Last week, students enrolled in the high school's Education Internship program signed letters of intent to major in education in college.
Co-coordinator Mike Mertel says the goals of the three year old program include helping students who want to become teachers, trying to diversify the profession, and attracting teachers to Rock Island.
"We've got one of the most diverse districts in the entire state of Illinois, and so our students who attend our schools are more familiar with that diversity, are able and willing and excited to work with people from different backgrounds. And that's the kind of teacher we want back in our school district."
It's open to juniors and seniors who spend time every day in the same classroom with the same teacher, for a year, learning what the job is like and getting a lot of practice.
The Education Intership program has grown from 12 students in the first year, to 20, and then 30 this past year. 50 are enrolled for the fall.