Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner visits Byron High School
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(ABC 6 News) – On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner, Dr. Heather Mueller, visited local high school students in hopes of inspiring the future generation of educators.
MDE Commissioner Mueller met with students at Byron High School to not only talk about their current experiences in Minnesota public schools, but also ignite a spark of hope for future state educators.
She went into the day wanting to listen to and learn from students about amazing things happening in schools across the state. Mueller toured a variety of classes, including one designed to introduce students to a career in education.
“We need to do a better job of telling this story, talking about why we chose education, the good, the bad, the ugly,” says Mueller. “It is not for everyone but it is for a lot of people.”
One important factor in a student’s choice to go into education is often a reflection of their own school experience.
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner visited local high school students in hopes of inspiring the future generation of educators.
“If a student comes into their school building and they don’t feel seen, valued, or heard, oftentimes they are not going to choose their entire adult life to spend in the same building or a similar building,” says Mueller.
State Senator, and former teacher, Carla Nelson joined the commissioner and got to see a unique class in which students have the opportunity to run a food truck.
From cooking, to finance, to marketing, the course teaches a wide variety of skills.
“I thought it was great,” says Nelson. “You could just see the kids so engaged, you could see all those skills that they were learning. Then of course they get to take it out to their peers and the public; it’s got to be both very rewarding and affirming for both the kids and the teachers.”
At the end of the visit, both Nelson and Mueller said they saw the future of Minnesota educators in these students.
“I could tell, I could see it in their eyes,” says Nelson. “So I expect we’ll be seeing maybe a good number of byron kids wanting to become great teachers.”
“There is positivity, there is hope, there is the future generations that are going to take us where we need to go and our job to really ensure that our staff, family, and students have the resources they need to get us to where we want to be,” says Mueller.