Making the School-to-Work Connection
School-to-work programs ensure all students a smooth transition from high school to work, college, and/or military training. A typical school-to-work program includes school-based learning, work-based learning, and connecting activities in middle and high school. This week, we look at a variety of ways of promoting school-to-work activities in your classroom.
This Week's Tips
Talk About School-to-Work (Monday)
Invite community leaders to your class. Ask them to talk about their careers/jobs. What does it take to perform their jobs? (What are the educational requirements and necessary work experience?) What advice can they give students who are considering careers in their fields? Students should prepare questions for the community leaders before the visit.
Plan a Career Fair (Tuesday)
Invite students to help put on a career fair for the school. Ask students to select different careers and jobs and research them. Also have students invite community leaders. On the day of the fair, students should be prepared to hand out pamphlets and to answer questions by other students about careers and jobs.
Share Information about Career Choices (Wednesday)
Bring information to class about various careers. Briefly describe a different job or career to students every week. Have student volunteers do further research on that particular career for extra credit.
Display Information about Career Choices (Thursday)
Set up a school-to-work center or bulletin board in a small corner of the classroom. You should keep information pamphlets and career-related magazine or newspaper articles here. Groups of students may volunteer to create a bulletin board display every month on different career-related topics. Advertisements for volunteer work or internships may also be posted here.
Students Benefit from Career Portfolios (Friday)
Ask students to begin a work experience or career portfolio. Include such items as extracurricular activities, past work experience, letters of recommendation, a short personal biography, volunteer work, service learning, educational experience, and goals.
