Sheri Deaton Named Arkansas Association of Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year

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Family and Consumer Sciences Instructor Sheri Deaton spent hours planning a Zoom graduation for her students in May since they weren't able to attend an in-person commencement.

Sheri Deaton, University of Arkansas clinical instructor of family and consumer sciences, was recently named Arkansas 2020 Association of Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year.

The award recognizes teacher educators who demonstrate innovation in the classroom, leadership in improving career and technical education, and commitment to preparing teachers to deliver high quality programs.

"This is a tremendous honor, and I am thrilled to represent our state next year at the Region IV ACTE Conference," Deaton said. "This is good news for our degree program and for our institution."

Deaton is a nationally board-certified teacher with 17 years of experience in career and technical education. Prior to joining the U of A College of Education and Health Professions in 2016, Deaton taught family and consumer sciences education at the high school and middle school levels for 13 years while actively advising students involved in Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.

The last four years, Sheri has served as an instructor, mentor and supervisor for teacher candidates pursuing teaching certifications related to business education, technology education and family and consumer sciences education at the U of A. Her role involves developing and implementing curriculum to meet the diverse needs of these teacher candidates, supervising teaching internships, serving as faculty adviser for family and consumer sciences teacher candidates, and developing content for courses offered through the college.

Deaton has served as parliamentarian for the Arkansas Association of Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences and as a board member for the Arkansas FCCLA Alumni. She serves on five advisory boards for career and technical education programs in Northwest Arkansas, assisting local schools with resources, letters of support, and serving as a guest speaker as needed.

Deaton has collaborated with members of the Arkansas Department of Education to assist with standard creation, modification, and alignment for courses in family and consumer sciences offered in the upcoming year, and frequently provides professional development for new family and consumer science teachers across the state. She also volunteers as an evaluator for annual Arkansas FCCLA state STAR events.

Bobbi Bodenhamer, one of Deaton's students who graduated from the U of A in May, wrote a letter recommending her instructor for Teacher of the Year. She said Deaton uses unique teaching methods to keep students engaged and to help prepare them to excel in their own classrooms after graduation.

"She modeled a number of tools including Screen Castify, Flipgrid, Plickers, Nearpod, and Quizizz," Bodenhamer said. "Rather than just showing us these sites, she implemented them into our education of assessment topics, so this allowed us to see not only how to create them but how they work from a student's perspective."

Betsy Orr, program coordinator for the U of A Career and Technical Education program, said Deaton specializes in "being there" for her students. Amid the pandemic, Deaton eased fears and assisted at an even higher level to help students, she said.

"As an instructor, Mrs. Deaton is one of the most popular instructors on campus," Orr said. "Her creativity and energetic personality are evidenced in her course evaluations. She receives some of the highest evaluations in the department."

Orr said her colleague has revamped the family and consumer life program at the university.

"When she saw a need for a sewing lab and funding was an issue, Mrs. Deaton immediately developed a plan to obtain funding for a learning lab," Orr said. "The College of Education and Health Professions now has its first sewing lab."

Deaton frequently presents research at the Arkansas ACTE conferences, and was awarded the Arkansas ACTE Post-Secondary Teacher of the Year in 2018. Additional awards include: 2018 Curriculum and Instruction Teacher of the Year from the University of Arkansas; 2018 AATFACS Post-Secondary Teacher of the Year; 2014-15 Arkansas ACTE Teacher of the Year; and 2014-15 AATFACS Teacher of the Year.