Paul Teske
July 13, 2023
Traditional career paths in education can seem limited to teaching or administrative roles, but they don’t have to be. Lily Jones, CEO and founder of Educator Forever is proof. She faced the common issue of wanting to stay connected to education while having time for her children. In recent years, reasons for leaving the profession have shifted to being overworked and undervalued. For many, however, their love for teaching remains and they seek ways to stay near education. Building on this vision, Prezi strives to support educators as they venture into new career paths by offering a range of resources designed to help teachers shine in their new endeavors.
Unleashing teachers’ creative potential with Prezi
Prezi acts as a productive canvas to showcase teachers’ skills and creative prowess, assisting teachers in forging new career paths. It’s known for its ability to create high-end visual presentations and self-paced content bundles for learning experiences. It’s the perfect medium for teachers to spotlight their journey and work in a Prezi portfolio that can easily be sent out to potential employers. Many inside and outside of K-12 education don’t realize their skills are transferable and can be leveraged in other careers. Lily struggled with this, too. She wanted to find a flexible role in education that would allow her to work from home while earning a comparable income. She candidly admitted, “I tried everything, not really knowing if my knowledge and skills were transferable.” This struggle led Lily to explore opportunities on the non-traditional side of education.
Her solution came in the form of starting Educator Forever — a company that provides curriculum writing services through its agency and offers courses and programs for teachers to help them make a lasting impact outside of the classroom. While exploring, Lily noticed a need for teaching knowledge in many educational organizations and ed tech companies. She realized that there were countless ways for educators to make an impact outside the traditional classroom setting. This recognition spurred her to talk with fellow teachers and explore further. Lily emphasized, “I never thought as a teacher there was such a need. I thought I could just be a teacher or be an administrator or leave education entirely.” However, her interactions with other teachers fueled her determination to address this unmet need and pave the way for teachers into new and related careers.
Motivated by recurring discussions with other teachers, Lily decided to transform her insights into an online course, aptly named “Beyond the Classroom.” The course started seven years ago, is still ongoing, and helps teachers realize the various avenues available to them beyond traditional teaching. The program’s success encouraged her to expand her offerings and help even more teachers find new paths.
Lily’s mission is to reignite the flame of creativity within teachers, granting them the freedom to design engaging, relevant learning experiences. She laments the loss of creativity among educators who feel compelled to strictly follow prescribed curricula. Educator Forever aims to reestablish teacher autonomy and reawaken their passion for education. Lily affirms, “My heart is in making exciting, relevant learning experiences for kids.” Prezi and Educator Forever give teachers the tools they need to forge new career paths while staying true to what they believe.
How Prezi inspires career transformation
Lily Jones’ journey from being a classroom teacher to the CEO and founder of Educator Forever exemplifies the power of innovation and determination. Her story is an inspiration to many educators looking for options. Prezi is proud to support educators in their endeavors by offering more than just a presentation tool; it’s a dynamic platform that elevates content creation with highly visual and interactive features. Educators can show off their transferable skills and history with embedded PDFs, graphical elements, videos, charts, graphs, and tables. Prezi even has video capability to wow audiences during webinars and add a personalized video touch to your content. All of this interactivity comes together to form great Prezi portfolios that captivate audiences and help redefine what it means to be an educator.
