Salem High School
Salem, Missouri

Teacher: John Hendricks

 

Making The Connection

By Lauren Sankovitch

 

 

More and more in our society, technical skills are becoming a norm for employment.  Gone are the days when a high school diploma could guarantee a decent lifestyle.  Technology has taken over and people are forced to keep up with it or be left behind.  Throughout our country, many programs have been instigated to remedy the lack of technically skilled workers and to keep our country‘s workforce up-to-date with the rest of the world. One such program, which shows an enormous amount of promise, is the Community Careers System of Missouri. It is part of a massive initiative by the federal government to enhance “the way we prepare Missouri’s kids to meet the demands of a highly skilled workforce.” This is being implemented throughout the state and it will be making the connection between school and the workplace. Students will be exposed to a variety of careers and job opportunities with the program and they will receive invaluable classroom instruction and job-site mentoring.        

           

Each of the Community Careers Systems has three basic “core elements”: school-based learning, work-based learning, and connecting activities. All of these are used together to give students a well-rounded education and to help them to receive valuable skills for life. The school-based learning takes place in the classroom with regular lessons and high academic, as well as occupational, skills standards. Material taught will cover both the theoretical and practical aspects of education. The work-based learning takes place at the job site.  The students gain experience, training, and mentoring during their time there. In addition, a mentor is provided for each student at the business. The connecting activities provide the link between the time spent at school and the time spent at the job site. Courses are developed that will integrate the two together by putting students with compatible participating employers, training the job mentors, and building bridges between the classroom and careers.         

           

The federal government will initially fund this program by a series of grants. After a certain period of time, though, the “seed money” will stop coming and the state government will have to fend for itself. It may seem somewhat strange for the government to do this. It would be natural to assume that as soon as the funding stopped the program would as well. This is not the case, though. The grants will be used only as a foundation for the program to be built on. The five departments in the Missouri government will work in tandem to incorporate the expenses of the Community Careers System into their budget so, as soon as the money runs out, they will be self-sufficient and will no longer require it.

           

There is a list of major goals to accomplish within the school-to-work philosophy. They include integrating school-based and work-based education at the high school, middle school, and elementary school level, applying assessment tools to effectively evaluate the students’ experiences in the program, allowing for all different student groups, such as the handicapped and limited English speakers, to be included, actively involving out-of-school youth, offering opportunities to students in all types of careers, and building a partnership between the school and the local businesses involved. There are several other minor goals, as well, and they will all be fulfilled with the ensuing success of the Community Careers System. All of these goals can and will be reached with a reasonable amount of work by the schools and businesses to pursue the setting up of the program.

           

In retrospect, the Community Careers System is a wonderful tool to increase the opportunities and choices of Missouri students. It offers them regular classroom training with the chance to gain real experience in an actual job environment and courses to integrate and connect the two. The program will start early with practical arts training in the lower levels of education, like elementary school, it will evaluate the students’ progress as they move through the program, and it will give underprivileged, handicapped, and even the academically gifted children opportunities to explore their interests and to develop future plans for their prospective careers. Community Careers’ main purpose is to supply the country with the properly trained and technically skilled workers needed to make it competitive. This program will continue with the careful and prudent use of resources. The federal grants will set the stage for the growth and development of the system and the rest is up to the discretion of the state and the enthusiasm of the people.      [Back]