September 19, Adrian, MI ─ The Align Center for Workforce Development Celebrated its fourth annual Teacher/Counselor Externship program with an awards banquet at the Lenawee Now office. The externship program had nine teachers and counselors participating from Hudson, Tecumseh, Adrian, Sand Creek, Blissfield, Morenci and Clinton Schools. Externs were placed a seven different host sites: Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee, Lenawee County Medical Examiner, Evonik, W2 Fuel, ProMedica, YMCA Storer Camp and the Align Center for Workforce Development. At this dinner, externs gave presentations about their experiences and received awards for completion of the program.
The Align Center for Workforce Development created the externship program in partnership with the Lenawee Intermediate School District (LISD) In 2021. This initiative was designed to help educators learn about careers that could benefit their students and gain real-world insights they could use in the classroom.
Externs were matched with participating employers and spent two weeks of the summer at the employer’s facility. Throughout that time, educators shadowed the different departments and learned about the necessary skills to perform the various roles. In addition, they are provided opportunities to work on relevant projects for the company. As part of the initiatives, educators receive a stipend and SCECH’s State Continuing Education Clock hours) toward their certification requirements.
The program culminated in a dinner, where participants delivered presentations on their externship experience, detailing what the company did, and what they would bring back to the classroom. Throughout the night, externs shared how they benefitted from the program. Many noted that they discovered numerous careers with which they were not previously familiar, and were able to help students see practical applications for classroom assignments.
Ron Schaffner, a science and math teacher at Clinton High School and extern at W2 Fuel shared how the experience would help students ground their coursework in AP Chemistry with real-world application. According to Schaffner “That kind of out-of-classroom experience I think is invaluable. A lot of kids learn a lot of content, in a silo almost, where it’s not an applied thing. I can’t encourage teachers enough, to look at the variety of opportunities they have, and you and your students will benefit tremendously.”
The night concluded with the externs and employers being presented with awards and certificates of completion to celebrate the fourth year of a successful program.