Kofa CTE teacher celebrated through Good ings in Education program
Kiley Mackell teaches biomedical technology
On Friday, Kofa High School biomedical technology teacher Kiley Mackell was honored through the Yuma County Superintendent’s Office’s Good Things in Education program.
Mackell, who has been with Kofa for five years, was presented with a certificate and $100 award – as well as an outdoor speaker, on account of it being Teacher Appreciation Week. Her students cheered her on during the surprise, which Mackell said was “totally out of the blue.”
“I’m completely shocked,” she noted. “It’s nice to know that people recognize the things that I’m doing.”
“Ms. Mackell really takes our mission to the next level. She prepares all of her kids for college, careers, and community,” Kofa High School Principal Lilian Campa told the Yuma Sun. “That’s something that we strive to do – to always prepare our kids and ensure that they’re ready to go as a good human being in our Yuma area.”
The Good Things in Education initiative kicked off back in late 2023 and is focused on highlighting educators all across the
county. Mackell is the first Yuma Union High School District (YUHSD) teacher honored through the program, as well as the first Career & Technical Education (CTE) educator.
Eliana Osborn, Yuma County Program Specialist for the Arizona Department of Education, spoke on the importance of highlighting high school CTE teachers.
“We’re so excited to honor high school teachers
and not just teachers for younger grades,” she said. “CTE is huge in our community. We have STEDY, but we also have CTE programs at every single high school, and they do all kinds of hands-on things.”
“If we can get kids out of high school and able to work straight after graduation, they can support themselves while going to college or figure out what they want to do next,” Osborn added.