“So I work here most of the day,” she said on a recent Monday morning, taking a break from talking to various groups of eighth graders about her school’s early childhood education (ECE) program. rice field.

Meanwhile, several other high school students, wearing the same bright blue shirts as Hall and with “CDO Preschool” written across their backs, roam the two kindergarten classrooms, often to help the children with their activities throughout the morning. I fell to my knees.

All students in blue shirts are interns in two different programs offered by the university. Amphitheater Unified School District Encouraging high school students to pursue careers in early education by providing real-world practice, said Tiffany Bucciarelli-Fay, District Director of Early Childhood Education.

“In a perfect world for us, these high school students would work as ECE or preschool interns, go to college and get a degree in education, and then come back and teach at Amphi,” Bucharelli said. That is our ultimate goal.”

Fortunately, the Amphi district has only one vacancy in its ECE department of about 50 people, she said. However, she noted that preschool teaching positions are often difficult to fill due to low wages.

She said the Amphi District employs certified teachers in its kindergartens, which means it has a similar salary schedule to first grade educators, in contrast to other early learning centers that do not employ certified teachers. is.

Bucharelli added that the district’s ECE program has grown exponentially over the past year due to the district’s partnership with the Pima County Early Education Program Scholarships (PEEPS), which provides preschool funding for low-income families. rice field.

For the last few years, she said, the Amphi school district had only three kindergartens. In 2021, with the creation of PEEPS, the school district will total 12 kindergartens And we hope to add more in time for the next school year.

“We have internships in most of our preschools and we are looking at the possibility of expanding our preschool options next year, which will also expand our internship program,” Bucharelli said. .

There are two preschool internship programs available at CDOs and amphitheater high school, she said.

One consists of students who have completed the first two courses of the ECE program and the other includes students who did not necessarily take ECE classes but who have a strong interest in working in preschool. increase.

Five years ago, CDO Early Childhood Center Director Brande Golden said the school had only about four preschool interns. We currently have a total of 14 interns at CDO alone.

According to Bucharelli, if you look at the district-wide numbers, including students at Amphitheater High, there are 37 preschool interns in the two programs. Additionally, 241 of her students are taking her ECE classes at both high schools this year.

Students can choose to complete an internship and earn elective credit, or take it as a paid internship and earn minimum wage for their hours. Hall, an intern, said he works about 30 hours a week. internship.

Responsibilities assumed by interns include guiding children through various activities such as arts and crafts and reading; disinfection etc.

“We make a difference in the lives of preschoolers and their families,” Golden said of preschool workers. “And having an intern see it and be a part of it is something very special.”

CDO has already shared moments of full circle when alumni returned to teach in kindergarten, Golden said. Among them is Julia Robison, her 20-year-old teaching assistant and assistant at CDO Preschool.

“I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with my career goals,” Robison recalled of high school. “Then I took this class and started working with kids in kindergarten. I really, really liked it.”

Although Robison did not participate in the internship program, Golden found that in her ECE classes she connected very well with the materials and the children.

So, the summer after Robison graduated from high school, Golden contacted her and offered her a job opening at CDO Preschool. Robison returned to school as a faculty member last August.

When asked what she liked best about her job, Robison said, Rebuild it with your inner child.

She added that she plans to continue her education to become an assistant preschool teacher. Like Robison, Hall was also inspired to pursue a career working in her kindergarten.

Hall said he plans to complete general education credits at Pima Community College and then transfer to the University of Arizona for a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education.

“Honestly, I learned a lot from this program, but the biggest one is that it taught me what I want to do with the rest of my life,” Hall said. “When I entered high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but the sooner I jumped into the program, the more I realized what I was going to do for the rest of my life was teaching.”