Three DCG students, nearly ready to graduate in May, are returning to their elementary roots to further their education?
That’s right, Ella Bandy, Summer Campbell, and Haydn Little have returned to North Ridge and Heritage Elementary – not as students – but within DCG’s School-to-Work internship program to support DCG educators as interns.
DCG’s School-to-Work program is for seniors looking to get a head start on their career path by venturing into the workforce. These three awesome students chose to stay within the school district for their semester-and-a-half internship.
Ella Bandy works with Heidi Washington in a fourth-grade classroom at North Ridge.
Summer Campbell works with Courtney Anderson in a counseling role at Heritage.
Haydn Little works with Staci Walker in a Kindergarten classroom at North Ridge.
All have gained valuable experiences they will never forget.
Summer came into the program thinking her experience seeing the day-in and day-out of her partnership with Mrs. Anderson wouldn’t so much lead her towards counseling but to private practice therapy. Yet the impact she saw on every kid Mrs. Anderson met with on a day-to-day basis, was more than she could have ever imagined.
Summer advocates, “I did not think I would want to spend my future at a school again! This was until I saw the kids and the community of Heritage Elementary.” Her experience at the elementary level showed just how impactful, inspiring, and important educators are to the kids they are teaching. Almost everyone has a teacher they can look back on and appreciate. Who is yours? Maybe they were a role model, maybe they taught you something you will never forget, or maybe they simply made you feel special. Haydn Little is a prime example of this. Mrs. Marrow was her first-grade teacher, and a long but short 11 years later, she reflects that Marrow’s huge heart for each and every student in her classroom made Haydn fall in love with the idea of teaching.
Haydn explains, “Through my School-to-Work experience, I have been able to truly see what teaching is about, not just the glorified and fun stuff.”
All three of these future educators have learned the value and importance of teaching – not just the blank slate of what one might think being a teacher means. They have learned to build relationships, create lesson plans, classroom management, and so many other quirks and twists and turns an elementary classroom might take on a given day. Not one of the three seniors knew what all is included in being an educator going into the School-to-Work Program.
“This experience completely changed my perspective on being a teacher in the most positive way imaginable,” explains Summer.
Summer continued to emphasize just how rewarding it is to make an impact on one kid a day. She described that getting to meet with them and create a smile on their face might just be the best part of their day – and that is an indescribable feeling.
Haydn had a similar take. She contributes that helping a kid get over the hump on a specific skill they have been working on and learning for a while – and for them to finally figure it out, is one of the most rewarding things she has been able to do. Receiving little notes and drawings from her kindergartens showing their love and appreciation for her as Ms. Haydn to them makes her feel like she is truly making a positive impact on future Mustangs.
All three of these graduating seniors will be attending different colleges with the same career path in mind – public education. This headstart opportunity at DCG has given these future educators an experience they will never forget and one that dives deeper than just the basics of “teaching”.
Ella Bandy will be attending the University of Iowa, Summer Campbell will be attending Iowa State University – majoring in Human Development and Family Studies, and Haydn Little will be attending Northwest Missouri State University to study Elementary Education.
To conclude, Summer says it best: “When I think of what I want to do, I think about helping people and making a difference in someone’s life, and that’s what every teacher does in this district.”
So we celebrate our School-to-Work program and the DCG educators who continue to touch the lives of students, even after they grow up and leave the elementary classrooms.
About the Author
This article was written by Hannah Renz; a senior at DCG High School. She is a School-to-Work Intern in the Communications Department at DCG.