Florida teachers may soon get to spend their summer vacation learning new skills in the private sector.
Gov. Rick Scott proposed $1 million in funding Monday to create a paid summer residency program in the areas known as STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math. The program, announced at Florida Power & Light's Juno Beach office, would expand on a one piloted by seven Palm Beach County teachers this past summer.
Scott said 44 companies have agreed to participate in the program, including FPL; aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which has offices in Orlando and Boca Raton; Harris Corporation, a Lauderdale Lakes-based tech company; Hoerbiger Corporation of America, which has an office in Pompano Beach; and Northrop Grumman, a Davie-based security company.
Teachers would spend several weeks during the summer learning what these companies do and then use the skills to teach their students to prepare them for the job market, officials said.
"We want Florida to be first for jobs, and we must have a skilled workforce to reach that goal," Scott said. "By investing in science, technology, engineering and math education, we are ensuring our students are prepared for the jobs of the future. Our teachers are essential to preparing our students."
Last summer, Palm Beach County received a grant to offer this "externship" program to seven teachers, including Julius Guerra, who teaches information technology at South Tech Academy in Boynton Beach. He worked with FPL during the summer and said he got to learn about all aspects of how the company uses technology, and even go to do some coding with FPL employees.
While teachers are sometimes criticized for teaching skills they learned years ago, Guerra said the experience with FPL helped him ensure the material he was teaching is relevant to today's workforce.
""We hear that we're training students for jobs that don't even exist yet. I got to see some of those jobs being created," said Guerra, who taught last year at Boynton Beach High.
Teacher Jacklyn Carryl of West Boca Raton High School helped create and implement earth space, astronomy and climatology programs at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium. William Rubin of Pahokee High worked with agricultural researchers at Florida Crystals sugar company. Lorraine Plageman of Jupiter High studied local government contracts with Lockheed Martin.
Palm Beach County Superintendent Robert Avossa said he was impressed with what the teachers learned from working with local businesses.
"The teachers were excited and energetic, and this gave them the opportunity to come back and give relevant, on-the-spot experience of what kids might do what they go to college, or work as an engineer or work for FPL," Avossa said.
The cost in Palm Beach County was about $3,000 to $5,000 per teacher, so $1 million could fund anywhere from 200 to 333 teachers statewide. The state Legislature must also approve the funding.
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