Dr. Jessica Slade Honored as Teacher Educator of the Year, 2022
Dr. Jessica Slade, Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Teacher Education Department-College of Education at UTEP, was recently honored by the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TXAEYC) as “Teacher Educator of the Year, 2022”. Dr. Slade accepted her award from TXAEYC Executive Director Cody Summerville in a ceremony on September 17, 2022 in San Antonio.
Mr. Summerville said of Dr. Slade, “She is an advocate for her students, really listening to them and supporting them both academically and professionally. She creates a learning environment and supportive rapport with her students that promotes real transformative learning. A place where students feel safe to engage previously unassimilated assumptions, beliefs, values and where perspectives can be critically questioned all in service to support young children. It is well known that she is the type of educator her students hope to be as they begin their journey as educators themselves. Dr. Slade exemplifies the best in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation… she is truly a master teacher who cares”.
Dr. Slade said she was excited, humbled and honored to receive the award. In her acceptance speech, she stated her goal was, “to teach love, to inspire, to create inclusivity, to celebrate diversity and individualism, to provide opportunities for growth”. Dr. Slade concluded by thanking her family, her mentors, the Early Childhood teachers present at the ceremony and UTEP-- for providing her a platform and a space to be able to impact the profession.