Shaping tomorrow's teachers today

Aspiring teachers are prepared to change lives — one student at a time 

It’s March in Lindsey Belmonte’s kindergarten classroom at a Cheyenne elementary school, and a large shamrock is taking shape on the wall. The students are given small shamrock stickers when their teacher finds them being kind to one another.  

“Each time I catch them being kind, they get to put a sticker on the big shamrock,” Lindsey says.  

 If the children can complete the shamrock by receiving stickers for acts of kindness, they’ll get to celebrate with a party. For Lindsey, it’s about teaching the children at a young age to enjoy life and appreciate others by getting along.  

“I love those little moments where they just shine as little people—it makes it all worthwhile,” she says.  

Guiding children to enrich their lives within all aspects of education is what drives Lindsey, a Cheyenne native, to do her best work as a teacher in her lifelong community, she says. The role as a Davis kindergarten teacher began in January after Lindsey completed her bachelor’s degree through the online education program at Valley City State University in North Dakota. It was the culmination of a higher education journey that began at Laramie County Community College.  

After graduating from East High School in 2002, Lindsey says she took a few education courses at LCCC. Her plan changed not long after as she got married and started a family. But by 2020, her children were teenagers, and her husband, an Army National Guard member, was deployed. The time seemed right, Lindsey thought, to restart her path to a degree.  

It’s a fulfilling career choice, Lindsey says, because she knows the impact she can make on individual youngsters and the community.  
“I love to see the effort put forth and see the kids are learning and growing, and to know that I’ve made a difference,” she says. “It’s stressful at times, but for me, there’s no more rewarding career.”  

LCCC offers degrees in its all-online programs for elementary and secondary education, intending to produce competent, highly reflective educators. For Dr. Arshi Rizwani-Nisley, LCCC Education faculty member, that means educators need to always be open to new ideas and change.  

“We must know our students, their communities, their struggles, and attempt to meet them where they are and teach them to move beyond their barriers,” she says.  

To achieve that, LCCC must be current in educational research and instruction methods, says Ann Shelby, another Education faculty member.  

“Educators should be supported as professionals, and they should be committed to continual improvement of their teaching,” she says.  
Lindsey says she found all that and more in LCCC’s program. As much as she learned from the instructors, Lindsey says a great deal of her education came from the interactions with other students that her classes facilitated.  

“It was such a diverse group—some I was old enough to be their mother and others were old enough to be my mother,” she says with a laugh. “It was such an outstanding group of individuals in a collaborative environment; it worked for all of us.”  

Many students, including nontraditional students, are looking for more flexibility in their higher education. As such, LCCC offers several quality programs online, including its Education Program. Lindsey began during the COVID-19 pandemic when much of society was shut down, but she says the online offering in the Education Program made it possible to move forward with her plans.  

“LCCC gave me the tools to be successful in my online program, and they wanted me to be successful,” Lindsey says. “I’ve grown tremendously as a person after going to school online and getting a job that I’ve always wanted.”   

The credits Lindsey earned at LCCC transferred seamlessly to her university because of an articulation agreement. (LCCC also has an articulation agreement with the University of Wyoming.) By the time she graduated with her associate degree in Spring 2022, LCCC’s online classes and the capstone course—or practicum that takes the college students into K-12 classrooms to work with teachers and students—had done more than enough to prepare Lindsey for the university-level courses, she says.   

LCCC’s role in producing highly trained educators isn’t just a benefit for the individuals attaining degrees, says Scott Moncrief, LCCC Education faculty member. The impact reverberates throughout society. 

“We must have a well-educated citizenry for our democratic society to continue to function,” he says. “Education is essential to produce citizens who are critical thinkers.” 

That point isn’t lost on Lindsey as she prepares for the next day’s lessons. It’s obvious to her that the difference teachers make in children’s lives will carry with them in everything they do. With her eyes on the future of education in southeast Wyoming, Lindsey says she’ll always remember that LCCC played a critical role in getting her to this point.  

“Going to LCCC is just what I needed to get rolling,” she says. “Nothing could be more fulfilling than having this career that I love.”

Find out more about LCCC’s Education Program at lccc.wy.edu/education.