On September 21, student journalists were given an experience of a lifetime. Alongside accomplished teachers and county officials, various members of student media traveled to the White House for the “Back to School Night” event hosted by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
The event included educators, school professionals, students, and families gathered from all over the nation to help celebrate the start of a new school year.
“It is important that we take time to celebrate our teachers and students for their great accomplishments. It gets them excited to conquer a new school year and shows them that they are supported and appreciated for their hard work,” Fayette County Department Overview of Public Relations Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said. “Programs like this lift spirits and energize teachers and students to look forward to all the possibilities a new school year brings.”
Georgia Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year finalist Christy Todd was invited to attend the “Back to School Night” at the White House. Todd was the music technology teacher at Rising Starr Middle School and the founder of the Fayette County Public Schools’ Community of Creativity program. She had the option of choosing two students and two teachers to accompany her.
Todd chose to invite Starr’s Mill High School engineering teacher Rob Bell and Spring Hill Elementary teacher Michelle Shaw, the two most recent District Teachers of the Year . For students, she selected juniors Crista Alarcon and Krishna Khushalani to attend.
“What a wonderful opportunity it was for these teachers and students to experience being on the grounds of the White House and meeting with our nation’s leaders,” Berry-Dreisbach said. “Thanks to Ms. Todd, they got to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
The event featured speeches from First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
“I had the opportunity to interview the United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona which was absolutely incredible and an opportunity I never thought I would have had,” Alarcon said.
Student media gives students a chance to further their opportunities and learn life lessons along the way. Opportunities such as the “Back to School Night” are available because of scholastic newspapers and media networks that are offered in high schools around the world.
“Student media has given me a voice like nothing I have ever experienced,” Alarcon said. “I’m extremely grateful for the opportunities I’ve gotten thanks to The Prowler and the voice and confidence I’ve gained from having it.”