Recently our Executive Director, Jayda Batchelder, had the opportunity to speak at the Extra Yard for Teachers Summit in Dallas. EYFT  is a day-long summit of speakers, panels and workshops designed both to energize current educators and interest potential future teachers.  Jayda was asked to be the closing keynote speaker, and share her knowledge to current and future teachers as a powerful closing call to action.

2017 marked the third annual Extra Yard For Teachers summit held in Dallas as part of a partnership with the College Football Playoff National Championship. EYFT originated out of a desire to give back to the communities and teachers that support student athletes. 2017 was a particularly notable year as it marked the launch of a community-wide initiative, TeachDFW.org, that aims to elevate the teaching profession and attract high quality educators to the DFW region.

With breakout sessions in a variety of categories, from becoming an excellent teacher to strategies for teacher success and teachers as leaders for change making, the day highlighted the great work happening in the education space in Dallas. Education advocates Byron Sanders and Todd Williams played key roles in supporting the day, along with guest speaker Jaime Casap, Chief Education Evangelist at Google. As the closing keynote, Jayda was able to share her story, increasing the visibility of Education Opens Doors in the community and building awareness and the potential for new partnerships. Congrats to the EYFT team on a successful summit- we were honored to be a part of it!