WICHITA FALLS, TX – July 31, 2025
Our 2025 Teacher Externship Program Connected Classrooms to Careers!
Workforce Solutions North Texas provided educators of our 11-county region with the opportunity to connect classrooms to careers through a 5-day, 30-hour externship with a local employer. The Teacher Externship Program helps bring real industry updates into the classroom to better prepare our youth for their future.
Heidi Hakimi-Hood, a Wichita Falls ISD Teacher who completed her externship at the That’s a Cut Salon in Wichita Falls, emphasized the importance of getting experience outside of the classroom.
“Our teachers need to realize that’s where our students are going and the end all-be all, yes, for the moment is in our classroom, but it’s our job to prepare our kids for the world beyond that classroom,” Hakimi-Hood said. “An externship will allow teachers who maybe haven’t had much exposure to the world outside of the classroom, it will give them that gift.”
Jimi Bates, a Graham ISD Teacher who completed her externship at Starbucks in United Supermarkets in Graham, learned about valuable customer service strategies to bring back to her students.
“They had this neat little card and it’s service expectations, and it’s like welcome with a smile, learn their names and orders, and always thank with eye contact,” Bates said. “I loved that, I thought that was great. Some service recovery tips and I’m going to teach my kids, it’s LATTE, an acronym. It’s Listen, Apologize, Take Action, Thank, and Ensure Satisfaction. I thought those were very important things to take back to my students.”
Amanda Latham, a Wichita Falls ISD LIFE Teacher who completed her externship at Goodin Plumbing, welcomed the knowledge her externship host provided.
“Plumbing is very difficult, it takes a lot of hard work,” Latham said. “The staff at Goodin Plumbing was very welcoming, very ready to explain exactly what they were doing, and they were able to answer all my questions and make it applicable to my classroom.”
“Be gracious and kind with everyone you meet because anyone is a potential client or customer or patient,” Hakimi-Hood said. “We’re all humans, when someone walks in your classroom or sits down next to you at school, you’re future business partners potentially and there’s no need to be cruel to human beings who are just trying to get by. So takeaways, keep a positive outlook, and that’s something that I saw everybody here in the salon maintain. Positive outlook, speak highly of one another, do a good job, and then go home and live your life.”
“I would definitely recommend an externship for other teachers, just because I think it’s a learning experience,” Bates said. “I think it’s been a great opportunity for me because it’s like what I’ve needed to learn about the tea and coffee and communications skills, things like that to take back to my students.”
“I highly recommend participating in an externship any chance that they get,” Latham said. “Not only do we get to interact with different fields in our community, our students are going to choose a variety of jobs and we need to help prepare them any way we can.”
WATCH – All our Teacher Externship Program interviews can be found on our YouTube page:
About Workforce Solutions North Texas
Workforce Solutions North Texas is one of 28 local Workforce Development Boards in Texas. It serves 11 counties: Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cottle, Foard, Hardeman, Jack, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger, and Young. By collaborating with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and local communities, these boards provide workforce development programs tailored to local needs, benefiting both employers and job seekers.
To learn more about the resources available for Texas employers and job seekers, visit www.ntxworksolutions.org.
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