Education Interns Going Beyond the Traditional Classroom

For Rock Island High School students looking to dip their toes into their future education career before graduation, an internship is the best route. On the other end of the spectrum, organizations such as Spring Forward, also see an advantage to using student interns to help staff programs at the schools and also give students a chance to explore a career in education in an after-school program setting. Thankfully, the Rock Island High School Education Internship program helps fulfill both needs -  a student’s desire for experience in education and Spring Forward’s desire to have engaged staff focus on student learning, program and activities.

Rock Island High School Junior and student intern Whitney Stivers

Rock Island High School Junior and student intern Whitney Stivers likes working with students in Kindergarten-3rd grade and appreciates that Spring Forward is a part of the internship. Her specific plan involves spending time in a 2nd grade classroom at Eugene Field Elementary during the school day, and then going to Ridgewood Elementary in the afternoon for the Spring Forward program. The afternoons don’t seem like “work” to her and she is grateful for the additional experience. “Sometimes I’m helping with homework or leading an activity,” said Whitney. “Spring Forward’s structure makes it easy to work with kids who have a lot of interests.” Another perk: she also appreciates the paycheck from Spring Forward. 

“We really like being able to have Spring Forward as an educator internship partner. It offers students a realistic view of what to expect when working in an education environment and also helps them assess whether a career in education aligns with their strengths and interests.” said Mike Mertel, Rock Island High School Teacher and Education Internship Coordinator.

“Teachers and staff are our best assets at Spring Forward, and the Educator Internship program gives us a quality pool of enthusiastic candidates who want the experience working with students,” said Program Director Robbie McIntyre. “We also love that we are preparing high school students for their future careers, and we also hope that they will want to return to Spring Forward and work for us during the summer program as well.”