Iowa Central Career Connections Externships
What is an Externship?
An externship is an unique professional development opportunity for educators to connect the workplace to the classroom. It provides an opportunity for educators to spend time in a business/industry to learn through hands-on experience about practices related to their subject in order to improve and strengthen their teaching by bringing relevance to student learning.
Purpose
The purpose of an externship is for educators to learn how classroom content and learning strategies apply in the workplace by engaging in daily activities of a local business and/or industry. Educators are able to build the bridge between knowledge and skill-based education by being updated about current workplace practices, requirements, and employability skills that meet current industry standards. The experience will be able to bring relevance to student learning by being able to tie real-world application to their lessons.
Benefits
- Provide a fresh perspective about today’s workplace and the skills students need to succeed.
- Increase ability to explain the value of what students are learning and why it is relevant.
- Provides an experience to learn new technology and first-hand knowledge of what businesses need and expect of its future workforce.
- Ability to help students learn employability and adaptability skills in order to be prepared for the workforce.
- Connect basic academic skills to employability skills by constructive conversation with business and industry.
- Opportunity to have any questions answered by a business professional and aid in the design of a lesson plan.
Program Quick Facts
- Educators will receive a stipend of $1000 upon completion of an externship and its requirements during the summer.
- Five (5) externships spots will be offered after being reviewed by the externship committee.
- Educators will present to community members, business partners, principals, and economic developers about their experience.
Important Dates
- April 7, 2023 / Deadline for applications
- Month of August 2023 (date TBD)/ presentation
Externship Guidelines
Application Requirements
- An applicant must be an educator in the high school setting.
- Applicants must choose career fields or businesses that are relevant to their current position on the application to be considered for selection.
- An applicant will be interviewed as part of the selection process due to limited number of participants.
- No late applications will be accepted.
- An applicant is ineligible if they have already done an externship the prior year. This gives other educators an opportunity to participate but still encourages past participants to have another experience.
- At the time of the presentation the time sheet must be completed by the extern and signed by the business.
Placements
- Externs will be placed in only one business for one week. There will not be multiple placements given unless a business cannot accommodate an extern for a week.
- There will be an emphasis on placing educators in jobs that are in demand in our area.
- The committee has final say about placement and will use their own discretion on where they see fit for placement.
Extern Requirements
- All required paperwork must be submitted prior to the start date of their externship. If the paperwork is not turned in the externship will be considered invalid.
- If an extern does not communicate after three attempts by the Iowa Central staff, the extern will be dropped from the program.
- The presentation date is mandatory and no exemptions will be given. Presentations need to be completed in order to receive payment.
Presentation Guidelines
- Presentation should not exceed 10 minutes.
- Presentation has to be given in August (date TBD), no exceptions.
- Presentations should answer the following questions:
- How can you help students be prepared for the workforce?
- How can you implement workplace skills and knowledge into every day lessons to provide relevance of textbook learning to the workplace?
- How can you utilize your experience to help students?
- How do you plan to continue to foster your relationship with your business host?
- What is one thing that you will take away from this experience?
Application Materials
If you have any questions, please call Megan Kruse at 515-574-1076 or e-mail her at kruse@parkcitiesflowermarket.net
I have enjoyed meeting a lot of new friends and hanging out with them from other states or countries that come and learn at Iowa Central.
