Sturgis Brown High School teacher Coleen Keffeler attended the Association for Career and Technical Education in Las Vegas this year, not only to learn, but also lead.

Keffeler, who serves as the association's national president, led about 8,000 of its 30,000 members through the conference last month, which focused on enhancing technical learning and preparing students for the future.

The conference, she said, was about asking the question: "As a school, what are we doing and could do that would better prepare (students) when they leave our doors?"

Participants discussed current legislative issues, programs and challenges in education and took part in three days of breakout sessions, which included talks by educators and motivational speakers.

Eric Weihenmayer, the first blind man to reach the summit of Mount Everest, spoke about perseverance. Representatives from the Department of Labor, state businesses and industry were also there to discuss how schools can better prepare students for the work force.

Sturgis principal Jeff Simmons also attended the conference and said Keffeler was outstanding in her role. "She had this huge task, and she is a full-time teacher," he said. "We're extremely proud. She's very unassuming, and she has tremendous talent."

Keffeler first started her work for the national association in South Dakota in 1986. She was awarded a leadership stipend to attend the national conference in 1990 and began serving on the national board. Keffeler was then awarded the association's Teacher of the Year award in 2002, and she ran for the position of national president last year. Her term will end in June.

Keffeler said she always comes back from the conference energized and ready to make changes for the better.

"Some of the staff come back really excited and wondering 'How can we fit this into our budget to help our students?'" she said.

The new ideas are good - but even better when they are part of a larger focus, Simmons said.

"There's hundreds of sessions, and what we try to do is focus on a direction as a school," he said, which can be overwhelming if everyone wants to do something different.

Working on small learning communities for students and creating time during the school day for teachers to share ideas is part of the direction the school is moving, he said.

Sturgis teacher Chad Hedderman has attended the conference four or five years, and he came back this year with ideas about new classes he might want to teach in the future.

"It gets you reenergized and excited about teaching again," he said. "You leave ready to go back into the classroom again."

Keffeler, who also serves the school as the Perkins loan coordinator, academic adviser and internship coordinator, said education associations can be a great opportunity for teachers.

"I think being involved in a professional organization helps teachers do their jobs better, and so (they) stay up to date, and their teaching is relevant," she said. "The more that teacher can show that what they're teaching is important for the future, the more students will take ownership."

Contact Kayla Gahagan at 394-8410 or kayla.gahagan@rapidcityjournal.com