Fourteen Dallas ISD high school seniors will spend the semester learning bus maintenance skills alongside professional mechanics through a new partnership between Dallas Independent School District and Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
The High School Student Bus Maintenance Externship Program is being offered through Dallas ISD’s Automotive Technician Program of Study. The first-of-its-kind initiative is designed to give students supervised, hands-on experience while introducing them to careers in diesel and transit vehicle maintenance.
Students To Train Alongside DART Mechanics
The 14 participating seniors will be paired with DART bus maintenance technicians throughout the semester.
Their training will include multi-point vehicle inspections, engine fundamentals, and interior climate-system maintenance. Students will also have opportunities to develop technical and leadership skills while working in an industry setting.
The program gives students an opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to real-world maintenance work.
Program Aims To Build Career Pathways
DART officials said the partnership is intended to expand career opportunities for students while helping address a shortage of diesel maintenance mechanics.
“DART recognizes just how important it is to support education in the region, and to cultivate the next generation of diesel maintenance mechanics,” said Trenise Winters, DART chief operations officer. “Our expansive fleet of vehicles and professional mechanics are available for Dallas ISD students to expand their experience.”
Winters said the collaboration is intended to help prepare students for careers while addressing workforce needs in the diesel maintenance industry.
Oswaldo Alvarenga, Dallas ISD deputy chief of strategic initiatives, said the partnership connects students with high-demand career opportunities.
“Our students grow the most when they’re in the real world solving real problems,” Alvarenga said. “For us, partnering with DART is a meaningful way to support the next generation of skilled technicians while creating immediate, hands-on impact for our students in high-demand career pathways.”
DART Calls Partnership an Investment in the Future
At a press conference Tuesday, DART Chairman Randall Bryant described the externship as an investment in the people who could eventually lead the transit agency.
“If we are serious about innovation, we have to ask ourselves a different question. Are we simply preparing DART for the future, or are we preparing the people who will lead DART into the future? This partnership with Dallas ISD allows us to do both,” Bryant said, per Fox 4 KDFW.
The program provides students with direct access to professionals working in the field and an opportunity to learn about the day-to-day responsibilities of transit vehicle maintenance.
Students See Career Opportunities
Ben Jones, executive director of Dallas ISD’s Conrad Feeder Pattern, said students have already shown enthusiasm for the program.
Jones recounted a conversation with one participant who saw the externship as a potential pathway into a long-term career.
“He looked at me, and he said, ‘You know, Mr. Jones, I’m not gonna get a job out of this. I’m gonna get a career,’” Jones said, Fox 4 reported.
According to Jones, the student was particularly encouraged by conversations with DART technicians about the field and potential starting wages.
“He said, ‘I’m talking to these technicians, and right out of it, it starts at $33 an hour. I’m going to be able to get a real paycheck because of this program,’” Jones said.
The externship is expected to give participating seniors practical experience as they prepare to enter the workforce or pursue additional technical education after graduation.
