Eleven Area Students Complete Teacher Pre-Apprenticeships Through Surry-Yadkin Works

Eleven area high school seniors are completing a teacher pre-apprenticeship program through Surry-Yadkin Works, which is the first community-based internship program of its kind in North Carolina.

Through the program, these students have gained valuable, hands-on experiences in the classrooms of local school systems. Once their pre-apprenticeships are complete, they have the opportunity to further their education at Surry Community College in the apprenticeship program at a fraction of the normal tuition cost or even sometimes cost-free.

Crystal Folger-Hawks, Program Director of Surry-Yadkin Works, said, "Teachers give children purpose, set them up for success as productive citizens, and inspire them to be successful. We believe that the teacher apprenticeship partnership will allow high school students to try out this career field and ultimately increase the pipeline of highly qualified future educators."

Students participating in the 2023 Teacher Pre-Apprenticeship program are: Elkin City Schools: Madison Tilley working at Elkin Elementary; Mount Airy City Schools: Von Bowers working at Tharrington Primary and Jones Intermediate; Surry County Schools: Laken Coe working at Mountain Park Elementary, Bailey Price working at Dobson Elementary, Karlie Robertson working at Rockford Elementary, and Grace Ross working at Franklin Elementary; Yadkin County Schools: Kylie Cantrell working at Yadkinville Elementary, Rayna Cruz working at Jonesville Elementary, Skylar Armstrong working at Courtney Elementary, and Willow Presnell and Madison Triplett working at West Yadkin Elementary.

The Surry-Yadkin Works program is the collaborative effort of four public school systems in Surry and Yadkin counties including Elkin City Schools, Mount Airy City Schools, Surry County Schools, and Yadkin County Schools, as well as Surry Community College, and creates a unique approach to a regional internship program.

For more information about the program, contact Crystal Folger-Hawks, Surry-Yadkin Works Program Director, at (336) 401-7820 or folger-hawksc@surry.edu or visit www.surryyadkinworks.org. You can also follow Surry-Yadkin Works on Facebook and Instagram @surryyadkinworks and on Twitter @SurYadWorks.