COVINGTON, Ga. — Teachers, local business owners and other community members were on hand to help celebrate the conclusion of the 2022 Connect Newton Teacher Externship on Friday, June 10, at the Newton College and Career Academy. 

Connect Newton is a week-long program that allows teachers to get firsthand experience in local businesses and gain insight that can help students in finding local jobs after high school graduation. 

In this year’s cohort, there were 24 educators and seven representatives of industries that provided opportunities for the teachers to experience the ins and outs of their businesses. Industries included Michelin, Holder Construction, Clarion Metals, Nisshinbo Automotive, Takeda Manufacturing, SRG Global and Veresence North America. 

The June 10 event began with “tabletop” presentations by teachers about each business they worked with. Teachers presented to fellow educators, local business owners and others during the hour-long drop-in period. 

Then, all attendees moved to the NCCA auditorium where special certificates were given to each participant and a panel discussion took place. 

Danita Dean, Ashley Bates, Allyson Ozburn, Lisa McLain and Manny Fils took the stage and were asked a series of questions about their experience. Each educator spoke highly of the time they spent the past week. 

Fils, who is entering his fourth year teaching Business Technology/Communication at Alcovy High School, started the ball rolling. 

When asked what he plans to incorporate what he learned into the classroom, Fils highlighted the importance of “soft skills.” 

“While skills are important, nothing is more important than soft skills,” Fils said. “I teach a lot of freshmen and a lot of freshmen really don’t have a grasp on that. So, if I could bring anything is to teach them those soft skills and how to nourish those skills. Those soft skills are something they need to be successful.” 

Entering her 20th overall year in education and teaching at the Newton County Theme School is Dean. 

She was asked how the week-long experience changed her perception on local business and community. Dean said the experience was “eye-opening.” 

“When I thought of a manufacturing in the past, I thought of smoke stacks, assembly lines and people doing their particular jobs,” Dean said. “But it’s actually way more than that. There’s electrical engineers, environmental safety, chemical engineers and cyber security. There’s so many opportunities for growth here that I had no idea.” 

Bates, a fourth grade math teacher at Livingston Elementary School, highlighted that, while she was impressed by the whole week, she’ll remember the process at glass manufacturer Verescence the most. 

“That was the coolest thing for me,” Bates said.  

The conversation later centered on the theme of “Portrait of a Graduate,” which the externship included in their curriculum. 

Ozburn recognized some elements of “Portrait of a Graduate” on display. 

“When you go in, you’re thinking, ‘Oh, they’re going to be pushing more on critical thinking, knowledge seeking and things like that,’” Ozburn said. “But at the end of the week, we all agreed that it was more focused on collaborative and those soft skills.” 

Each educator on the panel seemed to be on board and agree with each other’s comments during the discussion. 

In fact, McLain, who has 26 years invested as an educator, said she would urge any educator considering joining this externship in the future to jump at the opportunity. 

“It’s a great program,” McLain said. “I think a lot of times we get caught up in being in our own bubble. So, the opportunity to go out there and to see what is actually going on was the best experience. That way I can take it back.” 

Serra Hall, the Newton County Industrial Development Authority’s executive director, was in attendance for all festivities on Friday. 

Hall said the Connect Newton program was her “favorite week of the year.” 

“Each of these companies reach around the globe, and they’re right here in Newton County,” Hall said. “And that’s phenomenal. It’s a program that we really love and appreciate. 

“Hopefully, you were able to see this week how phenomenal our community is,” she said to the teachers. “This is just a small peak in the window of what we can do to celebrate our home.”