Former ATU students advising aspiring educators to “be who you are”

Little Rock, Arkansas – Capri Salaam, the 2023 teacher of the year, visited Arkansas Tech University once more as the keynote speaker for the Educators Rising Region 1 conference on Tuesday. She urged aspiring educators to be true to who they are.

According to a news release, Salaam graduated from ATU in 2016 with a Master of Arts in Teaching with a focus in middle school education.

In the North Little Rock School District, Salaam has worked as a multi-classroom lead teacher since 2018. She supports her coworkers’ classroom management and instructional techniques at North Little Rock Middle School.

According to information provided by the organization, Educators Rising is “a career and technical education movement that aims to inspire high school and college students to serve their communities by entering the field of education.”

“Students can pick up on fake and phony,” said Salaam while speaking to the Educators Rising conference participants. “They will not buy in. It’s hard to have an alternate personality 190 days per year. You must be who you are, and you have to find fun in the classroom in your own authentic way.”

Salaam informed conference attendees that she had created a mental health area in her classroom for her children.

She claimed that she often checks in with her pupils’ mental health and attempts to connect them with resources when necessary.

Beginning July 1, 2023, Salaam will hold the title of Arkansas teacher of the year for a full year.

She will tour the state during that period on behalf of teachers, promoting her agenda and putting a special emphasis on enhancing kids’ mental health and ongoing social-emotional learning.