When Brittney Ehrenzeller started a small club at Phoenixville Area High School to inspire and mentor students interested in an education career, she had no idea it would balloon into the thriving, in-demand program it is today. Aaron and Jeff sit down with Brittney to hear how she did it, and hopefully inspire more future teacher leaders to start an Educators Rising chapter in their schools.
When Brittney Ehrenzeller started a small club at Phoenixville Area High School to inspire and mentor students interested in an education career, she had no idea it would balloon into the thriving, in-demand program it is today. Aaron and Jeff sit down with Brittney to hear how she did it, and hopefully inspire more future teacher leaders to start an Educators Rising chapter in their schools.
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Voiceover:
Welcome to Duty Free Lunch, the official podcast of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Join us as we unpack the issues that matter most to you. From cutting-edge classroom strategies to thought-provoking policy discussions, if it impacts PSEA members, it's on the menu.
Aaron Chapin:
Hello, and welcome to Duty Free Lunch. I'm PSEA President Aaron Chapin. Sitting with me today, PSEA Vice President Jeff Ney. Jeff, how are you doing?
Jeff Ney:
Good, Aaron. How are you doing today?
Aaron Chapin:
Oh my gosh, I am doing fantastic.
Jeff Ney:
I mean, we're hearing this probably after the holiday break. Did you do anything fun with your week off?
Aaron Chapin:
I did absolutely nothing. I sat at home, I watched a lot of sports.
Jeff Ney:
Did you?
Aaron Chapin:
I watched a lot of sports. I watched a lot of football, and I watched a lot of movies on Netflix.
Jeff Ney:
Any one that jumps out at you that you recommend?
Aaron Chapin:
Nothing I'm allowed to actually say because the title is, it's not rated PG.
Jeff Ney:
It's not rated PG.
Aaron Chapin:
It's not a bad title, but it was actually a really great movie that my wife thought I was going to be, I picked the worst movie. And then at the end, you know what she said?
Jeff Ney:
What'd she say?
Aaron Chapin:
"You're right. It was a good movie."
Jeff Ney:
Oh my, did you record that? That would've be great for a podcast.
Aaron Chapin:
I know, but it was a great movie. It was about a young lady going to college, and she learns about herself before she goes off. It was fantastic.
Jeff Ney:
And that's timely because you have a daughter that's going off to college.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, she's already off to college.
Jeff Ney:
Again.
Aaron Chapin:
Again. Yes. She's out the door. By the time this airs, she's already out the door, again.
Jeff Ney:
Out the door, again.
Aaron Chapin:
And the house is quiet.
Jeff Ney:
And clean.
Aaron Chapin:
And clean. Very clean. Very good. Well, you ready?
Jeff Ney:
Hey, I'm ready. We have a great podcast.
Aaron Chapin:
We have no segue to what we're talking about today, but what we're doing, Jeff, we are revisiting actually one of our favorite topics. All seriousness, this is one of our favorite topics. We've talked about it several times on the podcast in the past year when we did 28 episodes the first year.
Jeff Ney:
I know.
Aaron Chapin:
You do.
Jeff Ney:
With 42 guests.
Aaron Chapin:
We talked several times about Educators Rising. It's that program that trains and prepares high school students for careers in education. It's a national program, but PSEA is the statewide coordinator for Pennsylvania.
Jeff Ney:
And we're proud of it.
Aaron Chapin:
We are very proud of it. It's really come a long way in a year and a half. And with us today is Brittney Ehrenzeller. Did I say that right, Brittney?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Did.
Aaron Chapin:
That's a mouthful. She is a standout teacher, and we don't take that lightly.
Jeff Ney:
No.
Aaron Chapin:
She is a standout teacher.
Jeff Ney:
Absolutely.
Aaron Chapin:
Creator of an Educators Rising chapter in the great Phoenixville Area High School.
Jeff Ney:
Go Phantoms.
Aaron Chapin:
Go Phantoms. She's passionate about inspiring the next generation of teachers, and Brittney has really grown this program from a small club into a thriving initiative that's really preparing students in the Phoenixville area for careers and education while addressing teacher shortages and increasing diversity in the field. So Brittney, welcome to Duty Free Lunch.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Thank you very much.
Aaron Chapin:
We are super excited to have you. When we had our December House of Delegates, we had a member spotlight on Brittney and she was there. It was great to really show focus, but she's gotten a lot of media attention.
Jeff Ney:
Yeah, she has.
