Externships Bring Another Summer of Educator Empowerment
The Ripple Effect of Child Advocacy
Just 0.3 miles up the road from GISD’s Successful Transition Education Program (S.T.E.P.) lives the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center (WilCo CAC), an organization dedicated to providing a safe space to children and families who have experienced trauma. When Keith Howell, electives teacher at S.T.E.P., was matched with the Wilco CAC through the GISD Teacher Externship Program, he soon learned just how perfect the pairing was.
The externship program, in partnership with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and the City of Georgetown, pairs GISD educators with local businesses and organizations with the goal that externs will be able to bring back what they learn and apply it to their role in education.
“Learning the inner workings of the advocacy center is particularly helpful for me and my group of students at S.T.E.P.,” Howell said. “A lot of them have come through here in need of services, and others will probably need them in the future. It’s just incredibly beneficial to me.”
In the week that Howell spent with the advocacy center, Wilco CAC Director of Community Engagement Tori Algiere ensured that Howell would get the most out of his experience. He attended staff meetings and orientations, met on-site forensic interviewers, nurses and therapists, and even accompanied the WilCo CAC community engagement team to an actual trial.
“Keith got to learn how all of our experts – law enforcement, lawyers and victim advocates, for example – participate in a child abuse court case,” Algiere said. “The trial actually wasn’t on the original agenda, but it ended up giving incredible insight into processes of our organization.”
Algiere highlighted how the advocacy center partners with GISD to provide education to students about recognizing signs of abuse and accessing the right resources. This outreach aims to empower educators like Howell to identify and assist students in need of support.
“You get in the mix of a place like this and see how everyone is working so hard and cares so much about kids, and I feel the same way about our S.T.E.P. community” Howell said. “It really is a partner organization.”
Algiere expressed how excited she was to show Howell all of the different parts of the advocacy center that cannot be explained during the length of a training session.
“Any opportunity to give a deeper dive into what we do will not only benefit the adult population, but the ripple effect is that it creates a safer community,” Algiere said. “The goal is that Keith will go out and be able to connect kids to our resources here.”
An Early Start on Future Readiness
As for Monica Mitchell, eighth grade science teacher at Forbes Middle School, she spent her week-long externship learning about another organization with strong connections to GISD. Texas State Technical College (TSTC) was just the match Mitchell was hoping for in her pursuit of future readiness resources to take back to her middle school students.
“At a middle school level, I want to teach my students skills that will set them up with a strong foundation to be successful in high school,” Mitchell said. “I think that TSTC is the perfect place for me to explore what those necessary skills are and connect students to the right resources.”
While shadowing TSTC Admissions Advisor Gus Rivera and HVAC and Welding Program Team Lead Kay Lehman, Mitchell got a look at more than just resources the college offers. She got to witness hands-on learning in action through various program visits.
“We’ve seen Welding, Industrial Systems, Precision Machining, HVAC systems, Cybersecurity, Culinary Arts and had a great conversation at the admissions office,” Lehman said. “The hope is that Monica can see how many options are available here and share this experience with her students.”
Mitchell was especially blown away by the information she learned in admissions.
“It was incredible to hear about the various learning tracks that are available to students and options that are offered for support,” Mitchell said. “I mean, companies are coming to students before they graduate and paying for them to finish school. And when it's all said and done, there's $60,000-90,000 salary jobs on the other side of it – as a 19- or 20-year old.”
As for her lesson plans, Mitchell is looking forward to incorporating some of the more hands-on work that she observed.
“What I’ve seen here is that students are using their hands for everything and are heavily reliant on great dexterity,” Mitchell said. “They are multi-faceted individuals who are learning to practice spatial awareness, creative problem solving and strong math and physics skills.”
The impact of this externship touches all parties in this pairing, which both ultimately aim to support the success of students.
“We’re grateful for this externship program and the opportunity to bring people in and show what happens here,” Lehman said.
“It allows us to reach students at a larger scale and provide them with the foundation for being successful in the future,” Rivera added.
You can read more about the teacher externships on our website:
From Community to Classroom: How Teacher Externships Enrich Student Learning
Teacher Externships: Building a Bridge Between Community and GISD
Fourteen educators were paired with a business or organization during the 2024 externship program.
A special thank you to our hosts who made this experience possible:
Texas State Technical College
City Post Chophouse
City of Georgetown
Golden Rule
Georgetown Police Dept.
WilCo Children’s Advocacy Center
Sheraton Georgetown
Texas Traditions Roofing
First Texas Bank
Minuteman Press
The Caring Place
The Wesleyan
Ark Roofer
Sport Clips
