by Travis Hendryx, Office of Public Relations
Sul Ross State University hosted the Texas State Teacher Association District VI Conference on Saturday, November 9.
Future educators representing El Paso Community College, U.T. El Paso and Sul Ross were on hand for Saturday’s event, held in the Morelock Academic Building.
“The purpose of this conference is to assist future teachers in preparing for the workforce by using small group workshops that feature professional training and development,” said Dr. Jennifer Miller-Ray, Reading Specialist and Educational Instructional Technology Coordinator.
Pat Dasch served as the keynote speaker at the 2019 conference and discussed issues related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.
Dasch worked in the space program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
She served as editor-in-chief of Ad Astra magazine and later as executive director of the National Space Society.
Dasch has published numerous articles and several books on space exploration and has appeared on CNN, FOX News, NBC and the BBC to discuss the space program.
She has a degree in American Studies from the University of East Anglia, U.K.
Since retiring to Alpine, Dasch has served as the founding administrator for the Rio Grande Research Center at Sul Ross and has also provided editorial assistance to the Center for Big Bend Studies.
Other speakers from Saturday included Justin Gonzales, Principal, Alpine High School and biology teacher Macey Downing. Gonzales and Downing discussed the importance of time management and best productivity practices to improve classroom management and communication using Google Apps.
Staff from the Region 18 Education Service Center shared classroom management strategies.
“We also had representatives from the Andrews ISD on hand to discuss methods to improve family involvement,” said Dr. Ray who added that more than 40 people attended Saturday’s conference.
Sul Ross education student Amanda Eastwood was selected as the next TSTA-AE District VI President. Eastwood is pursuing EC-6th teaching certification.
For more information, contact Dr. Ray at (432) 837-8013 or email jennifer.miller@sulross.edu.