A classroom at Goliad Elementary is filled with excited third-, fourth- and fifth-graders engaged in learning about becoming an artist from Ms. Ash Perales, a local mural painter and artist, as she draws a portrait with charcoal and answers questions about her chosen career field as part of their annual Career Day. Ms. Perales is joined by five other local representatives from organizations across the Concho Valley including the San Angelo Police Department, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Shannon Medical Center, and the City of San Angelo to provide firsthand knowledge of their field.
“It is important to create experiences where all students have the opportunity to learn firsthand. When you have a real life experience you are able to comprehend and think critically about the topic,” said Goliad Elementary Principal Shannon Klepac. “Having interaction with our career guests, brought the learning and interest to life. We hear people talk about achievement gaps, but I prefer opportunity gaps. The Career Day was an opportunity for our students to engage with real people in our community.”
During the Career Day, students rotated between the six stations and spent 30 minutes learning about the field, required qualifications, and made connections to the application of their current classroom lessons to the career field. The career representatives allowed students hands-on experiences to see tools used in their field. Mr. Lewis, a mechanic with the City of San Angelo, brought pieces of pipe, pipe fittings, and values for students to problem solve, think critically and creatively, and collaborate to put the fittings together.
“We saw so many smiles and heard so many great questions students asked our community partners,” said Michael Kalnbach, SAISD Executive Director of Student and Data Services. “What a great experience for our kids to get the opportunity to talk to and hear stories from some of the heroes of our town and learn about all the ways they can use their talent and smartness.”
The career opportunities showcased in Career Day were selected based on a survey of students' career interests to promote students following their individual hopes and dreams including police officer, military service member, artist, nurse and mechanic. Events like Career Day provide opportunities for students to gain career and self-awareness as early as elementary school and promotes the development qualities and characteristics we believe are important for our students to attain in order to be highly-capable and successful throughout their future endeavors.
SAISD is committed to our mission of engaging all students in a relevant and inspiring education that produces future-ready graduates, and is proud to provide opportunities for our students to experience important roles in our community at an early age. We appreciate the community partners who participated in Career Day and helped SAISD to provide our students this additional opportunity to pursue their own hopes and dreams. To stay up-to-date on San Angelo ISD, please visit the SAISD website at www.saisd.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.