CAMDEN – Davis Family School teacher Colleen Hall was moved by a simple bit of advice offered last week during a panel discussion at the Summer Institute for Educators, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey Foundation.
A Ravitz Family Markets/ShopRite executive spoke about job applicants getting past the first meeting with the supermarket chain.
“If you don’t smile in an interview, you don’t get the job,” Hall recounted in an interview with TAPinto Camden.
That simple, non-spoken interpersonal communication – sometimes overlooked by students – will be on Hall’s “must do” list when she returns in the fall to the Camden City School District’s Davis school, where she teaches technology.
“I can’t wait to tell them that,” added the educator, who requires her students to make eye contact with her and say “good morning” every day.
Hall and 16 other South Jersey teachers this summer are spending three weeks in July touring area companies and meeting with managers to discuss how their students can better prepare for the workforce.
In its 33 rd year, the Institute for Educators has exposed teachers to employers ranging from the Salem-based Mannington Mills Inc. flooring manufacturer to Jefferson Health, the health care provider.
Teachers receive a stipend of $2,000 and earn 100 hours of professional development credits.
And, as in other years, the competitive program attracts a lot of applicants.
Christina M. Renna, Chamber president and CEO, said in an interview that the Chamber this year had 100 applicants for 15 spots in the program. After weighing tough decisions in choosing the winners, Renna decided to accept 17 this year.
While the teachers learn about workforce preparation and how area businesses operate, the company managers also learn.
“The businesses love hearing from the educators about what they’re seeing in the classroom,” Renna said.
Renna said the managers’ respect for the educators, and the job they must do, is evident throughout the program.
Some of the business sponsors are so committed to the program, they go beyond the $3,000 sponsorship fee, Renna explained. Campbell Soup, Subaru of America and Rowan University Rohrer College of Business in Glassboro are each the home base for educators during a week in the program. They provide breakfast each day.
Eastside High School teacher Josephine Parr, part of the Chamber’s Jobs for America’s Graduates program to get students ready for the workforce, said smartphones have negatively impacted the progress of students who want to get jobs.
Students spend a lot of time on the phones, including texting, but they do not talk to each other as they did in the past. They need to develop those interpersonal skills, Parr said.
A key part of Parr’s program for her juniors and seniors is to direct them to find their passion and establish a school club with others who share that passion. They run their own clubs, encouraging the development of interpersonal skills, she said.
Parr said she would like to bring in representatives of businesses to mentor her students, giving them real-life guidance on the workforce.
Parr and Hall are the two Camden teachers in the Summer Institute.
Technology teacher Hall said she got a chance to speak to the design team at Mannington Mills and found they shared some technology headaches.
Her students use one of the software programs used by the Mannington team.
“They come across the same problems my students come across,” Hall said.
Hall explained that she tries to tie what is learned in the classroom to the skills her students will need when they begin their careers.
Schools have deemphasized typing/keyboarding, but Hall entices her students to learn how to type. She tells them to type as much as they want, with prizes awarded in competitions for words-per-minute and accuracy.
The employer/sponsors are: Acenda Integrated Health, Atlantic City Electric, Bancroft, Campbell Soup, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Coperion K-Tron Pitman Inc., Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative (ELEC) 825, Five Below, Holman, IPAK, Jefferson Health – New Jersey, Lockheed Martin, M & T Bank/Wilmington Trust, Mannington Mills Inc., NJM Insurance Group, NJ STEM Pathways, PhRMA, New Jersey American Water, Paulsboro Refining Company LLC, PNC Bank, PSEG Nuclear LLC, Radwell International, Ravitz Family Markets, Rizzieri Aveda School, Rowan University - Rohrer College of Business, South Jersey Glass and Door Co., South Jersey Industries, Stono Public Affairs, Subaru of America Inc. and Worldwide Glass Resources Inc.
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