Senior Brionna Brokington sets her backpack and supplies behind her instructor’s desk. While children sprawl in the kindergarten classroom, anxious for the day’s lesson, Brokington gets a run-down of the schedule she will follow with the teacher she is being mentored by. 

Without hesitation, Brockington is giving patient attention to each eager member of this learning experience. Kicking iPad stands up and carefully organizing lunch boxes into their respective cubbies, there is no doubt that this teacher-in-training is within her element. 

“I love kids, so I really wanted to work with them,” Brokington said. “It’s a very good opportunity to inspire little kids and everybody around you to want to come to school and learn.”

Brokington is part of a program called Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE). This program is associated with the larger organization Advancing Careers in Education (ACE), specializing specifically in students who desire to be an educator after high school.

Recently re-established post-COVID, sponsor Stacy Bautista highlights how important TAFE is to its students. 

“I think it goes down to [no matter the] subject or grade level you teach…[TAFE] is about building relationships,” Bautisa said. 

Under ACE and TAFE, students do a variety of tasks associated with the educational field and help out the Spartan community by assisting in the learning process four days out of the week. 

“We have a set of officers that are in charge of planning the events for the whole year,” said Bautista. “We do different things, like appreciating our teachers, appreciating our library, and appreciating our principals.”

When it comes to praxis, students are given the opportunity to intern with professional educators within their feeder schools.

In Brokington’s case, she takes the bus to Butler Elementary School four times a week, following whatever her assigned teacher desires for the day.

“We get off the bus, we go to the classroom, and from there I’m always on my feet,” Brokington said. “I’m never sitting down, which I don’t mind.”

Brokington has been in the program for two years and hopes to use the experience to achieve a Bachelor’s degree in Education, where she can return to the classroom as the mentor. In her eyes, TAFE is all about “[making] education more fun and [inspiring] others to want to come to school.”

As the children line up for their lunch time, Brokington holds hands with a particularly excited student. When asked what advice she would give to a student entering into the organization, she commented with a smile, “It’s gonna be challenging but it’s worth it if you love doing it.”

Photos by Caitlyn Brabo and Isabel Ramos