As summer winds down, schools across Mississippi and Louisiana are preparing for the return of students. DOT USA’s TeachUp! Interns in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana and seven counties in and around southern Mississippi participated and completed trainings in July and August to prepare for the 2008-2009 school year.

“I am excited about the upcoming school year,” said Antoine Powell, a second year TeachUp! Intern in Hattiesburg, Misssissippi. “There are so many new things that the teachers are willing to learn. This gives me the opportunity to take the program to the next level.”

A grant from Cisco Systems during the 2006-2007 school year following Hurricane Katrina brought 16 interns to schools in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana and 37 interns to seven counties and school districts in Mississippi including Forrest County, Lamar County, Harrison County, Petal School District, Hattiesburg School District, Moss Point School District, and Forrest County Agricultural High School District.

To kick off the third year of these two programs the TeachUp! Interns completed two intensive weeks of training broken up between technical training and face-to-face training. Laurie Abu-Saoud, Training Manager and Intern Support Manager for DOT USA, led the face-to-face trainings designed to prepare the interns to enter a school environment.

The technical trainings were led by a variety of technical experts including presentations by Brian Mull of November Learning and Dr. Faye White and Dr. Dustin Herbert of McNeese State University. They concentrated on informing the interns about software, programs, and equipment they could bring to the schools as well as methods for delivering these technologies to teachers. Returning TeachUp! Interns also delivered training sessions on some of the equipment and techniques used most often in the schools.

Elizabeth Bertucci, a first year TeachUp! Intern in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, said, “The November Learning training with Brian Mull as well as the Promethean training both helped me a great deal. I’ve only been in my school for three days, and I’ve already had to use things I learned from both trainings.”

At the completion of training the TeachUp! Interns received their school assignments and prepared to step out into the surrounding communities and make a difference in education. “I feel as if the training was one of the most important parts of the internship,” said Powell. “All of the things you learn adequately prepare you for the role that we are playing in the schools.” As the school year begins DOT USA’s TeachUp! Interns can feel confident entering their schools trained, prepared and exited about taking technology to the next level in education.