Aaron Chapin:
She's a superstar in our Ed Rising community, and it's really true. And so really we just, jumping into this, Brittney, can you just tell us about yourself and your role in the Phoenixville Area High School?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Yeah, I mean, this is my third year at Phoenixville. I spent some time in a neighboring county school district for a little while. I actually, I took some time off to be with my kids when they were little and got back in subbing through ESS and that same service, worked with Owen J and Phoenixville and found out that there's a job opening. They pretty quickly pegged me to lead up a club for restarting an idea. They had an idea before to start an initiative to train upcoming teachers. I am a peppy person, and they thought I might be a good fit to inspire and work with kids that want to be in education, so I started a club and it just rolled out from there.
Aaron Chapin:
Wow.
Jeff Ney:
Tell us a little bit more about that club because we'd really be interested to how, because everybody's going to get started. We've got Ed Rising chapters across the Commonwealth, but yours started as a club. Tell us a little bit more about how that club got started.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
When I was asked to take the lead on this, I just quite honestly did a Google search about what has been in the past. I've stumbled upon Future Teachers of America, which was the former of Ed Rising. I think it was 2015 that they rebranded and went with more of a grow your own vibe. I just happened upon it just Googling things.
I was like, "You know what? This sounds like exactly what they're asking me to do." So I became a teacher leader on that, and I think I was one of a handful in PA at the time because that was the spring of 2022.
Jeff Ney:
Right, yep.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
That started with an idea and finding this and getting some information online. Four students that pioneered it, half of which graduated months later so it really was just starting last year with the club. It built momentum really quickly and I ended up asking our administrators if this could be an elective, and they were happy to oblige that one. I wrote a version of a curriculum that was morphed out of the Ed Rising curriculum and got approved, and we're rolling that this year so it's a club and an elective this year.
Aaron Chapin:
Wow.
Jeff Ney:
That's absolutely fantastic. And in that club and the electives, what kind of activities and what kind of learning opportunities do the students that are in your program experience?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Yeah, I try to do as much as I can through the club because the elective is only offered to juniors and seniors. That course with the juniors and seniors, I pretty much focus on the curriculum through Ed Rising. We've talked about anti-biased instruction, we've talked about what it takes to build a unit, lesson planning, classroom management, a lot of heavy hitting topics. The course, I took the 17 kids in that class to observe a preschool and elementary school. Actually went to a college course too, a methods class, middle school. And now, I am currently exactly in the process of placing them for a student teaching experience in the fourth marking period.
Jeff Ney:
Wow.
Aaron Chapin:
That's awesome.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I have the blessing of all district principals and they're super excited that our kids are going to do this. The hope is that they get some hands-on experience and maybe even want to come back to Phoenixville after they go through college.
Jeff Ney:
So I just want to clarify, you started off with four and how many are in your program now?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
In the whole program, I have 17 in the class and I have about 40 club members, 4-0.
Jeff Ney:
Wow.
Aaron Chapin:
That's an amazing result.
Jeff Ney:
That's fantastic.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Yeah, I've actually had three kids just come to me this week wanting to still join, so it's still growing.
Aaron Chapin:
And what I love, besides the numbers of students that are interested, but your administration is behind you 100%.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
100%. They really, really are. I came to them asking, "Hey, can I offer them micro-credentials through PDK and Digital Promise? Can you guys help me pay for this?"
And they're like, "Yeah."
Aaron Chapin:
That's awesome.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Fantastic.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, hats off to the Phoenixville admin.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
That's a blessing.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah, and thanks to them, because it really, it takes a collaboration to make this a true success. Do you have any favorite stories or examples of students whose career goals were positively impacted by this Ed Rising program?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I mean, yes, but we're still a baby program too. I am actually in the process of getting my doctorate as well, and I am very much entertaining the idea of doing this as a dissertation. I'm very curious, how many kids are actually going to go into education as a major? How many kids are going to go into a career after that, where they're going to be placed, how close to Phoenixville are they? Are they in Phoenixville? I think the statistic is about 60% of college graduates end up within 10 miles of where they grew up, so that'd be great to have them back. I hope I have open doors to kids to really get out there and experience this and see what it's like and see when kids get stuff and they get excited about you being there and you being excited for them, and you get to teach them something and you see that light bulb go off.
I just want them to see that and feel that just a few times, because I feel like that's the hook. Like, "Wow, that feels good."
Aaron Chapin:
Well, a few years ago when our executive director Jim Vaughan brought this idea to us to see, "Is this something that our officer team and our board of directors would like to see?"
My head started going in the same direction as what you were just mentioning. How many would actually go to college? How many would go back to their home? And we don't know right now, we don't know. But if you don't try, we're going to be stuck in the same predicament for years and years to come.
