PIRATE program builds community of future educators

One year ago, Barrett Morris was a recent high school graduate attending the East Carolina University College of Education’s Pirate Institute for Regional Aspiring Teachers and Educators (PIRATE) program. This year, he experienced the other side of the program as a student leader.

“This has been one of the most rewarding opportunities that I have had here at ECU,” said the English education major and Honors College student. “My favorite experience has been helping the students plan their mini lesson plans. They all are so eager to get in the classroom, and it makes me feel proud for our future generation of teachers.”

This year’s PIRATE program was attended by 99 high school students from 63 high schools, representing 31 North Carolina counties. (Photos by Kristen Martin)

For three days, almost 100 rising high school juniors, seniors and recent graduates from 31 North Carolina counties immersed themselves into life as an education major at ECU. Participants experienced all facets of college life including spending the night in Clement Residence Hall, eating meals in West End Dining Hall, playing games in the Eakin Student Recreation Center, and going to presentations and classes.

“My favorite part of working with the PIRATE program has been witnessing the real-time growth of our participants,” said Arnez Wallace, outreach and engagement specialist and director of PIRATE. “When they arrive on campus for move‑in, many are understandably nervous about stepping into a new environment. Yet by the end of the very first day, I can already see them opening up, exploring their interests through education, and forming meaningful connections with their peers.”

That connection to other students is a benefit echoed by many participants, including rising high school seniors Kristen Newbold of Swansboro High School and Landon Hill of Clinton High School.

“My favorite experience is meeting other future educators who love education just as much as I do,” Newbold said. “It’s neat to have everybody come together as one and get to see everybody’s experiences from difference schools and different perspectives of education.”

At his high school, Hill is a member of a student organization for future teachers. Several of the members decided to attend PIRATE together.

“Where we’re from, there’s not a bunch of people who say they want to be teachers,” he said. “It’s cool to see that outside of where we live, there’s a lot of people who still want to be teachers.”

For Dr. Charity Cayton, every year working as a faculty facilitator in the PIRATE program is an amazing experience. Cayton, an associate professor and director of 6-12 education, has been involved with PIRATE since it began five years ago.

Josef Curtis, left, and Landon Hill teach a lesson on how lactic acid affects your muscles after exercising.

“Each year the participants come in with enthusiasm and passion to learn and experience what it means to be an educator,” she said. “I love the diversity of interests each year. We always have a range across grade levels, content and licensure areas. Many of them come in with experiences teaching/working with students from their schools through organizations like Teacher Cadet, which adds to the overall experience for all participants.”

The main improvements she has seen since the beginning have been the addition of the residential experience and expanding the number of faculty facilitators from four to six.

“We used this opportunity to pair up with another faculty facilitator and organize students within groups matched with faculty expertise,” she said. “We had three faculty pairings: elementary math education and special education, secondary math education and special education, and two literacy. This allowed us to have smaller individual groups and partner our groups together throughout PIRATE.”

While this program was many students’ first experience at ECU, it was Wallace’s first year as a director.

“My first year helping direct the PIRATE Program has truly been a rewarding experience,” he said. “Having the opportunity to shape an experience where high school students explore education alongside outstanding faculty and staff through hands-on learning and allowing them space to build genuine connections with one another, has been fulfilling.”

Current secondary history education major and Honors College student Caroline Madigan was inspired to become a PIRATE student leader after her own experience in the program.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to encourage and support future educators as they begin their journey toward becoming teachers,” she said. “Participating in this camp helped solidify that goal even more. I enjoyed working with high school students and being able to connect with them on a deeper level while discussing the material. This experience reinforced my passion for teaching and showed me how rewarding it is to help students learn and gain confidence in their abilities.”

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