Bridging Classrooms and Careers: Glynn County’s Innovative Educator Externship Program

The Connect Glynn Educator Externship Academy is an innovative program specifically designed for educators within the Glynn County School System. It provides these educators with a unique opportunity to engage directly with several of Glynn County’s major employers. The main aim is to offer real-world industry experience that teachers can bring back to their classrooms, thereby enriching the educational experience of their students.

This professional development initiative spans over four days. During the first three days, educators are grouped and paired with local companies. Here, they undergo a comprehensive on-site experience which includes meeting with the company’s key leadership to understand their mission and vision, participating in detailed company tours, and engaging in job shadowing opportunities across various occupational roles within the company.

The climax of the externship is on the fourth day, known as Presentation Day. On this day, each group of educators presents their experiences and learnings to community partners, highlighting how these insights can be translated into their teaching methods and curriculum.

This year, six major businesses in the Golden Isles played host to the educators, demonstrating the intricacies of managing large-scale operations. The program, now in its third year, was originally developed by the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce in response to local businesses’ struggles with finding qualified job applicants. This initiative not only aids in professional development for teachers but also serves as a bridge between local industry and education, fostering a greater understanding of the local job market and the skills required therein.

The most recent session brought together 28 teachers who gathered to share the knowledge they had acquired over the externship. They discussed their plans to integrate these real-world business insights into their classroom strategies, aiming to enhance the relevance and applicability of their teaching to better prepare students for future job markets.