Jeff Ney:
But to Brittney's point, I mean Aaron, we've traveled around the state along with Rachel and we hear all these stories and I'm the product. I mean, both Molly, my wife and I graduated from the same school district that we now teach in. And when we walk in down the halls, it is like a class reunion of people that I graduated with or in the same area. Brittney's 100% right.
Aaron Chapin:
The same with my own wife. She works with a lot of the people that she went to high school with. There's a lot of promise there, and I think that's a great project and I can't wait for you to come back and share your dissertation with all of us here at PSEA.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Right?
Aaron Chapin:
One of the reasons obviously was to get more of our young people involved in education, but we also are trying to really diversify this profession. It's clear, we know the facts. We've talked with PDE. Now, in Pennsylvania, it's not a very diverse profession at all. And a lot of it is because kids in some communities just never get this opportunity. They're historically underfunded, we could go on, we could do a whole episode just on that. Do you think that this is going to help with that diversity issue?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I think it very well could. I think more so, it would help bring the representation of the community back to the school. I know I have a couple kids that are native Spanish speakers in my club, and I have a couple kids that are African American and they are a part of our population.
It would be so totally cool for them to come back and be like, "Hey, I'm a product of Phoenixville, and I know where you are at, and I know who you are and let me teach you." I feel like there's definitely something to be said to be representative of the community for sure.
Jeff Ney:
And diversity is absolutely very high on our list of priorities of what we want to see with happen, but just the general teacher shortage that is going on across the state. Do I know where I stand on this whole thing, but do you think that this Ed Rising project and program is going to help that teacher shortage in the long run?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
100%. I really do. I feel like it's very dependent on who you have in the position too. It's got to be someone that loves this job.
Jeff Ney:
Absolutely.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I'm not tooting my own horn, I promise but I really-
Jeff Ney:
You should.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I really do love my job.
Jeff Ney:
You should.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I feel like you need to have someone in that spot that's going to make them excited and tell them the good things and get them pumped a little bit just to delve into it more even.
Aaron Chapin:
We've made that very clear to other districts when we're out shopping this around, really trying to get a district to buy on. I had a district I was meeting with two months ago, and I told him, "If you don't get the right person into this position to lead these young people, you're not doing yourself any favors." You have to have somebody that truly is going to be the biggest cheerleader for education.
Jeff Ney:
100%. And along those lines, you need to pair up those students with a right mentor to make sure that that continues going. I think all three of us could probably tell stories of the mentors that we had that led us to this point. Talk to us a little bit about how important it is to make sure that these students are being paired up with the right mentor to continue that progress.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
The timing of that question is actually pretty funny because like I said, I'm literally communicating with our district administrators and all the buildings. Like today, I sent out an email this morning with the description of what I'm looking for, and every single one of them, I was so excited, they got back to me within 10 minutes and they were all amazed about this program.
They were like, "This is the most exciting thing. Yes, of course you're more than welcome to come in."
They even gave me suggestions of, "Hey, I see you need three teachers that teach second grade. I have blah, so-and-so, so-and-so, and so-and-so, and they would be perfect."
So I'm getting feedback from the administrators like, "These people would be perfect," and I would assume that those people are perfect because they also are into their job and they're into forming the next generation of our teachers.
Jeff Ney:
Along those same lines, and this is a little bit off-topic of this question, but the students themselves, are you seeing a change in the student behaviors or the student mentality as far as wanting to come to school to be part of this program?
Are you seeing in the students, "Hey, wait a minute, I can make a career out of doing something that's really, really cool?"
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I think so. I also, I'm a Spanish teacher, so I see there's a difference in the level of excitement between this particular group of students and let's say the rest of the student population at large. They are really excited to be here and to do this. I have a couple kids that, actually just one that I can think of right now out of my class of 17 that did online school last year for her junior year, and she came back this year to do this class.
Jeff Ney:
Oh.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
And I have a couple of other kids that just the attendance wasn't always there, there was a lot of cutting and not coming in on time, but they are coming because of this class. I really feel like, I hope I'm making an impact, but I feel like for a handful of kids, this is really what's driving them throughout their senior year so that's exciting too.
Aaron Chapin:
Sometimes that's just what it takes, showing kids opportunities, what school can do. Finding a non-traditional, this is not a traditional program. This is out-of-the-box thinking. And look, again, I've said this on these podcasts before, this is what my story is back in high school. This is what got me into education and I think that's what some of our students need today.
