Last updated on May 1st, 2025 at 10:41 am

Program funded by Georgia AIM connects educators to local job opportunities

Summer is usually a time of rest and relaxation for teachers. But for four teachers in South Georgia, the season meant showing up for a job at a manufacturing facility, all in the name of enhancing their students’ education.

That’s because the teachers — two from high schools and two from an elementary school — spent five weeks in a new internship program funded through Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing (Georgia AIM). The Georgia Intern-Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) partnership placed them with metal stamping and tool and die manufacturer Check-Mate Industries Inc. in Thomasville, where they experienced all aspects of the manufacturing process.

The experience was eye-opening, they said, giving them new insights they can take back to the classroom and first-hand experience in manufacturing careers.

“In the past, when the kids had questions about some kind of engineering question or what parts they would need, I had no real way to answer those questions,” said Susan Milam, who teaches gifted and high-achieving fourth-graders at Cross Creek Elementary School in Thomasville. “In going to Check-Mate, first, we got to see the manufacturing process and how they go from raw materials through the process of making something. And second, just being able to talk with the engineers there; I feel like we made a really good connection with everyone there.”

Milam and her co-teacher, Bhavi Singletary, lead the K-12 InVenture Prize curriculum at their school. This is an invention and entrepreneurship program that challenges students to identify real-world problems and design novel solutions. Because of their summer experience, Milam said they now have a better understanding of the manufacturing process, made connections with professionals who can assist the students with specific manufacturing questions, and can even reach out to these professionals for help with project judging and speaking to classes.

The GIFT program provides an important connection between K-12 schools and the local workforce. Many teachers don’t have experience in manufacturing, and as a result, it’s difficult to show students potential career paths. Yet small and medium manufacturers are often the backbone of a local workforce, and cultivating talent from the area is essential. Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) saw this need when they launched last summer’s fellowship pilot program with Check-Mate.

The partnership between the Thomasville-area community and SRTC also includes the K-12 InVenture Prize. South Georgia Innovation Day launched in 2023 and now in its second year, hundreds of students have taken part in this innovative STEM-based program. Overall, more than 50,000 students from 28 school districts across the state have participated in the K-12 InVenture Prize competition since it was launched in 2013 by the Center for Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Georgia AIM’s support allowed the program to expand efforts to Thomasville in 2024; SRTC and the Technical College System of Georgia are also partners with Georgia AIM, and the connections have helped the community envision a clear pathway from K-12 education to career paths in the community.

Mike Clapper, a CTAE teacher at Thomas County High School, said the experience has been invaluable not just for him, but for his students. He took part in the fellowship with Amanda Russo, a science teacher at Thomasville High School.

“We are starting to implement a manufacturing component into our pathways, and this experience has helped me to realize that, for the leadership team members at Check-Mate and all these other businesses, the traditional path was not a four-year college,” said Clapper. “This has completely opened my eyes to manufacturing, and the biggest thing I’m taking out of it is how to make those connections with our students and how to prepare them, through education, for a career.”

This was the GIFT program’s first year in Thomasville, and the first year incorporating local manufacturer Check-Mate Industries. Learning about manufacturing, and the needs of local businesses helps local teachers as they prepare their students for the workforce.

“GIFT offers our local educators the opportunity to understand the resources that are available in the community,” said Willie Allen, director of innovation at SRTC. Funding from Georgia AIM has helped renovate and equip two new labs there with smart technology as the school launches its new Precision Machining and Manufacturing program.

“This opportunity is extremely beneficial overall for the community, especially at a time when we have such a great workforce shortage,” Allen added. “The GIFT program enables our educators to visit a manufacturer to gain experience and knowledge they can share with their students.”

Local high school CTAE programs also recognize the workforce challenges, which is why many are incorporating new technologies into their curricula. Thomas County High School is among them, and Clapper said he now feels more confident connecting this emerging technology to career paths right in his community.

“In a small community like this, is all about who you know and what they have done,” Clapper said. If family and friends don’t work in manufacturing, then it’s difficult for students to see themselves working in a manufacturing environment after graduation. “There’s a vast variety of options out there in the manufacturing sector that we can bring into all of our classrooms. (Employers like Check-Mate) want an employee who has those transferrable skills, and then cross-train them across different areas, so they are an even more beneficial employee.”