When hundreds of educators filled the marble hallways of the Idaho Statehouse on Monday, some of the most dedicated voices belonged to those who haven’t even graduated college yet.
For Sofia Bronaugh and Emily Pearson of the Aspiring Educators-University of Idaho Chapter, and Kelsey Smith of the newly formed Boise State University chapter, Lobby Day was about more than observing the legislative process. It was about continuing to build power they can wield throughout their careers.
“I didn’t realize, walking to the Capitol this morning, the power and the amount of people who care,” Bronaugh said. “And especially this year when more people have shown up, because we need to as educators and future educators.”
A New Chapter at Boise State
For Smith, whose Boise State chapter was officially approved just a few days before at the Idaho Education Association Board of Directors
meeting, Lobby Day offered something she hadn’t experienced before. It was her first chance to have real, one-on-one conversations with policymakers.
“I’ve been to the Capitol before with large groups of people, but it was nice to have just us,” she said of her fellow educators-in-training.
Just a few months ago, Smith and her fellow educators had relaunched the Boise State chapter from scratch by emailing education professors, presenting at student teacher seminars, and building texting chains to keep potential members informed.
For Smith, who comes from a long line of educators, union organizing is in her blood: Her grandfather, Willie Sullivan, served as IEA president in the early 1980s.
Where Policy Meets Reality
Pearson and Bronaugh said Lobby Day was a chance to bring the realities of teacher preparation directly to lawmakers.
“We talked about paid student teaching,” Bronaugh said. “We’re having to pay tuition and work a full-time job for free, so being able to have even just a stipend or something to help student teachers be able to student teach would be awesome so we get more of a diverse group.”
Pearson was surprised when a lawmaker asked about the quality of their education programs, especially classroom management — training all three said was lacking at the university level.
“So that opens some doors in the future for us to maybe invite the governor to come to campus and speak to faculty and students and see what he can be doing better to prepare teachers,” she said.
The conversations felt especially urgent in the wake of last year’s voucher legislation. Both Pearson and Bronaugh had closely followed the bill’s progress and watched educators mobilize, only to see it signed into law anyway.
“Knowing the work that the IEA was doing … and then seeing an outcome like that, it definitely fires you up,” she said.
That fire has translated into deeper involvement with IEA and a growing sense of connection to current educators.
“People that I barely met, just give me as much support as they possibly can,” Pearson said. “It’s incredible to see people who are great teachers, who are active members of their community, who are engaged politically… like that’s just everything I want to be.”
‘Just Because We Are Tiny …’
When asked what they want IEA members to know about aspiring educators, Smith didn’t hesitate.
“I want them to know that just because we are tiny, we are so mighty,” she said. “We support them just as they support us.”
Smith added, “That community is just really important, and I want them to know that we feel that community… we are trying to give that community back to them as well.”
Pearson agreed, reflecting on the challenges and joys of organizing.
“I was telling them on the way back from the Capitol — I could just cry thinking about it — I thought that it was going to be the end when I graduated,” she said. “I thought that would be it because it was just so hard to get people engaged and be involved.
“But just seeing everyone get to come down, like breaking attendance records,” she continued. “That’s incredible.
