Edwardsville High School Accounting Teacher Named Madison County's New CTE Teacher of the Year

EDWARDSVILLE - Kali Patterson has been selected as a New CTE Teacher of the Year for Madison County.

Patterson teaches accounting, business management, international business, and a workplace learning course at Edwardsville High School in the Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7. She also serves as an adjunct accounting professor at SIUE. After spending 17 years in public accounting, she decided to start teaching to share her love for the profession with up-and-coming young professionals.

“I just really wanted to give back to what I’ve learned in the accounting industry and help other kiddos learn about and fall in love with the profession like I did, so that’s why I actually got certified in high school business education two years ago and took up a job at Edwardsville to teach accounting,” she said. “I love it.”

Patterson shared that her goal as a CTE teacher is to help students learn as much as they can about the field before they graduate high school. This allows them to decide whether or not accounting is for them.

Her honors accounting class also offers college credit through SIUE, which gets her students “one step ahead of graduating college and doing what they want to do in their careers.” It’s important to her to support her students and help them make decisions that will bring them closer to their professional goals.

This is partly why the workplace learning course, formerly known as co-op, is such an exciting opportunity for her as a teacher. This class teaches basic career skills, from communication to teamwork to adaptability.

Students can also use class time to research their desired career paths and learn more about the day-to-day responsibilities, the education/training requirements, and other important information so they can make informed decisions about their futures. Patterson enjoys supporting her students through these decisions and watching them figure out what their next steps are.

Patterson recognizes that accounting and business aren’t for everyone, but she is extremely passionate about the courses she teaches, and this inspires passion in her students. The relationships she forms with her students go a long way in encouraging them, and she looks forward to the day she has a former EHS student in her SIUE classes.

“I think the students see that I have a passion for teaching what I’m teaching,” she said. “I come from the corporate world. I have all this experience and knowledge that I just want to share with them. I think they see that. I think my favorite part is just seeing them get excited as well about a subject and really just creating a relationship.”

Patterson noted that Edwardsville High School has a fantastic CTE program, with many classes in economics, the medical field, the technical trades, and more. She said the school works hard to make sure they are offering updated classes that cater to the industries and the students’ needs.

She added that the New CTE Teacher of the Year recognition from Madison County “means a lot,” especially because she wasn’t expecting it. As the school year comes to a close, Patterson looks forward to continuing teaching her classes and supporting her students at EHS and beyond.

“Edwardsville High School cares about making sure that the students are getting the education that they need, whether it’s CTE or any other course,” she added. “We are definitely trying to do the best that we can for them. They have a great foundation for when they graduate.”

Congratulations to Kali Patterson for the New CTE Teacher of the Year in Madison County recognition.

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