Internships for teachers: Frederick County Business Roundtable for Education

Here's an interesting idea: internships for teachers. One of the major challenges we face in realigning our education system comes in upgrading the skills of teachers.

Teachers often have little experience in business, and initiatives like this one in Baltimore can help teachers understand how to connect their lesson plans and teaching strategies to the world of work. 

Here's an overview: 

The program is part of a local workforce development initiative. It aims to connect Frederick County Public Schools with businesses to work together in building the county’s future workforce.

The externship program is still in planning stages, but organizers hope to start a pilot program this summer with three positions for teachers at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick. The four-week externships will pay $7,500 and will be geared toward Advanced Placement biology teachers. Ideally, the externships should start right after July 4, Markoe said.

The program will continue to build from there, as soon as it receives an expected $100,000 Workforce Development grant, allowing for another 13 externships with large companies and agencies – from Bechtel and State Farm Insurance to Fort Detrick...

The externship program is just one of many initiatives coming out of the Frederick County Business Roundtable for Education – a new partnership between Frederick County Public Schools, Frederick Community College, The Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, Frederick County Economic Development and Fort Detrick. The partnership aims to bridge the gap between the business and education communities, allow businesses to reach students and essentially create a climate for building a 21st century workforce.

You can read more here.