Another group of students at Rock Island High School has signed "letters of intent." But intead of athletes accepting college scholarships, on Monday this group promised to pursue degrees in education.
They were the first participants in Rock Island High School's Education Internship Program. Coordinator Mike Mertel says the school district also promised to interview them for future teaching jobs when they're done with college.
One of the goals is to diversify the staff.
"Provide an opportunity or try to entice students who may not have thought of teaching as a career - maybe they haven't had a teacher that looked like them or was from the same culture as them - get them thinking about teaching so that they can be that teacher for the next generation of students."
The program also gives them real world experience by having them work with teachers in the district, developing lesson plans and teaching.
Twenty-one students participated in the first year of the internship program at Rock Island High School.