Jeff Ney:
And the beauty of this program is also is it's not, you have to do it this specific way. There are multiple ways that you can create Ed Rising in your districts to accommodate the differences that there may be, whether it's rural or urban or maybe you've got to travel. It could be start off with a club. It could be an elective, it could be an after-school program, it could be part of a CTE program. I mean, there's so many different ways to take advantage of the benefits of this program.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah, absolutely. So Brittney, what are your plans for Ed Rising in Phoenixville as you get through this year and into next year? Got any big plans?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I mean, just to continue growing it. A lot of my kids this year are seniors, so that's a little bit scary that I'm going to lose a whole bunch of them. But they're awesome kids. We are lining ourselves up, we're going to go to the state competition in March.
Aaron Chapin:
Awesome.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
We are putting in the permission forms and figuring out competitions and transportation and all the good things. And then we are, I have six girls that are officially deposited and committed to going to nationals in the end of June, which is in Orlando. We are fundraising like crazy because I want this program, this opportunity to be available to them without breaking the bank. We're trying our best.
Aaron Chapin:
Well, that's exciting. And again, as we've talked about this on the podcast before in different venues when you're part of this Ed Rising program, we have a conference that will be taking place every spring. It's in March. I think it's at the end of March this year. We'll be having it in state college because it's the center most place that we can have it and we fund the event for them. The only thing is they have to cover the buses and that's about it right now. We'll see what happens.
Jeff Ney:
Once again, as we know with all of our PSEA events, when you have that collaboration of other people, "Hey, what's your Ed Rising look like in your school versus what does it look like in our school?"
Everybody picks up those little unique additions to their program to make it even better and better from year to year to year. I think that's just an absolute fantastic. Brittney, a follow-up to the competitions, do you know of any of your students that are already looking at schools to major in education?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Yep. I mean, they're starting to commit to places now. Out of the 17 that I have in my class, I want to say that I know of five that have committed already so, "I'm going here and I'm going to be an ed major."
Aaron Chapin:
Wow.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
So that's just going to keep rolling in because it's a little bit early for these decisions to be committed to. But by May, I should have a better number.
Jeff Ney:
Again though, that was the whole point of this whole program and kudos to you and to your district for seeing it. What if somebody's listening to our podcast and they say, "Wow, this sounds like a great idea?"
If they're a school leader and they want to start their own Ed Rising at their school, what advice would you give them in order to make that a reality?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I mean, I think the biggest step that I took to really start the ball rolling was to become a teacher leader, which is free. You just go on to Ed Rising, become a teacher leader. Chris Clayton will then hook up with you and get the ball rolling. He does monthly meetings and keeps us up to date on all the things that are happening, connections that are being made with colleges. And then honestly, it's organic, it just keeps rolling. You find some kids that are interested, you get them excited, you get their friends excited, and it just comes together.
Jeff Ney:
There's not these great big hoops to jump through. This is a community now that you've become accustomed to that you can lean on. You spoke of Chris Clayton. Chris Clayton's a staff member that works here at PSEA, who is now the staff... No, he is the lead on this whole thing across the entire state. So I mean, if anybody knows anything about Ed Rising, this is the person to be able to get in contact with, and it's great to be able to lean on each other.
Aaron Chapin:
You got it.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Yeah.
Aaron Chapin:
Jeff?
Jeff Ney:
Yes, sir.
Aaron Chapin:
Pop quiz time.
Jeff Ney:
Oh, I love.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Pop quiz?
Aaron Chapin:
Pop quiz, Brittney.
Jeff Ney:
Pop quiz, and Brittney, because you're such a special guest, I have a-
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Oh, my.
Jeff Ney:
I have a three-part pop quiz question for you.
Aaron Chapin:
You're going with all three questions.
Jeff Ney:
I'm going with all three questions.
Aaron Chapin:
Geez, I thought it was off some.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Is there extra credit?
Jeff Ney:
There's always extra credit. Trust me, I needed extra credit my entire career. So yes, there's always extra credit.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Fair.
Jeff Ney:
The first question I have for you, the most powerful thing that you have learned from one of your own students.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Okay.
Jeff Ney:
How's that?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
It's a big one, man.
Jeff Ney:
That's why they're a pop quiz. Listen, if you're going to get extra credit.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Got to get the original credit first, don't I? I think the one moment that stands out in my head that I just had, it was a heartwarming situation. I have one fellow that stayed for a club meeting at the beginning of last year, only because he was waiting for his friends, because he was giving them a ride home or vice versa, I don't know.
And he was like, "Ms. E, I'm just going to sit over here and I'm just going to wait."
I was like, "That's fine."
