Program to give educators hands-on experience in STEM careers
BATON ROUGE, La. (May 24, 2018) — The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) today announced the cohort for its fourth annual Teacher Externship program.
The Teacher Externship program is intended to engage Capital Region teachers, counselors, and administrators in exploring career opportunities in STEM fields, specifically: construction crafts, manufacturing, healthcare, and the tech sector. Participants will spend several days onsite at BRAC’s partner companies to shadow workers in the field, conduct skills assessments, and engage in day-to-day operations.
Participants will leave the program with a clear understanding of the skills and knowledge necessary for successful careers in the target industries. They will be trained to serve as ambassadors of those industries to their students and as connectors between the classroom and workplace concepts and skills.
Over 80 teachers, counselors, and administrators submitted their resumes and applications, creating the largest group of qualified candidates in the program’s history. Forty-five teachers were selected from a total of 10 districts. Selected teacher externs for the fourth cohort include:
- Kimberly Averitt, Iberville District
- Deleon Awill, East Baton Rouge District
- Lacey Barbera, Ascension District
- Angela Boudreaux,Ascension District
- Eric Brownfield, Ascension District
- Ian Bryson, Central District
- Allegra Butler, Iberville District
- PershaunaButler, West Baton Rouge District
- Chantal Correll, Ascension District
- John Didier, Central District
- Amanda Dorris,Iberville District
- Mark Dubreuil, Ascension District
- Hali Fletcher,Livingston District
- Lee Anne Gentry,Ascension District
- Karin Gill, West Baton Rouge District
- Heather Grantham, Ascension District
- Angel Harris, East Baton Rouge District
- Terrie Hasten, Iberville District
- Katie Heck, Iberville District
- Lisa Kastner, Livingston District
- RaneeKeller, Livingston District
- Kimberley Key, West Feliciana District
- Keith Larkin,Zachary District
- Laci Lemoine, Central District
- Christian Lopiparo, Ascension District
- Melissa McCormick, Ascension District
- Bess Melancon, Ascension District
- Melba Moton, Ascension District
- Jamie Munson,Central District
- Stacy Myles, Ascension District
- Michelle Ourso,Iberville District
- Sharon Ourso, West Feliciana District
- GabbriaParker, East Baton Rouge District
- Lynn Schmitt, Iberville District
- Katherine Scott, West Baton Rouge District
- Meagan Simmons, Livingston District
- Jonathan Simmons, West Feliciana District
- Jadon Smith, East Baton Rouge District
- Matthew Stumpf, Livingston District
- Courtney Sykora, Livingston District
- DarlineTaylor, East Baton Rouge District
- Tanya Taylor, Iberville District
- RhondalynWhite, Pointe Coupee District
- Lisa Williams, Zachary District
- Israel Wilson, East Feliciana District
Sponsoring partners include: Ascension Parish School District, BASF, Central Community School District, Community Coffee Company, Dow, East Baton Rouge Public School System, ExxonMobil, FRAN U, Georgia Pacific, Iberville Parish School District, IBM, IT Inspired, LA Healthcare Institute, LA Office of Tech Services, LED FastStart, Livingston Parish School District, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Performance Contractors, Sparkhound, West Baton Rouge Parish School District, West Feliciana Parish School District, and Zachary Community School District.
This program supports BRAC’s Strategic Plan initiative to cultivate the region’s talent through expansion of STEM learning and partnerships in PK-12 public education, and aligning regional workforce development systems to meet business needs. Read more about BRAC’s Strategic Plan at www.brac.org.
About the Baton Rouge Area Chamber
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) leads economic development in the nine-parish Baton Rouge Area, working to grow jobs and wealth and to improve the business climate and competitiveness in the region. Today, BRAC investors include more than 1,500 small businesses, midsize firms, large industry and entrepreneurial startups, as well as individuals and organizations that support business and economic development. In this capacity, BRAC serves as the voice of the business community, providing knowledge, access, services and advocacy. More information is available at brac.org.
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Morgan is the Marketing Manager for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber. In her role, she manages writing organizational publications and materials, oversees BRAC’s social media and blog, and coordinates timelines for all internal marketing projects.