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Alief Taylor TAFE students win multiple awards at national competition; district highlights pathway to teaching
Summary
Alief Taylor High School TAFE students earned multiple national medals at the Educators Rising/TAFE national conference in Orlando; district leaders highlighted students’ successes and connections to the district’s teacher apprenticeship and tuition reimbursement pathways.
Several Alief ISD students from Alief Taylor High School won national awards at this summer’s national student career- and technical-education competitions, the board of trustees heard Tuesday.
Andre Alachua, the Alief Taylor TAFE sponsor, told the board the school returned from the Educators Rising national conference in Orlando with five recognitions across multiple events. He noted that Cameron Keller earned a national silver medal in Exploring Administration Careers; a duo, Lauren Jones and Lanaya Holder, placed second in Interactive Bulletin Board (their Math City project); Jasmine Sampi and Genesis Romero placed second in Project Visualized Service for their presentation on the school’s Adopt-a-Kid community service event; Grace Alvarado and Andy Gutierrez won second place in Spanish Children’s Literature (Pre-K); and a team of four—Logan Gray, Giovanni Gasco Rincon, Bailey Johnson and Patrick Spiller—were two-time national champions in the Public Service Announcement competition, according to Alachua.
The TAFE sponsor credited Alief ISD staff support and mentorship for the students’ results. He singled out Assistant Principal Justin Smith for mentoring Cameron Keller and thanked principal Mary Williams and CTE Director Jennifer Baker for supporting national competition participation.
Board members and district staff also connected the TAFE results to local workforce pathways. Alachua said some student participants are part of Alief’s teacher apprenticeship program cohorts; he noted students who participate in the apprenticeship may receive partial tuition reimbursement from the district and could return to teach in Alief in the future. Principal Mary Williams and CTE leaders were recognized for helping sustain those pipeline opportunities.
The presentation included recognition of individual students and a short video of student work the board viewed during the meeting. Several students and recent graduates were named and identified by Alachua in his presentation.
The board offered congratulations to the students and staff for the competitions and for expanding local pathways from student CTE programs into teacher apprenticeship and early-career teaching positions within Alief ISD.
