by Jen Myers

Signing ceremonies are no longer reserved just for elite athletes headed off to the Division 1 program of their dreams.

At Lowell High School, this fun tradition has been extended to the future teachers in the class of 2023.

On Tuesday April 25, the Lowell High School Library was packed full of teachers and administrators celebrating the accomplishments of the 10 seniors who have met the requirements of the Education Pathway, a program created in partnership with the UMass Lowell School of Education. A signing ceremony was held for the three members of the class – Fiona Haley, Kaunitha Heng, and Tiana Rom – who have committed to either major or minor in education in college.

In addition to celebrating the students’ achievements, each of the students had the opportunity to recognize the teacher that has been most influential in their 13-year education journey.

The students who have completed the Education Pathway and were presented with a blue cord to wear at graduation are:

Veronica “Ronnie” Jones, who attended the Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School and the Wang Middle school before coming to Lowell High School. Next year she will attend the University of New Hampshire where she plans to major in Statistics. Her most influential teacher is Mrs. Kristie Volante from Lowell High School.

“She has built an influential community in our English class,” Jones said of Volante. “If I end up teaching, I want to create the same kind of community.”

Tallea Lebing, who attended the Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School and the Wang Middle School before attending Lowell High School. She will be studying Psychology at UMass Boston this fall. Her most influential teacher is Ms. Katie Mahoney from the Wang Middle School.

Lacey Pare, who attended the Washington Elementary School and the Daley Middle School before attending Lowell High School. In the fall, she will be studying Business at a yet-to-be-determined college in Florida. Her most influential teacher is Ms. Jen Carey of Lowell High School.

Stacey Reyes, who attended the Lowell Community Charter Public School for elementary and middle school and attended Campbell High School freshman year, before transferring to Lowell High School.

Next year, she will be attending either Boston College or UMass Lowell to study Nursing. Her most influential teacher was Ms. Sarah Lord of Lowell Community Charter, now Mrs. White of Up Education Network.

Caden Smith, who attended St. Margaret’s Elementary School and Innovation Academy Charter School for middle school before attending Lowell High School. In the fall, he will be attending Saint Anselm College studying Business and Economics. His most influential teacher was Dr. Anne Woodward, formerly of Lowell High School, who returned to celebrate Caden from retirement.

Declan Silva, who attended the Bailey Elementary School and Daley Middle School before entering Lowell High School. Declan is going to Lasell University in the fall and studying either Sports Media & Communications or Business. His most influential teacher was Mr. Glen Gallagher of Lowell High School.

Thomas Woodlock, who attended the Greenhalge Elementary and Daley Middle Schools before entering Lowell High School. He intends on studying Psychology and Marketing at Roger Williams University this fall. His most influential teacher was Mr. Jason Lewis of the Daley Middle School.

Fiona Haley, who attended the Reilly Elementary School and Daley Middle School before coming to LHS. Next year she will attend Providence College to study English Education on a pre-law track.

Her most influential teacher was Ms. Robin Jubinville of the Reilly Elementary School.

“She was the first teacher who made me feel seen and acknowledged that my learning style was different,” Haley said.

Kaunitha Heng, who attended the Morey Elementary School and Daley Middle School before coming to Lowell High. Next year Kaunitha is excited to join the UMass Amherst Honors College as an English major and Education minor and hopefully study abroad in London. Their most influential teacher was Ms. Melissa Fontaine from the Daley Middle School.

Tiana Rom, who attended the Pyne Arts Magnet School for elementary and middle school. Next year, she will attend UMass Lowell where she will major in Health Sciences and minor in Education. Her most influential teacher was Mrs. Kendra Bauer of Lowell High School.

One of the objectives of creating the Education Pathway was to encourage diverse Lowell students to become teachers and hopefully come back to teach in Lowell in an effort to diversify the district’s workforce so students have more teachers who look like them and share similar backgrounds and experiences.

While only 21 percent of Lowell Public Schools students are white, 90 percent of teachers are white. A 2018 study by the Learning Policy Institute concluded that when students of color have teachers of color, they put more personal attention on school and have stronger post-graduation plans. Representation matters.

“The education pathway represents our growing partnership with UML and our desire to grow and diversify the teacher workforce,” said Lowell High School Associate Head of School Jill Rothschild. “Throughout the last year we have worked hard to realign our course offerings, our field experience programs, and our partnerships to produce a stronger pathway and greater opportunities and support for our students and future educators.”

In the program students study the history of public education, how it is practiced across different disciplines, the day-to-day reality of working in education, how to teach in an inclusive classroom, and examine the inequalities in institutions of learning to see education from a social justice perspective. In addition to classroom course work, the LHS students have the opportunity for hands-on learning in elementary school classrooms in the district.

While in the pathway, LHS students receive support from UMass Lowell student ambassadors who are advanced in their education degree program and have successfully completed the introductory teaching courses; monetary support for transportation to and from required field experiences; invitations to all UML School of Education events; teacher mentors who promote teaching as an act of social justice; and advising support to demystify the college application process.

Pathway graduates are given special consideration for admission into UML School of Education degree programs and those who enroll are eligible for:

-20,000 dollar GROW scholarships
-Mentoring and support throughout the four-year experience
-Monetary support to fulfill the state/district fingerprinting requirement for school visitations
-Monetary support to pay for the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTELs)

“These efforts to diversify are not good just for students of color, but for all students,” said Stacy Szczesiul, Associate Dean of the UML School of Education. “You are the face of teaching in the future. To me it is the most important issue of our time – diversifying the educator workforce.”