Teachers and support staff from Iowa-Missouri Conference elementary schools and Sunnydale Academy recently joined colleagues from around the North American Division for a National Teachers’ Convention in Chicago.
The fourth such gathering of its size, the National Teachers’ Convention takes place once every six years. This year nearly 6,000 participants enjoyed morning devotions, keynote speakers, concerts from musical guests including Dove Award-winning artist Steven Curtis Chapman, 350 breakout presentations covering a variety of topics related to education, and 135 vendors located in the exbibit hall.
Two of our Iowa elementary teachers, Heidi Nicholas, upper grades teacher at the Des Moines SDA School, and Jennifer Ewers, headteacher at the Nevada SDA School, presented two breakout sessions entitled “A Personalized Daily Five: Teaching Small Groups of Math and Language Arts in a Multigrade Classroom.”
Many teachers commented that it was a taste of heaven to reconnect with former colleagues and students who have become part of the educational system of the Adventist Church. The National Teachers’ Convention also provides an opportunity for teachers to see the scope of education in our division. According to the 2017 figures, there are 84,907 students who attend one of 965 schools (Preschool to College) and are taught by 9,805 teachers and professors throughout the North American Division.
