Student-led organization JagsTEACH will host its first general meeting at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in Room 237 of the Madla Building.
“Our whole goal is to empower future educators through building community,” said Bianca Portillo, JagsTEACH’s president. “We provide the resources to build professional growth, which we do by providing professional development, building their confidence and more.”
Portillo said JagsTEACH was founded to focus on the low retention rates within degrees under the Bachelor of Science in Education. Members had discovered that many education majors would drop their certification or transfer out of the education field due to feeling lost, overwhelmed, or unprepared.
Rebekah Piper, interim chair of the Curriculum and Instruction Department, confirmed in a Sept. 5 interview that retention rates had been low but have improved. Graduates, in recent times, have reached a 98% pass rate on their certification exams.
JagsTEACH’s meetings foster a community of like-minded people, individuals who are “going to be teachers and going through the same process” to ensure everyone knows “the journey might not be easy, but it is doable,” said Portillo, a senior majoring in EC-6 generalist education.
The organization is already seeing a high volume of sign-ups with more than 15 people eager to attend the first meeting. Meetings are expected to last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, with food provided.
“We have to have our meetings in the evening, so we know that members are coming straight from school or work. So guess what? We’re going to provide you dinner. We’re not going to expect you to go work all day, come here, and then not feed you,” Portillo said.
To join JAGSTeach, members must pay $20 in dues each semester to help cover competition costs for the Texas Association of Future Educators.
The organization’s first meeting will showcase what JagsTEACH has to offer in helping students succeed.
“I would want people to take away the fact that their journey to certification and becoming a teacher is not one done alone,” Portillo said.
“Through the highs and the lows, there’s always people here that want to celebrate you and uplift you. You just have to find those people. And we are your people.”
For more information, email bport09@jaguar.tamu.edu.
The first meeting is open to anyone trying to get more information about JagsTEACH. RSVP for the event on JagSync.
