Connecting Local Teachers to Local Businesses Pays Dividends
By Hermann Pereira
Being an educator is one of the most rewarding and difficult careers around. We constantly invest our time and effort into the next generation and the school year feels like a marathon. So by the time the summer hits we just want to prop our feet up. But educators are some of the most dedicated professionals around so we spend our summers attending professional development sessions in order to improve at our craft.
This past summer teachers at Connally ISD had the unique opportunity to participate in a teacher externship program through a grant that we were awarded through the University of Texas STEM Center. The goal of the externship was to interact directly with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) industry leaders and learn about industry trends, needs, and opportunities that they can bring back to the classroom to enhance instruction and ultimately, student learning and achievement. We had 19 teachers from a variety of teaching fields who engaged with industry partners here in Waco. In this blog we will highlight 3 of our teachers and what their takeaways were from the program:
Liesel Wilson – Spanish/AVID
The recent Tex2 summer externship that I was a part of was truly an eye-opening experience! As a classroom teacher for 25 years, I have plenty of educational experience, but not a lot of encounters with the business world. This opportunity to spend time with various local businesses and learn first-hand how teachers could better prepare future candidates for the job world was an invaluable lesson.
I was able to visit HOLT CAT Machines and Engines, KWTX TV, Central Texas Iron Works, Vossloh, the Lacy Lakeview Police Department, and a robotics class at TSTC. At each location, the overwhelming response to what our students were lacking was the basic knowledge of soft skills. Applicants need to be aware of proper interview dress, use of cell phones (or lack thereof), the importance of eye contact, and a firm handshake. This take away was something that I was easily able to implement daily both inside and outside the classroom. Upon entering, all students must shake my hand and look me in the eye while saying “Good morning”, or “Nice to see you”. It was important for me to first teach my classes HOW to shake hands and the implicit value of body language and eye contact. After MUCH practice, this has become second nature to my students. I use myself as an example of the NO cell phone policy that many workplaces enforce. Students are not permitted to text during class time, so I also follow this rule. Leading by example shows students that I value the rules and understand why they are in place.
All in all, the externship was a tremendous experience. I am happy to say that the takeaways were relevant and definitely worth spending time on to ensure that students will be ready to face the world of work after graduation!
Liesel Wilson has been in education for twenty-four years. She currently teaches Spanish 2 and is one of the AVID elective teachers at Connally High School. In her free time, she loves to read, trail run, and have amazing travel experiences with her children Joslyn and Savanna.
Julia Jirovsky – Debate Coach
As a communication teacher, the opportunity to speak with employers around Waco in the TEX2 externship was tremendously valuable. Speaking with Express Employment Solutions highlighted a need for students to leave high school with an understanding of professional documents such as résumés and cover letters. Specifically, students can give themselves an edge in the job market by submitting résumés that are not adapted from popular web templates. In addition, touring manufacturing operations such as Englander dZignPak and Vossloh taught me that many of the most successful employees, regardless of education level, are ones that show up on time, ask questions, and take initiative in the workplace. It was validating to learn that the skills Waco’s job market craves are ones that we teachers can reinforce every day in every content area. We can hold our students to high standards, require attendance and timeliness, knowing that these soft skills will propel our students to success after graduation.
Julia Jirovsky is a second year teacher and debate coach. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and currently teaches Debate, Professional Communication, and Principles of Education and Training. In her free time, Julia enjoys judging debate, crafting, and going to metal concerts.
Miranda Flanary – Business
As a business education teacher with prior work experience, it is important to take advantage of ways to refresh and renew my knowledge what is happening in today’s workplaces. The externship offered this invaluable opportunity as I was able to gain insight at a variety of local employers, including KWTX Channel 10, DeuxSouth Creative, Caterpillar, Sherwin Williams, and the City of Waco. These businesses each demand very different levels of education and work experience amongst their employees. However, there was a consistent message when it came to transferable skills: these are the foundation on which any successful employee is built. Dependability, reliability, willingness to learn, and communication skills are essential, regardless of the hard or technical skills needed for a job. This information allows me to reference real-world expectations at real-world employers, beyond my own work experience, to drive home how students need to be prepared for the next stages in life.
Miranda Flanary is a native Wacoan and has been in education for five years, following careers in financial services and human resources. She currently teaches Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance; Entrepreneurship; and General Employability Skills and is the CTE department head. In her free time, Miranda enjoys live music, traveling, trivia, and spending time reading and drawing with her 8 year old son Regan.
Opportunities like this need to continue because the beneficiaries of these programs are the students of our community. When public educators, the business community, and higher education entities come together the possibilities are endless.
Connally would like to thank all of our partners that made this experience so meaningful. We look forward to connecting with them and others this next summer:
Hermann Pereira is the Principal of Connally Career Tech Early College High School and AVID Coordinator and has been in education for 12 years. He is a Houstonian who roots for all Houston sports teams, but has called Waco home for the past decade. He has been married to his wife Kristi for 14 and a half years and has two children, Hudson who is 10 years old and Ruby who is 7 years old.