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Inspiring Tomorrow’s Educators: The Triumphs and Determination of Jimmy Carter’s TAFE team

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Educators: The Triumphs and Determination of Jimmy Carter’s TAFE team

TAFE is dedicated to promoting teaching as a career and supporting aspiring educators in Texas. TAFE provides opportunities for high school and college students interested in pursuing careers in education to connect with mentors, gain valuable experience through internships and workshops, participate in competitions, and engage in community service projects.
Jimmy Carter’s TAFE teams (TAFE Red and TAFE Gold) competed in area and regional competitions, bringing home numerous awards and qualifications due to their hard work and dedication.
Junior Audrey Brown has been in TAFE for three years and she has received significant praise for her awards.
“The event that I competed in was Exploring Non-core Subject Teaching Careers,” Brown says. “I was able to follow around Mr. Silva (the communications teacher on campus) and make a PowerPoint about what he does inside and outside of the classroom as a non-core teacher and present it at state. It was a lot of fun!”
Through this presentation, Brown qualified for the nationals.
Unlike in previous years, the team doesn’t plan on attending nationals this year due to the La Joya ISD not allowing out-of-state trips. But despite not going to nationals this year, the TAFE national qualifiers are still proud to have been bestowed the honor of being national qualifiers and know that the title can help them with future endeavors.
“When we recruited our kids, they were a little bummed out because of the news. I told them that the district just wouldn’t allow it despite advancing to nationals,” TAFE sponsor Brenda Treviño says. “However, they are still national qualifiers at the end of the day. They get the title, they get to put in their resumes, and they get to feel pride. And through all the competition they’ve experienced, I’m extremely proud of them and their accomplishments no matter what.”
Despite the setback, TAFE’s national qualifiers take pride in their accomplishments, knowing their achievements and talents will serve them well in future pursuits. With this in mind, the TAFE team continues to work hard to compete and bring back more titles, allowing them to always have something to look forward to in their own lives and something to be proud of in their current high school years.

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Life Skills Era: A Brief Insight into Care Academy

Life Skills Era: A Brief Insight into Care Academy

The Care Academy provides special education services within a dedicated building on campus. It offers a unique program designed to prepare students for real-world challenges. Under the guidance of mentors and assistants, students engage in a curriculum that simulates real-life scenarios, thereby fostering vital skills for future success.
Tania Mercado-Cantu, an instructor at the academy for four years, emphasizes the importance of self-reliance to her students, reflecting on the program’s commitment to practical learning.
Activities such as floral arrangement, cooking, and gardening are part of the curriculum, aiming to teach essential life skills. The academy’s recent initiative, the “Care Café,” is a practical exercise, simulating a café environment where students learn firsthand about managing a business and its potential challenges. This initiative and ongoing efforts like mentorship in real-life job settings underscore the academy’s dedication to empowering its students for independence. Despite setbacks such as the interruption of programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is optimism about their continuation, further aiding student development.
Mercado-Cantu finds joy in witnessing the students’ growth, underlining the program’s transformative impact.
The Care Academy’s success in fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment highlights its significant contribution to the student’s development, making it a cherished part of the Jimmy Carter campus community.

Posted inEducation

National Honor Society: Insights and Future Plans.

National Honor Society: Insights and Future Plans.

At Jimmy Carter Early College High School, the National Honor Society (NHS), led by Claudia Camarillo, focuses on community service, emphasizing support for the community’s most vulnerable. The NHS engages in various activities, such as blood drives, Thanksgiving meal distributions, toy drives, and assisting those in need. Camarillo expresses that the guiding principle behind their projects is the benefit to others, whether it’s supplying blood, food, toys, or support to animal shelters.

The program’s driving force is the desire to help, with projects often responding to immediate community needs. For instance, the NHS organizes seasonal projects to assemble Thanksgiving baskets for families, including a blood drive in October and a food drive in November. December collects toys for elementary school children, and February supports local animal shelters. These initiatives include recognizing community needs like the Rio Grande Valley’s low blood donation rates.

Unexpected challenges, like assisting a student’s family after a house fire, demonstrate the NHS’s readiness to support the community promptly. Camarillo aims to expand their outreach to include older adults in future projects, highlighting the organization’s adaptability and commitment to making a difference.

With a reputation for providing help and facing challenges head-on, the NHS looks forward to events such as the induction ceremony and celebrating its senior members’ graduation. Camarillo’s leadership aims to serve the community and cultivate a culture of generosity among students, encouraging them to help others without expecting anything in return. This ethos cements the NHS’s role in building a caring community at Jimmy Carter Early College High School.