Oklahoma City, OK -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/21/2016 -- Amanda Eastridge has recently been named Trade & Industrial division New Teacher of the Year by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). The goal of this award is to recognize the very best and most devoted technical teachers who have used innovative methods of teaching in the classroom as well as a commitment to helping their students. Amanda will now advance to the next round where all divisions of applicants are reviewed to select the Oklahoma ACTE New Teacher of the Year Award.
Amanda Eastridge was once a police chief, patrol officer and Department of Defense Investigator, but these days she is a teacher at CareerTech with a total of 15 years of experience in the law enforcement field.
Her career in law enforcement began when she was just 20 years old as a 911 dispatcher; she worked directly under a police chief that she says inspired her to become a police officer. After several years being a patrol officer, she became heavily involved in the DARE Program for McCloud Public Schools.
Just a few years later, Eastridge took a position as an investigator with the Department of Defense, spending a total of 18 months deployed to Afghanistan. When she returned home she was named police chief for Forest Park Police Department. Citing her 8-year-old child's diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, she decided to make a career change, going to work for Metro Tech as a Law Enforcement Services Teacher. Eastridge is known for her innovative approach to teaching law enforcement to her students, providing a unique and effective learning experience for those who take her class.
Over the past few years, Eastridge has really made a name for herself in the classroom. This experienced law enforcement officer and Department of Defense investigator is now very happy working as a teacher and is always trying to come up with new and interesting ways to teach her students.
She has formed a partnership with Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD) that includes an embedded police officer. She has also re-designed the curriculum in an effort to better prepare her students for a career in law enforcement. The curriculum is now closely aligned with the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) Certification as well as the A.A.S. degree in Police Science at OSU-Oklahoma City and the OKCPD Police Academy.
About Metro Technology Centers
Metro Technology Centers is a career and technology center with four campuses. The school was established in 1979 by a vote of the people to serve Oklahoma City in providing career and technology education (CTE). Metro Tech provides full-time career majors for high school and adult students. High school students receive credit toward high school graduation. Both student groups can earn trade certifications and/or licenses.
Contact:
Metro Technology Centers
Address: 1900 Springlake Dr., Oklahoma City, OK 73111
Phone: 405-424-8324
http://www.metrotech.edu/