CREEED’s Educator Externship provides electric experience for El Paso teachers

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — This summer break, a select group of El Paso educators will take part in a unique, real-world training and take their findings back to the classroom.

Since 2023, Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development's (CREEED) Educator Externship Program has partnered with regional businesses to provide educators with a one-week paid externship.

Between 15-20 teachers place into regional businesses, immerse themselves in the daily operations, gain insights into workforce trends, and observe skills that are needed to succeed in these types of fields.

Eric Garcia, a teacher of principles of applied engineering at Coronado High School, was among those selected this year. ABC-7 was there as he toured El Paso Electric’s Montana Power Plant.

“It's amazing to me. Yeah. I'm like a kid at Disneyland right now,” he told ABC-7.

Garcia said he was excited to be participating in this program. The high school teacher explained he has applied several different times before. He was pleasantly surprised when he learned he was selected this year.

He said, “I was excited when I saw the email that I was actually able to come in and be a part of the program!”

CREEED’s Choose to Excel Director, Nadia Tellez, said this externship allows teachers to take their experiences from the field and embed it into their teaching.

"This is like a flip on career day. So when you have a career day, we have these great businesses go out to schools and talk to kids. This flips it on its side and really gives a professional development to our teachers so that our teachers learn the ins and outs, and now they're making content connections," she said.

Garcia was able to interact with experienced professionals at El Paso Electric.

Aimee Saldivar, the senior organizational development training specialist at El Paso Electric, explained this is the third year the utility company has partnered with CREEED for this externship.

“I just spoke to their teacher right now, and I asked them, ‘What do you think so far?’ And this is only day two. And he's like, I'm so overwhelmed. I looked probably like a deer in headlights with headlights. So I think a lot of this is all kind of connecting the dots, too, in terms of how it connects with the subject that he's teaching,” said Saldivar.

This upcoming school year, these teachers will return to the classroom and provide students with examples of what they learned in the field, and how it directly relates to what they're learning.

“Educators are lifetime students. And so you're already seeing him make connections to not only the content that he teaches, but those soft skills that he's going to embed,” said Tellez.

After spending a week at their respective businesses, teachers then create a lesson plan based on what they learned.

“I would hope that all the information that they take back with them, to fit into the curriculum with the students, that it's something innovative or something that they didn't know before or something that they never included in their classes. So it's really something that's new to the students when they hear it for the first time,” Saldivar said.

Garcia was able to visit various departments at El Paso Electric. He learned about system operations, power generation, distribution design, etc.

The high school teacher said he was eager to get back into the classroom and tell his students all about what he learned, so they will be able to use it one day in their future careers.

“I’m trying to open up my eyes so I can open up the students' eyes as well,” Garcia added.

Participating teachers also get a $750 stipend. Other businesses taking part in this externship include: El Paso Chamber of Commerce, El Paso Electric, the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, El Paso Inc., First Light Federal Credit Union, GECU, Pizza Properties, The Hospitals of Providence, among others.

To learn more about CREEED’s Educator Externships, click here.