Recently, Our Teacher Academy of Maryland class of 2026 had their first day at their classroom internships! In various elementary and middle schools across the county, our TAM seniors are spending their time working with students and gaining hands on classroom experiences. Every year, TAM seniors are placed in a real classroom in the county with a partnering teacher, and from October through April they spend time learning effective classroom management skills, teaching strategies, and how a live classroom will feel. With the help of their partnering teachers, the interns will learn a lot from this experience. They only just started their internships, but they’ve seen so much already. Some of them were willing to share some of their experiences.
Kayla Oteyza is interning at Magnolia Middle School in 8th grade. She gets to see two different classes during her time there; Math 8 and Algebra I. Kayla told us “My favorite thing about interning is seeing a variety of diverse learners! I had the chance to work one on one with a student and seeing the student start to understand how to solve the problem was very rewarding.”
Joy Chaillou is interning in 2nd grade at Red Pump Elementary School. When asked about her internship she said “One thing that gets me excited about teaching is seeing the kids gets more confident in their abilities”
Grace Vacek is interning in an art classroom at Prospect Mill Elementary School. She expressed “So far I’ve had a great experience at my internship at PMES! It gives me great insight on what to expect in my future classroom. I think it’s really exciting to see the students improvements when comparing their rough draft to their final art project and being able to notice how much progress they’ve made! Even though it’s my first month, I can definitely see myself running my own art classroom in the future!”
It is evident that our interns are having a great time at their internships! But an internship is a big responsibility, as working with students is not an easy task. Interns are expected to be on time and professional, they must follow the same rules as any regular teacher would. Eventually, some interns might even get the opportunity to teach whole lessons. Some have already jumped right into their classroom responsibilities, like circulating and helping students, or leading small groups or read alongs.
We are so excited to see what the future has in store for our future teachers. An internship is a great opportunity to learn and grow their passion for teaching. We thank everyone who has made this possible for our students. So far, they have been successful, excited, and inspired through their time in the schools. We wish our interns well in the rest of their internships and their future careers.
