CTE program gives Maryville student early start in teaching

CTE program gives Maryville student early start in teaching 

Daily Times 

January 21, 2026 

By: Shanon Adame 

Maryville High School senior Mayson Tibbets has a full plate. He’s on the wrestling team, works a job at a coffee shop, is getting ready to graduate and is the district’s first student education support assistant hire. 

Through the school’s Career and Technical Education program, “Teaching as a Profession,” Tibbets is getting hands-on learning in the art of teaching. 

Every school day, from 7:40 a.m. to 11:40 a.m., Tibbets makes the short walk from MHS to Sam Houston Elementary School to work with kindergarten students in their English studies. He helps the teacher in the classroom by assisting students with their tasks, supporting their reading, and performing the duties any professional teaching assistant would. 

Tibbets said seeing the students improve is a highlight of his work. In just the week and a half that he has been working in the classroom, he said he already sees improvement in reading. 

“I have one kid that I have already seen so much improvement from, in just his reading alone. I read with him on my first day, and I read with him today — it’s already a huge improvement. So, that’s nice to see,” Tibbets said. 

Tibbets began the program as a sophomore but said he had been interested in teaching since the sixth grade. He said his father, who was a teacher at Montgomery Ridge Intermediate School, was a source of inspiration. 

Working in the classroom is preparing Tibbets, should he choose to pursue a licensure in college. But even if he chooses another route, he said that taking on the position is helping him learn important time management skills that he will apply when he’s in his full course load at school. 

For now, Tibbets is considering possibilities in coaching or teaching and is looking at schools like East Tennessee State University, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, or Mount St. Joseph University in Ohio. 

The “Teaching as a Profession” program is a three-part program in which students start in Level I, which introduces them to the profession and covers components of instruction. Students are able to observe classes, but do not participate. 

In Level II, students review concepts of higher-order thinking and strategies for effective classroom planning. Students also take an exam that earns them college credits. 

Level III, where Tibbets is currently, is the work-based learning, where students go into classrooms and assist. Tibbets is the first student to combine work-based learning with employment. 

Maryville High School CTE Instructor Natasha McMurray said CTE pathways, like their teaching program, allow students to try out different career paths before they get to college. 

McMurray said the teaching program began in 2020 and is still evolving as a fairly new program. 

“I’m constantly evolving it because education is constantly evolving,” she said.