North Central Texas Wins $200,000 Grant to Help Teachers Prepare Students for Targeted Occupations

The Texas Workforce Commission has awarded a $200,000 grant to Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas (WSNCT) to help more than 150 teachers prepare the next generation for the most needed occupations in the 14-county region.

Over the summer, educators selected for WSNCT’s Summer 2024 iWork: Teacher Externship will be matched with employers for job shadowing and immersion. At the conclusion of the week-long program, teachers will create lesson plans which emphasize the competencies required for in-demand industries, and then present those lessons to their classes in the 2024-2025 school year.

This is the fourth year WSNCT has offered the iWork externship to local school districts. Last year, 44 educators from three independent school districts and 39 businesses participated. This year’s grant will exponentially increase the opportunity for teachers, businesses, and students in Collin, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, and Wise counties.

As one Allen High School teacher who was matched with the Allen Fairview Chamber of Commerce last year noted, “...teaching can be its own little bubble. Realistically most of my students will advance to professions outside of education. There’s no substitute for the chance to learn and network with other professionals in a different industry.”

Applications for host businesses located in the 14-county region are being accepted now at www.dfwjobs.com. For more information about WSNCT’s Summer 2024 iWork: Teacher Externship, email externship@dfwjobs.com.