Member Spotlight: Lewisville ISD
The Plano Chamber membership team is thrilled to present our monthly Member Spotlights! Each month, we will be highlighting different Plano Chamber of Commerce members to continue connecting our members with each other and the Plano community at large.
The Plano Chamber would like to welcome and spotlight, Lewisville Independent School District. Heather Wagemann, our Membership Engagement Manager, asked Director of Partnerships, Lindsay Ayers, a few questions about their school district, membership, and role in the community.
1. What would you like readers to know about Lewisville ISD (LISD) and what you specialize in?
Lewisville ISD is home to 48,000 students, 6,500 staff members and serves families in 13 municipalities in the north Texas area. We provide an excellent education to our students through our 69 schools. Among those 69 schools, we have two career centers, 5 STEM elementary schools, 4 STEM middle schools, and many other premier programs. A full list of LISD awards and recognitions can be found here.
My specific work in partnerships is to actively seek business partners to help students identify what they want to do for future careers. We do this through a one-day, three-hour job shadowing program called Career Out, site visits to local businesses, summer internships where students get hands-on experience with a local business, classroom speakers, and special projects with the business community.
2. Why did you choose to join the Plano Chamber of Commerce?
One of the communities we serve is Plano, so we have been Plano Chamber members for years and enjoy working with the business community. We know there is great benefit to local partnerships and are grateful for the many Plano Chamber businesses we have worked with to date.
3. Tell us about your involvement in the community.
I have the pleasure of being actively involved with our local business community. This involves serving on local Chamber boards, attending City and Chamber meetings, working with local economic development departments, and generally looking for ways to engage our students with the local workforce. I am always looking to meet new business representatives to see how we can work together to benefit our students and/or staff members.
4. What is your favorite part of your current work environment?
LISD is a wonderful place to work! We have supportive administration from the top down and we have a fabulous work environment. I am part of the Career and Technical Education team where a large focus of our work is preparing the future workforce. It is very rewarding to have students find their passion while in high school and see them begin to pursue their futures. I think my favorite part of all of this is meeting local business representatives and working together for the success of our students. That’s hard to beat!
5. We heard Lewisville ISD is hosting their 5th Annual Career Day out this year! Can you tell us more about this program and how our members can get involved?
Career Out is our one-day, three-hour job shadowing program for juniors and seniors in LISD. Businesses decide how many students they want to host and sign up using this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4-RPSk9MmgI5LO04bQqeyg2nr-NuwNwHgWgOhxxLcYoV3Cg/viewform
All job shadowing takes place on Friday, March 3rd from 8:30-11:30 AM. Students provide their own transportation to and from the job site. The business decides how they want to structure the time with students. We always get a great response from both students and businesses who participate in the program. Businesses can find out more at lisd.net/CareerOut or by emailing me: AyersL@lisd.net. I would love to chat about how we can connect to support the future workforce!
