Pea Ridge High Teacher Madison Weast was asked to be a presenter at this year's Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Vision 2024 National Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Ms. Weast presented a session titled "Soar to Success: Nurturing Preparedness Through School-Based Enterprises," where she shared her knowledge on how to utilize a school-based enterprise for a next-level classroom experience.
"I shared my experience with The Nest and how I create transformative teaching through hands-on learning. I shared tips on how to collaborate and engage with other pathways and local industries as well as how to involve your students every step of the way. I also talked about individualizing instruction and adapting to the ever-changing world around us by trying new things and making learning meaningful," said Ms. Weast.
Ms. Weast is our business and marketing teacher, who also runs our school store, "The Nest," through an upper-level course called "Small Business Operations." To take this course, students must have completed the level 1 and 2 business courses and agree to work outside of school hours, as running the store is similar to having a real job! Through this course, students learn about merchandising, sales, inventory, product creation, customer service, and many other aspects of the retail industry.
ACTE's CareerTech VISION is considered the must-attend event for career and technical education (CTE) professionals in secondary and postsecondary environments, offering high-quality CTE programming to help CTE educators thrive in their careers. Attending VISION gives teachers nationwide the opportunity to learn best practices from each other, network, and attend other types of professional learning sessions.
Ms. Weast presented on December 5th to a crowded room full of teachers who were eager to learn and had many questions for her after the presentation. We are proud of her for sharing her knowledge with others and representing Pea Ridge! Way to go Ms. Weast!