For the second consecutive year, members of the Cleburne High School chapter of Texas Association of Future Educators will be competing in skills events at the national level.

                Hannah Sian, Savannah Gaines, Ivy Grace Smith, Khushi Patel and Journey Harris will be representing Cleburne at the Educators Rising National Conference taking place June 24-27 in Washington, D.C. They will be accompanied by TAFE faculty sponsor Kaleigh Black.

                The students were selected to advance to the national conference following top marks awarded at the TAFE Teach Tomorrow State Summit. In the Junior Varsity division, Sian and Gaines will be competing in Children’s Literature-Kindergarten thru Grade 3. Sian, as the author, and Gaines, as illustrator, advanced to nationals in this same event in 2021, where they placed 12^th.

Smith, who is a student trainer at CHS, is utilizing what she has learned in the classroom and in work with the high school’s athletic trainers in choosing to compete in the “Exploring Non-Core Teaching Careers” event. Patel is a national qualifier in the Job Interview category.

Harris is Cleburne’s sole competitor in the Varsity division, qualifying in the Creative Lecture event. The CHS junior, who is serving as chapter president for the second year, set a new milestone in the history of Cleburne TAFE in 2021 as its first national champion, competing in JV Impromptu Speaking.

The national qualifiers were recognized by Trustees at Monday’s school board meeting along with Varsity Chapter Yearbook Team members Madison Dawson, Haylee Dilbeck, Skye Ewell, Abigail Ledbetter and Erica Trammell. Their entry received the Gold Standard Recognition and the Blue Ribbon Award for a score of 100 from judges.

“With the state and nation facing a teaching shortage, it is very exciting to see the level of achievement in these future educators,” Superintendent Dr. Kyle Heath said. “We hope they continue with their plans to enter the field of education—as future teachers for Cleburne ISD.”