August 02, 2024

2024 Teacher Externship Program

Last Wednesday, the Round Rock Chamber and Round Rock ISD (RRISD) celebrated the conclusion of the 2024 Educator Externship program on July 31st to honor the 68 participating educators and 46 businesses partners that participated in this year’s program. The program is a partnership between Round Rock Chamber, RRISD and Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area (WSRCA) and is designed to bolster the area’s talent development.

The goal of the program is to match educators with employers in the teacher’s subject matter and/or a subject matter of interest and includes a three-to-five-day onsite job-shadow experience. Educators receive twenty-four hours of professional development and gain current, real-world experience. Educators must share their experience and knowledge gained with students and other educators via lesson plans. Business partners get the opportunity to engage with RRISD, learn about current educational trends, and contribute to the next generation of workers.

The program began in 2015 with only six educators participating. While there was a pause in the program due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, we were able to restart the program in 2022 and are extremely excited to continue the program again this year with another strong participation of educators and businesses. It is estimated that over 300 externships have occurred since the program’s inception and roughly 42,000 students have benefited since the program’s inception.

Thank you to the numerous business partners that were able to attend the event. We would also like to thank Sheri Bonds, Director of Career & Technical Education and Peggy Mica, Assistant Director of Career & Technical Education with RRISD for their work in implementing the program and for coordinating the celebration. This program would not be possible without the funding made available by WSRCA, so a big thank you is due to Paul Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer, Kelly Moreno, Chief Solutions Officer, and the team at WSRCA.

Lastly, thank you to the following organizations that were able to host externs this year:

  • Austin Community College
  • Annunciation Maternity Home
  • Ascension Seton Williamson
  • Baylor Scott & White Health
  • Bluebonnet Trails
  • Bullock Texas State History Museum
  • Brookwood in Georgetown
  • Central Texas Table of Grace
  • Ceramic Lodge
  • City of Round Rock
  • Communication by Hand
  • County Judge Brandy Hallford
  • Dell Technologies
  • Dell Children’s Medical Center
  • East/West Manufacturing Enterprises
  • Emerson
  • Foundation Communities
  • Garver
  • Gateway Consulting
  • Georgetown Behavioral Health
  • GSD&M
  • HNTB Corporation
  • Hyatt Place
  • Kalahari
  • Leander ISD
  • Mexic-Arte Museum
  • MOD Architecture & Design
  • O’Connell Robertson
  • Penfold Theatre
  • Pflugerville ISD
  • Round Rock Area Serving Center
  • Round Rock Chamber
  • Round Rock Express
  • Samsung
  • Shop LC
  • St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center
  • TECO-Westinghouse
  • Texas State University
  • Texas Water Development Board
  • The Thinkery
  • The Williamson Museum
  • Texas State Technical College
  • Typhoon Texas
  • Univision
  • Walgreens
  • Williamson County Sheriff’s Office

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