If you want to be a teacher after you graduate, listen up, there’s a class just for you. Pathways to Careers in Teaching is a class taught by Mrs. McFadden and is available to juniors and seniors. There are no prerequisites to take this class. 

“They learn how to be teachers,” McFadden said. “So first they’re learning all the basics on how to be a teacher, how to write lesson plans, how to manage a classroom. Then they get to go into the classroom and actually implement all of it, so they get to teach in the elementary room.”

In Pathways, all students create lesson plans for kids and then go over to Discovery Ridge Elementary and get to teach their lesson. “Cadet teachers” get to pick what grade they want to teach – McFadden says that some of the teachers are in kindergarten, third grade, art, P.E and even at Frontier. 

Junior Layla Thornton is one of the cadet teachers and says she enjoys this class because of what they are learning. 

“What we are learning is real life and the real world even if you won’t be going into teaching,” Thornton said.  

Thornton’s favorite part of this class is getting to build relationships with the kids. She chose to take Pathways because she plans on going into full-time ministry. 

Students can earn college credit for taking the class. The WSD course guide says, ”Each student is assigned to a district school within the high school attendance boundaries. Cadet teachers keep daily logs, weekly journals, prepare and present a lesson(s) and work closely with the students of the assigned supervising teacher.” 

If you are interested in taking this class next year, you can email McFadden at [email protected] with any questions.