Andre Echols’ summer vacation is far from lounging poolside.

The math teacher at West High, 2901 Melrose Ave., is using his weeks away from the classroom to partake in a learning work experience at Procter & Gamble that will not only benefit him but also his students.

This summer, teachers such as Echols across Iowa are partnering with local businesses through the 2010 Real World Externships for Math and Science Teachers. The educators study the establishments, conducting research to be included in their fall curriculum. The progam’s goal is to provide students with examples of how they could use their math and science skills in the real world.

“I’ve been in the education arena since college; having the opportunity to experience something outside of that allows me to prepare [the students],” said Echols, a University of Michigan graduate.

Going into his fourth year of teaching, he is using the summer to analyze data in graphs and charts — much like those he teaches his students to use — at Procter & Gamble, 2200 Lower Muscatine Road.

His work helps keep consistent the ounce count in each product bottle — keeping each shampoo container at exactly 12 oz., for instance.

In its second year, the six-week program is part of the Iowa Math and Science Education Partnership and is funded by a $106,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Economic Development with help from Alliant Energy, which donated $10,000 and opened up its business to teachers across the state.

Marshall Parsons, a plant engineer for the company who has five kids in Iowa City School District, said he quickly became interested in the program and found a suitable project for Echols.

Other teachers are working with such businesses as General Mills in Cedar Rapids and Hy-Vee in West Des Moines.

The program — which drew in only 10 teachers last year — caught the attention of 33 this year who partnered with equally eager businesses.

“By the end of last summer, we had documentation that the teachers brought intellectual value to the operations,” said Jeff Weld, the director of the Iowa Math and Science Education Partnership. “And in some cases, saved the business hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The teachers — who were all asked to document their experience through a blog — earn college credit in their field of choice from the University of Northern Iowa through the program.

Ted Neal, a clinical instructor of science education at the University of Iowa, oversees some of the teacher-business partnerships as they work together as well as after they part ways and the teachers take their experiences to their classrooms.

As soon as the summer is over, Neal will sit down each educator to discuss how the experience will transition into the curricula.

“We require them to inform us on how they will integrate [the skills],” Neal said. “We want to see what career awareness changes will take place in the classes of these teachers.”

Echols said he is excited to share his “real world” experiences with his students when school is back in session.

“Now, I will be able to turn an abstract lesson from their book into something concrete from the real world,” he said.