Countywide : Businesses Sought as Sponsors for Teacher Internships

At least 12 Ventura County businesses are being sought to participate in a summer internship program designed to help high school teachers better prepare students for the job market.

This is the second year the internship program will be offered to selected teachers, said Roberta Barbee, a member of the Ventura County Economic Development Assn., the sponsor of the program.

Participating businesses employ teachers for two months to give them a better understanding of what job skills are needed, Barbee said. The purpose is to help teachers develop curriculum that will make it easier for students to enter the work world, she said.

The program requires that teachers be paid $600 for a 40-hour work week, with four hours set aside to develop lesson plans that can later be used in the classroom, Barbee said. A Carpinteria computer firm and an Oxnard real estate office already have expressed interest in participating, she said.

Last year, six teachers were hired at Amgen in Newbury Park, Chevron USA in Ventura, First National Bank of Ventura, Procter & Gamble and the U.S. Department of Minerals and Management Service in Camarillo.

Teachers who apply for the internship program will be screened and selected by officials of the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office, Barbee said. Applications are due by May 1.

For more information, businesses may call VCEDA member John Romero at 389-7520 or Barbee at 652-1644. Teachers wanting to apply for the program may call Diana Rigby of the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office at 388-4410.