Todd Roberts taught 6th grade in Emporia Public schools and 3rd grade in Derby prior to working at Emporia State. He is currently the Director of the BEST Program (Butler and Emporia, Students to Teachers) which is a partnership between Butler CC and Emporia State for elementary education majors.

One of his passions is talking to future teachers about the profession. In Fall 2021 he was named the Director of the Kansas Future Teacher Academy. This is an opportunity for current freshman, sophomores, and juniors from across the state to come together at Emporia State University for five days and learn about about the teaching profession. Current practitioners share their insight into social emotional learning, project based learning, active engagement, and overall best practices. Hearing from experts such as Dr. Randy Watson, 2022 KTOY Winner Susanne Stevenson, KTOY 2020 finalist Amy Hillman and Shawn Hornung, along with SEL experts Tracie Chauvin and Dustin Springer.

In June 2022 we had 60 students from 42 high schools. In June 2023 we are looking to grow the program to more students. 

 If you know a high schooler interested in becoming a teacher or working in education they can attend KFTA June 5-9, 2023.