I happened to have organized a round table kind of thing with a friend of mine who's a principal at my kid's school. He came in to talk to the kids about what do principals look for? How does an elementary school run? And whatever. And little by little, my friend, his name's Trevor, he just scooted towards a circle and started asking questions and just got in there. And now, he is the state public relations secretary.
Jeff Ney:
Wow.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
He's just in now. I'm not sure if he's really entertaining an idea at a career in education. I tell them too that this is not committing to your career choice, but it is investigating.
I told him, "For you, friend, this is not a door that you should close because I can see you doing this." And even just a leadership role, but it was just a heartwarming thing to see. I think that's one of the things that sticks out to me the most, to be honest.
Jeff Ney:
You know what? I'm not moving on. We're giving her full extra credit for that.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Whoa.
Jeff Ney:
We don't even need to go to the other two questions.
Aaron Chapin:
Really?
Jeff Ney:
Yeah. That was, come on, that's a great story.
Aaron Chapin:
Yeah, they were all the good questions too.
Jeff Ney:
All right, one more good question. One more good question.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
All right.
Jeff Ney:
So you got to go back to you growing up in school, and who was your favorite teacher growing up and why?
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
It was easy. I could do this one because I had my kids answer this question too so I did this for them already. I went to Downingtown Area High School before it was split into East and West, because I'm older.
Jeff Ney:
Veteran. You are a veteran teacher.
Aaron Chapin:
Seasoned.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I like that better, I'm a veteran teacher. My AP chemistry teacher was named Mr. Schwank. I mean, this was AP Chem. This was not a bird course, it was pretty difficult, it required a lot of work. Maybe I wouldn't have said this in the moment as a senior, but looking back at it now, he was the one that stands out to me as someone who pushed, he pushed me to do my very best. He did not take no for an answer. He did not take, okay, you can do it later. Nope, you're going to do it. But he was still fun, and he was funny and he was cool to be around. He would joke around with you.
I told my kids, "I want to be like Mr. Schwank personally. And I think that's a cool way for you guys to maybe think of this too. You want to be relatable, you want to be 'cool,' but you're also there to push them. You're there to impart knowledge, to inspire. It's not a one-sided story." So Mr. Schwank, AP Chem.
Jeff Ney:
You know what Aaron, it's obvious of why Brittney got her own member spotlight, crying out loud.
Aaron Chapin:
I know.
Jeff Ney:
What a fantastic.
Aaron Chapin:
I know.
Jeff Ney:
Fantastic.
Aaron Chapin:
She's done a great job, and we're super proud of you, Brittney.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Aw.
Aaron Chapin:
We're appreciative at the same time because you really are making a difference. Again, if we did this in every school and you got just five kids in every school, imagine the difference we could be making in this profession. Even if they don't go into the profession, you're making school fun for these kids.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
I hope so.
Aaron Chapin:
And that's what really, yeah, we wanted to get a good education.
Jeff Ney:
Sure.
Aaron Chapin:
You're making it fun. And that's what school is, it's supposed to be fun.
Jeff Ney:
Well, it was too long that we had our own educators wondering, telling our students, "Maybe education's not good."
Aaron Chapin:
Exactly.
Jeff Ney:
Now we've got people like Brittney saying, "No, education's a great, great career to go into."
Aaron Chapin:
I love it. It means a lot to me because having gone to school in Phoenixville, kindergarten to third grade, I love that community. I owe a lot to it, and it's great that you are such a shining star in this. Unfortunately, that's all we got for time today.
Our guest today has been Brittney Ehrenzeller, teacher, leader of the Educator Rising Program in the Phoenixville Area High School. Thank you so much, Brittney, for being with us today. It really means a lot to us.
Brittney Ehrenzeller:
Oh, it was my pleasure. Thank you.
Aaron Chapin:
Awesome. And thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in again. You got some feedback for us, maybe you want advice from Jeff.
Jeff Ney:
Hope so.
Aaron Chapin:
Because nobody's-
Jeff Ney:
Nobody's asked for it yet.
Aaron Chapin:
... nobody's asking any advice of any of us, and I'm really surprised because we really have a lot of-
Jeff Ney:
We have great ideas.
Aaron Chapin:
We have great ideas, but you got to send us an email at podcast@psea.org. I am Aaron Chapin.
Jeff Ney:
And I'm Jeff Ney.
Aaron Chapin:
And you have been listening to Duty Free Lunch. Bye for now.
Voiceover:
You've been listening to Duty Free Lunch with the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Visit psea.org/podcast to learn more, and don't forget to subscribe and share. Paid for by the Pennsylvania State Education Association.