Arsenal Tech students catch the teaching bug at area preschools

(MIRROR INDY) — Ajia Trotter wants to be an elementary school teacher, and maybe after that work with students with disabilities.

So, the Arsenal Tech junior was interested right away when she heard her school offered classes in early childhood education.

“When I took the class,” Trotter said, “It was like ‘OK, now that I’m learning stuff, it makes me want to do it even more.’”

Trotter is learning about making lesson plans, creating activities for kids and teaching students in an engaging way — all skills she hopes she can take with her into a future career.

It’s a part of a new Early Childhood Education Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program that connects students with apprenticeships and helps them earn career certifications all before leaving high school.

“What we want for all of our students,” said Jenny Berry, IPS’ career and technical education pathways director, “is that connection of being able to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to a real work setting so that they can truly understand that application and learn from it and be able to go out and have that self-confidence to work in the field.”

The new program is supported by a federal Preschool Development Grant and is offered through a partnership between the Indiana Department of Education and the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.

Arsenal Tech — one of seven initial school partners in the statewide program — has identified three students for the school’s first apprenticeships in the program. Students at Lawrence Township’s McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology are also participating.

Onsite, they’ll learn firsthand from mentors about what it’s like operating an early childhood center, taking care of young children and interacting with parents.

It comes at a time where state officials are emphasizing a greater need for career and technical education programs — the kind that expose students to work experience while still in high school. The program also introduces students to an in-demand career field.

Indiana Career Explorer projects there will be 8,460 job openings in early childhood education through 2030.

Apprenticeship to provide real-world experience

Unlike her Arsenal Tech classmate, Merari Gonzalez said she was signed up for IPS’ early childhood education classes as a mistake.

The senior had wanted to take a law course and hopes to become an ultrasound technician some day. But she stayed with the class after lessons about childhood development captured her interest.

The program, she says, is teaching her about the different stages of intelligence, how children develop empathy and how to engage their critical thinking skills.

Gonzalez has especially enjoyed field trips this year to local preschools where she’s had the chance to observe children up close. The trips have allowed her to meet with early childhood staff and ask questions about their work.

“Parents, because they’re so busy, I didn’t know at what age they could get into day care,” Gonzalez said. “So, I asked, at what age, how many weeks, how many months?”

She learned the answer could vary based on the early childhood center. Some take babies as early as six weeks. Others wait up to six months.

Those experiences will soon become more frequent as program organizers work out the details of a winter apprenticeship. In the coming weeks, Trotter, Gonzalez and a third classmate will spend time at the Shepherd Community Center applying skills they’ve learned in class to a real-world setting.

Gonzalez said she’s already learned from her past visits about patience and what it takes to be a good parent — skills she thinks she can carry with her as she meets with expecting families for their sonograms. Gonzalez also has a newborn nephew so she’s heard all about the sleepless nights many parents experience.

“I could definitely advise them to prepare for those nights that they will not sleep,” Gonzalez said. “I would advise them to get enough sleep and to prepare for all those characteristic traits that the baby will develop.”

An early jump on college

Ollie-Rosa McMahan thinks she may want to work with teens her own age in the future. She said she’s found a love for working with kids through her early childhood classes and would like to create safe spaces in high school for kids like her.

But, the Arsenal Tech junior is also thinking about dentistry. Her mom has encouraged her to combine the two interests — maybe she could be a dentist for kids — but McMahan knows it will be hard.

Regardless of the career path she chooses, McMahan knows she already has a head start. The early childhood classes she’s taking are also dual credit courses, meaning she’s already started her college transcript.

A teacher from IU Indy helps instruct the classes alongside an IPS instructor. And, at the end of their apprenticeship, Tech’s three students will also have the opportunity to take an exam to earn a Childhood Development Associate certificate, a professional credential for working in preschool settings.

“Those experiential opportunities,” Berry said, “are all a part of what you learn as a teacher.”

As for McMahan, she said the courses bring a sense of encouragement.

“That you have something with your name on it, a certificate — it’s a good feeling,” McMahan said. “You feel confident in what you’re doing.”

Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.