Allen ISD teachers are spending part of their summers inside local companies, learning what employers actually need and carrying those lessons back to students.

The district has sent a handful of teachers each year since 2023 to shadow professionals at businesses including Credit Union of Texas, telecommunications infrastructure firm MD7 and the City of Allen, Community Impact reported.

Allen ISD partners with Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas (WSNCT) and the Allen Economic Development Corporation on the externship program, which is funded by Texas Workforce Commission grants.

Allen High School teacher Tina Balgemann has participated three times.

During her most recent externship at MD7, she shadowed every department to learn what skills entry-level employees need, according to Community Impact.

Personnel in every department told her they want workers who pay close attention to detail and speak up when they see a problem.

Balgemann also heard repeatedly about the need to use artificial intelligence effectively without overrelying on it. During the 2026-27 school year, she is piloting new classroom strategies to test students' reliance on AI.

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"Every year that you're in education is a year that you're removed from the industry," said Toni Crisler, Allen ISD's director of College, Career and Military Readiness.

"It allows our teachers to stay in touch with what is going on in the industry."

Crisler said the program is especially valuable for Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers, whom the district actively recruits from the industries they teach about. The externship helps those educators stay current after they move into the classroom.

WSNCT, which manages workforce development programs across 14 North Texas counties, launched the externship in 2018, according to senior education partnerships coordinator Danielle Taylor. More than 20 school districts in the coverage area participate each year, and more than 400 educators applied last year.

WSNCT Executive Director Phedra Redifer said Allen ISD and the surrounding business community have been strong supporters of the program. The organization views the externship as an economic development tool in a county projected to add more than 92,000 jobs, Taylor said.

A parallel externship program in Tarrant County offers participating teachers a $2,000 stipend plus up to $500 for classroom materials, according to the Fort Worth Report. Stipend details for the WSNCT program were not specified.

The district has not announced application dates for the next summer cycle.