Last weekend, our Population Education Trainers’ Network grew by 23 people. We hosted our first ever one-day Leadership Institute where Texas educators came together to learn the ins and outs of leading Population Education workshops. While it was a busy day, we left feeling energized and inspired about the increased number of teachers we’ll be able to reach in the state of Texas!

A couple of things stood out through the course of the day:

1. Our new trainers are leaders in their field. While the folks who joined us are from various backgrounds and work in a variety of settings – ranging from Education Service Centers, to classrooms, to district level offices – it is clear that they are all highly respected among their peers and leaders in the field of education. Our new recruits offered great insights about PopEd materials, shared thoughtful ideas on population issues, and learned from each other through the day. There is no doubt that our program will be stronger because of their contributions of time, energy, and enthusiasm.

2. These new trainers are highly motivated to bring Population Education resources to Texas teachers. Our participants drove from near and far to be with us in San Marcos, TX, with some driving over 3 hours each way! The resounding sentiment was that the drive was worth it. Many of our new trainers already even have ideas for where they’d like to lead their first PopEd workshop. There are plans in the pipeline for workshops to take place at a number of venues including Huston-Tillotson University, UT San Antonio, Austin Area Council of Teachers of Math conference, and the Texas Association of Environmental Education conference.

We are excited to be represented by such a great group of educators, and to see our workshop numbers continue to grow in the state of Texas!