Sherman Economic Development Corporation:

Sherman Economic Development Corporation:

The Importance of Teacher Support in Talent Development

Communities around the country have struggled to get young people into the workforce, specifically in the manufacturing industry. Tennessee has just 12.1% of its workforce in manufacturing. North Carolina sits at 11.11% and Georgia sits at just 9.3%. Texas has had the same struggle, and Sherman, Texas is no exception. However, one teacher may have unlocked the secret.

The Sherman Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) initiated a program called the Advanced Manufacturing Program, or AMP. The AMP program is free for students, beginning in tenth grade, and allows them to gain hands-on training through a curriculum driven by the industry itself. After completing the program, students can enter the workforce while continuing their education at Grayson College.

This program is meant to help the community provide skills to young people so they can engage in and support one of the areas’ main industries.

“Advanced manufacturing makes up the largest percentage of both our GDP and our annual wages,” said Kent Sharp, President of Sherman Economic Development Corp. “So, advanced manufacturing is huge.”

The AMP program was initially a success but, like many communities in the Southeast, Sherman has had difficulty building up program participation since the pandemic and has struggled with retention despite massive marketing efforts.

“It is super difficult to get younger, high school-aged students interested in careers in manufacturing,” Sharp said. "

There are a few theories on why this is: lack of familiarity with the manufacturing industry, social media, or a growing fascination and motivation toward entrepreneurship. The bottom line is, this is a national problem with no clear solution.

However, the Sherman Economic Development Corporation noticed an anomaly in one of their schools. Though it was only the third largest school in the area participating in the AMP program, Pottsboro High School had the highest AMP participation numbers.

“It was one teacher in the Pottsboro High School,” Sharp said. "And it wasn’t even really his job, but he just really poured into these kids and coached them and accounted for them. ‘Why are you not at the college right now’, and kind of followed it through. That was my experience in Gainesville and Abilene when we did similar programs. If you have that one person at the high school who will get invested heavily in the program, I think you have a better success rate.”

SEDCO has added a new pathway they are excited about called EET, or Electrical Engineering Technician program, created after Sherman landed a pair of large semiconductor projects with estimated jobs reaching 4,500 after ten years. It involved the same strategy as the AMP program of pulling everyone together to build the curriculum and a teacher.

Sherman High School has a new teacher with a vested interest in bringing more women into the manufacturing industry and will be running the EET and robotics lab at Sherman High School.

“We’re very excited about the work that she is doing there,” said SEDCO CFO Ashton Bellows.

With a community willing to work together, grant money, and growing teacher support, Sherman Economic Development Corp. may have found a solution to the problem of a nation.