work a lot easier and it was nice having different opinions when we were putting the video together.”

Lindsay said Educators Rising is a great opportunity.

“To be able to compete and create something that people actually found interesting about our school was a really great experience and helped me appreciate the program more.”