Ignite program fires up futures

Nurturing students’ interest in careers in education, a new program endeavors to help them learn more about the field.

Ignite exposes students to career options in education.

“[Ignite] gets people really excited to be teachers, and [helps them] get their feet wet. If [you’re] interested in teaching, this is perfect,” senior Giovanni Salazar, a member of the program, said.

Participants meet twice a month. At the first meeting of the month,, a panel of educators talk about their profession and their type of work. The second meeting increases scholarship awareness and provides scholarship support, as well as help with college admissions.

The program, sponsored by the school district, also arranges for internships in the district administrations office, in the Human Resources, Bilingual, and Outreach departments.

According to Brooke Nova, the district’s coordinator of career and college pathways, Ignite will help students understand the different paths in education available to them.

“When I went to school, [I thought all you could be in education] was a counselor or teacher, [because] that’s all I saw, and I try to help students see that’s not the case,” Nova said.

Besides providing internships, Ignite has partnered with Intel for the Intel Days program, in which students visit elementary schools and give lessons on math and science-oriented subjects.

Students also have the opportunity to attend administration meetings with the school board and speak for or against a proposed decision.

Presenting to the school board allows students to practice skills needed for college and career, but also helps them let their voices be heard and impact their school district in a meaningful way, according to Nova.

The program strives to aid all students intent on pursuing the educational field, and has no GPA requirement. Applicants are screened in the spring for the following year. This year, all 24 applicants were accepted into the program. They had filled out short responses to several questions, were asked to provide a teacher recommendation, and were interviewed afterwards.

Ruth Teklu, a junior in the program, said she appreciated the exploration, different opportunities, and skills Ignite provides, from the canned food drive she is currently involved in to volunteering with the Talented and Gifted program.

“[Ignite is] teaching us ... new leadership skills, getting us involved in other projects, and gaining more of a sense of what we want to do, even if we don’t figure out what [that is],” Teklu said.

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