Six Russell County High School seniors will get a head start on their teaching careers because of an apprenticeship opportunity that will fast-track their college education.
Anna Gosser, Emma Grider, Amy McGowan, Saturn Taryn Walsh, Leah White and Emma Wilson, seniors from Russell County High School, attended a signing ceremony at Lindsey Wilson College on Friday to become a part of an apprenticeship program that will pay high school students to work under a mentor teacher while taking dual credit courses at LWC. The agreement, funded by the Wilderness Education Project, allows students to use their apprenticeship hours toward their student teaching hours – fulfilling the requirement necessary for college graduation.
“The students will begin taking dual credit education courses in the teaching pathway through RCHS and Lindsey Wilson,” said LWC Director of Education Jennifer Antoniotti-Neal. “After they graduate, they will enroll in LWC’s education program. Because the required student teaching hours will have already been completed in the apprenticeship program, students who sign up for this program will graduate from college early.”
RCHS is one of only six schools in the state of Kentucky to receive the grant from the Wilderness Education Project and LWC is the first private school to offer apprenticeship opportunities as credit toward a degree.
“I'm excited! I’ve wanted to be a teacher all my life”, says Emma Grider who is set to attend LWC in the fall. “I think going to Lindsey Wilson and learning under the RCHS mentors will offer the support I need to achieve my goals to become a teacher.”
The RCHS students will work with career support specialist Mick Sloan and teaching pathway sponsor Devin Godby who serve as mentors in the program.
“This partnership is a natural fit for LWC and RCHS,” said Sloan. “Dr. Jennifer Neal is excellent to work with and is encouraged about the opportunities this will provide her students. Our students will leave high school having mastered the competencies required to successfully manage a classroom. It’s a win, win for Russell County and Lindsey Wilson College.”
The four-year grant from the Wilderness Education Project allows current RCHS education students to receive a competitive wage, and gain valuable on-the-job training as they complete their high school education. WEP is a non-profit that works to find active solutions, programs, resources, and opportunities for K-12 schools.
