Heiduk Headlines Teaching Conference

Allison Heiduk, Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year, will be the keynote speaker at the third annual Let’s Talk Teaching Conference on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 9 a.m. at Westmont’s Page Multipurpose Room. Heiduk, a third-grade teacher at Vieja Valley Elementary School in the Hope School District, will speak to about 75 Santa Barbara County high school students interested in the teaching profession.

“In light of the current state and national teacher shortage, we need passionate, intelligent and creative young people to choose to teach,” says Michelle Hughes, associate professor of education at Westmont and conference organizer.

Westmont’s student teachers organize and provide inspirational hands-on workshops for participants to learn about the teaching profession. The conference, sponsored by Westmont Admissions and Partners in Education, is free to students and includes a full program, lunch, campus tour and materials.

Heiduk, whose son Tim is a student athlete at Westmont, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara and a multiple-subject teaching credential from Notre Dame de Namur University in the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her teaching career in the Belmont School District about 23 years ago.

For more information about the conference, please contact Michelle Hughes at mhughes@westmont.edu or (805)565-6257.