Four Coffee High School teachers participated in an externship program this summer that allowed them to dive into local business and industry to get real-world experience to bring back to students in their classroom.
Jerry Hill, CTAE engineering teacher in the Academy of Engineering, Agriculture, and Mechanics worked alongside employees at Premium Peanut. There he focused his time studying their robust mechanical systems and gaining overall understanding of engineering design in the production process. Within minutes of being on the job, Mr. Hill witnessed the engineering process in action as he saw employees facing a problem and working together to find a solution. Mr. Hill’s goal is to teach students to think outside the box and find solutions to problems they are faced with. Mr. Hill is looking forward to the collaboration and future enrichment that will result from the experience for students in the Academy of Engineering, Agriculture, & Mechanics and the VEX robotics team.
Kathleen Fabian, language arts teacher in the Academy of Fine Arts, Business, and Information Technology, spent time with the team at DouglasNow. During her weeklong experience, she was able to exercise her writing skills while gaining knowledge of graphic design and marketing. Mrs. Fabian was able to see all of the parts of news journalism as she spent time in both the courtroom as well as the community. Mrs. Fabian was able to experience first hand the differences that exist between producing print and online news. During her week at DouglasNow, she was a reporter, an editor, a writer, and a photographer. Mrs. Fabian states, “by seeing all of these areas of news, I will be able to incorporate these types of career skills and realistic products in my classroom.”
Angela Davis, CTAE health science teacher, spent her externship week with Dr. James Barber, Dr. Logan McCool and staff at Southeastern Orthopedics. Mrs. Davis was able to see the inner workings of an office and gained appreciation for how many people it takes to keep an office running smoothly. She was able to witness various procedures during her time on the job. She expressed that due to the experience, she feels like she can teach students from a first-hand experience which offers tremendous value.
Brittany Moore, science teacher in the Academy of Public Service and Education, spent her time at the University of Georgia Agriculture Extension office in Douglas. Specifically, she was paired with a field extension agent. During her externship, she was able to visit multiple fields of local farmers for inspection. She was also able to visit test fields and participate in variety trials. Mrs. Moore was able to attend the citrus grower update to learn about local diseases, insects and chemicals and how they are affecting citrus production. Mrs. Moore plans to implement what she has learned in the classroom of her Environmental Science courses.
The Coffee County School System would like to thank Premium Peanut, Douglas Now, Southeastern Orthopedics, and the UGA Agriculture Extension office for their willingness to invest in these four Coffee High School teachers. The Coffee County School System looks forward to growing this program in the years to come. If your business would like to be a part of the 2023 Summer Externship Program, please contact Jessica Baker at jessica.baker@coffee.k12.ga.us.