Classroom to Careers (updated quarterly)
Leave us your comments below; we would love to hear from you!
__________________________________________________________________________
.PNG){kind=logo}
Believers - Motivators - Innovators - Educators
____________________________________
Classroom to Careers - Summer 2025
__________________________________________________________________________
Classroom to Careers - UNA
Each semester, UNA's graduating class of new teachers et to experience a one-day version
of the longer summer industry tour program.
Approximately 50 students, divide into two groups and each tours four businesses.
The students are always appreciative and amazed at what they learn about how they can connect their classroom lessons
to their students future careers, making school more relevant for each student.
Thank you to our tour hosts each day!
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
____________________________________
Classroom to Careers - Summer 2024
Classroom to Careers - UNA
Each semester, UNA's graduating class of new teachers et to experience a one-day version
of the longer summer industry tour program.
Approximately 50 students, divide into two groups and each tours four businesses.
The students are always appreciative and amazed at what they learn about how they can connect their classroom lessons
to their students future careers, making school more relevant for each student.
Thank you to our tour hosts each day!
____________________________________
Classroom to Careers - Summer 2024
.JPG)
__________________________________________________________________________
About Classroom to Careers
Download Brochure HERE
How many times each school year do teachers here the nagging questions from their students, “Why do I have to know this?” and “When will I ever use this again?”
Since 2008, the Shoals Chamber of Commerce has offered the Classroom to Careers workshops to provide exposure and create authentic responses for those teachers to take back to their students – the future workforce of the Shoals. The program has primarily been for currently employed classroom teachers, counselors, and administrators. In 2019 UNA graduating seniors in the college of education were added to the roster for a one-day intensive, so they too will have an idea of the wide variety of jobs and skills needed, to better guide their students.
Classroom to Careers allows these educators to network with industry leaders, learn about local career opportunities, and gain understanding in how math, science, and other STEM subjects are used in specific jobs, especially in technical careers. This level of exposure will allow them to share real world examples of “why you need to know this.”
Each summer a class of K-12 classroom teachers, counselors, career coaches and administrators from northwest Alabama school systems visit local businesses and industries for tours to see various technical skills in use, and hear from the employers concerning their workforce challenges, the increasing demand for and decreasing supply of technically skilled workers, as well as the career paths and salary ranges to which these skills lead. The industry tours vary, but generally include TVA Hydro-Electric Plant, TVA Power Service Shop, TVA Browns Ferry, Linamar Structures, ProjectXYZ, TASUS, Helen Keller Hospital, Southwire’s 12-for-Life, Shoals Business Incubator (SBi), Lockheed Martin (Courtland), Easterseals, Blockchain Tek, Essity, G&G Steel, Renaissance Shoals Hotel & Spa, North American Lighting (NAL), International Fertilizer Development Corp. (IFDC), Walker Family Farms, the Alabama Robotics Technology Park (RTP) (Tanner) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) (Decatur) and more. In addition, the class visits the career technical and health sciences programs at Northwest Shoals Community College to see the educational pathways needed to attain the careers they see during the tours.
The program is a fun, albeit exhausting, first-hand, eyes-on, hands-on experience, learning about exciting careers in technical fields, while networking with business leaders. On average, each class of educators teaches, counsels or oversees as administrators over 6,600 students annually, which represents a huge return on investment for the C2C program, as they continue to share their knowledge with students year after year. Educators can earn up to 40 contact hours each toward their professional development requirements and Teacher Excellence and Accountability for Mathematics and Sciences (TEAMS) credits, as well as one ALSDE-approved Professional Learning Unit (PLU) each for administrators who participate.
About Classroom to Careers
Download Brochure HERE
How many times each school year do teachers here the nagging questions from their students, “Why do I have to know this?” and “When will I ever use this again?”
Since 2008, the Shoals Chamber of Commerce has offered the Classroom to Careers workshops to provide exposure and create authentic responses for those teachers to take back to their students – the future workforce of the Shoals. The program has primarily been for currently employed classroom teachers, counselors, and administrators. In 2019 UNA graduating seniors in the college of education were added to the roster for a one-day intensive, so they too will have an idea of the wide variety of jobs and skills needed, to better guide their students.
Classroom to Careers allows these educators to network with industry leaders, learn about local career opportunities, and gain understanding in how math, science, and other STEM subjects are used in specific jobs, especially in technical careers. This level of exposure will allow them to share real world examples of “why you need to know this.”
Each summer a class of K-12 classroom teachers, counselors, career coaches and administrators from northwest Alabama school systems visit local businesses and industries for tours to see various technical skills in use, and hear from the employers concerning their workforce challenges, the increasing demand for and decreasing supply of technically skilled workers, as well as the career paths and salary ranges to which these skills lead. The industry tours vary, but generally include TVA Hydro-Electric Plant, TVA Power Service Shop, TVA Browns Ferry, Linamar Structures, ProjectXYZ, TASUS, Helen Keller Hospital, Southwire’s 12-for-Life, Shoals Business Incubator (SBi), Lockheed Martin (Courtland), Easterseals, Blockchain Tek, Essity, G&G Steel, Renaissance Shoals Hotel & Spa, North American Lighting (NAL), International Fertilizer Development Corp. (IFDC), Walker Family Farms, the Alabama Robotics Technology Park (RTP) (Tanner) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) (Decatur) and more. In addition, the class visits the career technical and health sciences programs at Northwest Shoals Community College to see the educational pathways needed to attain the careers they see during the tours.
The program is a fun, albeit exhausting, first-hand, eyes-on, hands-on experience, learning about exciting careers in technical fields, while networking with business leaders. On average, each class of educators teaches, counsels or oversees as administrators over 6,600 students annually, which represents a huge return on investment for the C2C program, as they continue to share their knowledge with students year after year. Educators can earn up to 40 contact hours each toward their professional development requirements and Teacher Excellence and Accountability for Mathematics and Sciences (TEAMS) credits, as well as one ALSDE-approved Professional Learning Unit (PLU) each for administrators who participate.