On Wednesday, Jan. 13 the Teacher Training Academy, also known as TRAC for short, held their first meeting to introduce new students to the benefits of the program.

The meeting was lead by Jennifer Gomez who is currently the Urban Teacher Fellowship Coordinator and Student Support Specialist and former TRAC participant, along with a current Teacher TRAC participant Matthew Botello.

In this informational meeting, interested students were outlined the basics of the program for example, how there are specific pathways that future educators can choose from, specialized counselors, special contracts to transfer to CSU Long Beach, scholarship opportunities, amongst other tools.

There were 10 students and a specialized counselors in attendance.

Teacher TRAC counselor Chris Sugiyama said,”The most gratifying part has been to see the student success, just to give you an example we had one of our students attend the Palm Springs Conference and four years later she was the one presenting at the conference.

“Things like that are what make this job so gratifying, to know that we are preparing our students well for success, the counselor added.”

Botello stated, “I decided to come to Cerritos specifically because they offered TRAC which was something that I believed would help me gain skills like the UTF program did.”

During the meeting there was special emphasis in letting students know that there is a growing need for new teachers, and that future educators are in a prime position.

After the economic recession many teachers were laid off and many were discouraged to pursue this career, now however there is a need of about 50,000 teachers and it will keep increasing.

“The demand for teachers is on the rise, more money has been allocated to education so there is somewhere to go with this career.

“Teacher TRAC offers different pathways so you don’t have to just be an elementary school teacher, but you can decide to focus on teaching trades like woodworking, welding, or automotive, Sugiyama concluded.”

Ms.Gomez spoke about her experience after TRAC, she was able to transfer to CSU Long Beach, and found that all the skills that she had gained through the TRAC program really put her at an advantage.

When it came to things like knowing different teaching strategies, feeling confident and comfortable in a classroom, she credits the program for these advantages.

The hands on experience that the program is able to offer to its students through internships and conference opportunities helps.

The Teacher TRAC program accepts applications every semester and there is no limit to the amount of people who can join. There are set requirements to meet however, if anyone feels unsure about their eligibility the TRAC team is there to help.