Central Elementary School students participated in “Kids College” Sessions on Friday. The 10th Annual event aimed to provide students with more insights and experience in professional fields they are interested in. Each class began with a career-themed activity and ended with a Q&A period for students.
The kids could choose from among 25 courses taught by volunteers in several career fields, including banking, art, engineering, and law enforcement.
Amy Casne-Fetz has taught at Central Elementary School for 16 years and is the event’s founder.
“It evolved a lot. We started about ten years ago at Central School. It was really just teachers sharing about things that they knew about. I also have a music degree, so I did my class on music. Some teachers did lessons on archeology or sewing. A couple of years ago, some teachers had an idea of expanding session leadership to community members,” said Casne-Fetz.
Casne-Fetz says this event and those like it allow educators to start preparing elementary-aged students for the professional world.
“If we wait till high school to tell kids about different career paths they can choose, I think it's too late. I think that kids from this early age can get excited about what they might want to do, and then they can take classes that are tailored to that,” said Casne-Fetz.
She also shared the interactive and hands-on ways course instructors engage students during the event.
“I always try to encourage them to do really hands-on activities where kids are moving because it can be hard for kids to just sit still for a long time. The volunteers will bring in special things. Our Spanish volunteer today had the kids trace their entire bodies, and then they labeled their bodies with Spanish words; this was a very interactive way to teach a Spanish lesson," noted Casne-Fetz.
