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Miami Palmetto High School senior Bethany DeFerrari won Junior of the Year for the Early Childhood Education program last spring. As a senior, she’s continuing in the program while also going to Palmetto Elementary School’s Early Childhood Education program as a teacher assistant for kindergarteners.
“I sometimes work with special needs kids one-on-one,” she says. “I help with kindergarteners learning to read. We will do the assignment together.”
Or she’ll work with children who are a little behind either one-to-one or small groups.
“She (the teacher) does stations and I’ll be one of the stations and we do projects together,” DeFerrari says.
She says the teacher she works with is very helpful and makes sure DeFerrari is included with the kids and not just doing busy work.
I love seeing the kids’ progression through the year,” she says. “Just seeing how they barely knew how to write, it’s so fun seeing them at the end of the year making complete sentences. It’s so fulfilling.”
DeFerrari has been in the early childhood program since ninth grade.
This year she is completing her CDA, a certificate that will allow her to be a teacher assistant for elementary school or below right out of high school.
“I’ve always loved kids,” she says. “Growing up and going to camp, I always wanted to be a counselor. I love grading papers and organizing things.”
The best part of working with kids, she says, is seeing them grow.
“I love seeing their personalities grow and show as a person,” she says.
At Palmetto, DeFerrari has been on the lacrosse team since tenth grade. Last year was a good year for the team as they qualified for the regional playoffs for the first time.
She’s the secretary of the Future Florida Educators Alliance (FFEA).
“We do community service after school in day cares or pre-schools,” she says. “This year we’re planning on doing drives for school supplies. That’s one thing I’m going to advocate for.”
She wants to help schools less fortunate than those in Pinecrest. Areas such as Hialeah or less affluent sections of Miami.
“The reason I thought of it, is that there was a big issue at Pinecrest,” she says. “I saw that after Christmas break, there was no more crayons, no more colored pencils.”
The teacher had to go out and buy supplies. DeFerrari says there are many teachers who can’t afford that, and she wants to help those teachers.
DeFerrari is on the Teacher Appreciation Board of the Student Council.
“We have a big role in things we do to appreciate teachers,” she says. “Last year the people on the board did a pen pal, each student-on-student council would write notes, around holidays. We’re going to do some new ideas this year.”
She’s been on the Class of ’23 cabinet, a member of Key Club, and a member of Psi Alpha.
She’s applying to Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., Boston College, Colleges of Holy Cross, Appalachian State, and other Florida colleges as an early childhood education major.
Her community service includes working at a non-profit called Morningstar Renewal Center, cleaning dishes after school.
“My mom works there,” she says. “I like to help out as much as possible.”
She doesn’t have to wash the dishes by hand; there’s a big machine and she racks everything and washes everything down. She puts on her headphones and gets into the groove.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
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