(Santa Ana) Rancho Santiago Community College District’s (RSCCD) Child Development Services is participating in an innovative partnership with Think Together - a California-based nonprofit that works with school districts and local communities to offer extended learning programs for underprivileged and low-income youth, and with Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) and Orange Unified School District (OUSD) to provide child development lab internships and experiences to high school students enrolled in the Career Technical Education (CTE) “Careers in Education” teaching pathway at their respective high schools.
Students participating in the program receive direct interactions with young children, obtain observation and engagement opportunities with lab school mentor teachers, build a greater understanding of the requirements to attain a career in the early education field and connect to college campuses early in order to minimize any enrollment gaps between high school and college.
The childcare centers, in return, receive additional support implementing instruction and maintaining child-centered, content focused, health and safe early learning environments that create warm, respectful and responsive interactions as children grow and develop.
The internship experiences are limited to 24 students per semester, with students rotating between the lab school office and classrooms. CTE students from SAUSD and OUSD are currently in their second year of the Careers in Education program at several RSCCD Child Development Center sites, including those at Santa Ana College (SAC), Santiago Canyon College (SAC) and the Centennial Education Center (CEC).
This past spring, CEC and SCC hired two high school graduates that participated in the program who demonstrated enthusiasm, consistency, flexibility and the desire to learn and grow as paid College Student Workers.
For more information on this program, please contact Janneth Linnell, Director of Child Development Services at linnell_janneth@rsccd.edu or by phone at 714-480-7546.
About Rancho Santiago Community College District
Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College are public community colleges of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, which serves the residents of Anaheim Hills, Orange, Santa Ana, Villa Park, and portions of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Irvine, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, and Tustin. Both colleges provide education for academic transfer and careers, courses for personal and professional development, and customized training for business and industry.
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