World Teacher’s Day
At our core, NAF teaches teachers to reach students. Teachers play a significant role in helping NAF students be future ready. They are with students every day, making sure they receive the knowledge and opportunities they need to build their imagined futures. For World Teacher’s Day, we’re highlighting a NAF teacher that goes above and beyond for her students. Learn more about Claire Trouard, Director of Carencro High School Academy of Information Technology.
1. Why did you become a teacher?
“It really felt like home. I grew up in a home of educators. My dad was the principal of the elementary school I attended, for many years. My mother was what we call today “a para-professional.” She was the assistant in the special ed classroom. I literally grew up in a school. Afternoons were spent listening to Mom and Dad talk about their day. Holidays were with Mom and Dad both being at home. If Dad needed to catch up on some work, we would all load up in the car and go to school. It wasn’t what I started out going into when I graduated high school and went to college. I went into the business field, and somewhere in the midst of working in a doctor’s office, it became apparent to me that I needed to do something else. It wasn’t a fit for me. I went back to school to become a teacher. Because of all the credits I had, I went into business education.”
2. What subject do you teach?
“I teach web design, computer applications, and workforce development — getting students ready for their internship [an essential part of the NAF experience].”
3. How has NAF made a difference in your students’ education?
“The magical piece that makes it different is work-based learning opportunities. We invite outsiders/community members to play a part in kids’ education. The kids recognize that they’re community members that have a vested interest. I think that’s when you get the most out of your kids. But I also believe it has to be the full continuum. It has to start with visitors and workforce development talks. It’s the career exploration component that NAF stresses so much. It’s that piece that makes the difference.”
4. What is your favorite work-based learning activity?
“I love internships! Before the internship, we do a cost of living project because I want the kids to see that if you choose a career that makes X amount of dollars, and once you take taxes out, how much money you have left to pay your house note, car note, your utilities, and all of your monthly bills. For a lot of these kids who have never had this conversation with their parents, it’s an eye-opening experience. I do that piece because when they go to their internship and they get their first paycheck, now they’re able to relate how many hours they work to how much money they make. Then I can refer back to the cost of living project and the dots start to connect. You’ve gone to work, you’ve made this money, you have this paycheck. Is the dollar amount that you’ve made in this paycheck reflective of the work you did and is it going to give you the lifestyle that you want to have? Now we’re making real-life connections. When they come back for their senior year, they are different. They have a different grasp on why education is important, why they need to go to college, or why they need to be sure they are ready for whatever choices they make after high school. Now they have that understanding of the relationship between money and what it takes to live.”
5. What is your favorite piece of advice to give to students?
“Their world is just consumed with so many devices. Whether it’s the device itself or social media on the device, or the game, or whatever the distraction might be, it pulls them away from each other. Have you ever noticed in a restaurant how people sit down at a table and they’re all on their own devices and not communicating with one another? I want this generation to know communication cannot be substituted by an electronic device. There’s nothing like the human element. You cannot substitute a genuine conversation. Communication is important. Relationships are important. Technology is not going away, so we have to learn to live with it. But people aren’t going away either and you have to maintain those relationships and learn when the time is right to use devices.”
Why is Claire a NAF Superstar Teacher?
The simple answer: her purple folder. Each November, Claire hosts a mandatory meeting for the parents of NAF students in her school. At the meeting, Claire hands out a folder — which includes information about NAF, brochures about the academy, a letter to a business partner about the internship program, and her business card. With this folder, Claire gets parents to help the academy place students in internships. Parents are tasked with giving the folder to a business owner they know, a friend of a business owner, or a hiring manager. If a person is interested in learning more information about the NAF internship program, they contact Claire.
Claire has brought her purple folder to the sessions she co-led at past NAF Next conferences and now she virtually offered it to all interested NAF educators. Through a partnership with Teaching Partners, Claire led an online workshop on engaging parents to leverage internships. The workshop taught educators how to build her purple folder and what to tell parents about NAF. One of NAF’s goal is to provide all NAF students with internships. With Claire’s workshop providing more ways for academies to find internships for students, we are one step closer to our goal. Thanks, Claire!
See the other NAF teachers highlighted on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
