EDUCATION & TRAINING
Nayeli Barrios, a Crowley High senior, spends a class period three days
a week assisting in a kindergarten classroom at Bess Race Elementary
School for her CTE internship. It’s a perfect fit for Barrios, who wants to
be a kindergarten teacher.
“It is an amazing experience to come in here and actually not just sit in a
classroom and think about what you’re going to do but actually know what
it’s going to be like,” Barrios said. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity.”
She gets to develop lesson plans and teach lessons as well.
“They look up to me and ask me for help, and that’s amazing that I can
be able to help them,” she said of the students. “It’s a great feeling. I love
coming here so much.”
Bobette Vroon, Barrios’ CTE teacher, said there are 15 Education & Training students in internships at Deer Creek
and Bess Race elementary schools. Students can get that experience their junior and senior years.
“When they come over here, they are building their confidence and being able to prove to themselves that this is
something that they actually can do,” Vroon said. “It’s more than just coming over here and playing with young
children and having a good time. They become natural teachers, and I love seeing that in my students.”
The CTE Center is adding internship opportunities in
the spring, including a partnership with the Texas A&M
University School of Law in Fort Worth for seniors.
Yolonda Sewell, operations and programming coordinator
for the Office of Admissions at the Texas A&M School
of Law, said CISD high school students will get to hone
their written and oral advocacy skills by participating
in a moot court exercise and will shadow advanced law
students and professors in legal clinics to experience the
court system firsthand.
“This internship is an invaluable experience for the
students to obtain an in-depth overview of the demands
of law school and the endless possibilities associated
with a legal education,” Sewell said. “This is an initial
opportunity for the students to begin establishing
relationships for their future.”
North Crowley High School senior Toiya Smith, one of
two CTE students who will participate in the internship,
is excited about developing those relationships.
“There are going to be so many people who are working
there who have either gone through the law pathway or
even just people doing administrative duties that I can
learn a lot of things from,” Smith said.
Angelica Melendez, a Crowley High senior who also will
intern at the law school, said the internship will give her
the chance to see the work it takes to become an attorney.
“It makes me really happy that I get this opportunity
because not many people do,” Melendez said. “There are
lot of people who go through college and grad school and
then at the end they realize this isn’t what they want to
do. Going through the law school and helping out there
will help me see if this is really what I want to do.”
Sewell has been impressed with Crowley ISD students
she has seen and is excited to work with them in the
future.
“Having served as a juror during the mock trial for
students in the legal services program, I know firsthand
how driven, intelligent and highly capable the CISD
students are,” she said. “I look forward to harnessing
their talent and expanding their horizons. I wish a similar
program existed when I was an aspiring attorney.”
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Winter 2016 | CROWLEY ISD CONNECTIONS 3