Angela Iverson, a staff member at Fossil Ridge High School has recently moved up from being a Career and Tech Education (CTE) teacher, to the school’s coordinator for Work-Based Learning, which she describes as “an educational strategy that helps students develop academic, technical, employability skills through real life experiences.”
When Terra Thiebaut, the former coordinator, was promoted, Iverson saw an opportunity to step into a position that she is passionate about. “I have been a teacher in the CTE realm for 15 years, and so I’ve always just really believed and loved this model of Work-Based Learning, and I would always have Mrs. Thiebaut, who was the previous teacher, into my classes, and just try to connect as many students as I could,” Iverson says.
“She’s really good at giving people clear instructions of what needs to get done and when, and so I think being in this sort of role where she’s connecting with lots of individual students, where she might not know them very well on a personal level, at least, she can create working professional relationships.” says Kara Felske, Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at Fossil who worked alongside Iverson.
Felske believes that Iverson’s new position is providing her a chance to elevate what they both taught in CTE classes.
While Iverson had some experience with CTE and Work-Based Learning, new positions come with adjustment. “Each day brings about a lot of new learning, and I’m really enjoying the challenges,” Iverson says.
Felske agrees, saying, “I think adjusting to any sort of new job role or position can be tricky at first, but I think she’s navigating it so well. And again, she’s just a natural when it comes to consulting with students and having one-on-one conversations.”
Although she is no longer in a classroom, Iverson is still able to grow her relationships with students. She is able to learn more about their personal passions, and build one-on-one connections with them as she helps them to find career pathways.
In the future, as she continues through her new position, Iverson hopes to grow in her position and create more opportunities for students.
“In February, I’ll go on my first two career tours as the Work-Based Learning Coordinator… so I’m just excited to take students to meet industry professionals, and hopefully they can network and get some industry mentors, and kind of see that spark.” Iverson says.
One of her biggest goals is to spread the word about Work-Based Learning, hoping to let all students know about the opportunities they have to start a career during high school.
