By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
In August, the Cazenovia Central School District (CSD) announced the launch of a new “Work-Based Learning” (WBL) program in the high school.
Scheduled to kick off in Sept. 2020, the program will be led by business teacher Christina New — the district’s certified WBL coordinator.
The pilot program will provide up to 10 eligible seniors with the opportunity to work in a local business as part of an elective class, called “Internship.”
New began developing the program this summer with two other teachers, Todd MacIntosh and Tim Mascari of the special education department.
On Aug. 28, New, MacIntosh, Mascari and Patrick Ruddy, director of special education, presented their vision for the program to local businesses at the Hampton Inn & Suites.
“Work-based learning is basically extending the classroom into the workplace and connecting the students’ knowledge and skills to future employment,” New said.
Through the program, students will earn course credits while spending part of their school day at a job site, where they will work alongside an industry mentor; gain first-hand career knowledge; and develop broad, transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, networking, critical thinking and professionalism, for postsecondary education and the workplace.
“We are excited because we are a little ahead of the game,” Ruddy said. “This is something that the state wants, but not every district is doing it.”
The educators anticipate that, in addition to providing students with real-life work experience and critical skills, the program will help students to either discover their passion for a particular field or to rule out a career path all together.
“It would help students to feel more in control of their future and to understand their options and the different roles in various workplaces,” MacIntosh said.
According to Mascari, the program could also end up saving students and parents a lot of money in the long run.
“I went to college for criminal justice at first, then I took the LSAT and thought I was going to law school, and ultimately I ended up a teacher,” Mascari said. “I didn’t waste those four years [of college], but it would have been nice to have had the opportunity to intern with a teacher, so that I could have seen early on that teaching was what I wanted to do and so that I could have gotten more experience [in that field] in college.”
The WPL initiative is intended to not only benefit students, but also to create an environment of collaboration and cooperation between the school, the businesses and the community.
Through their internships, students have the potential to contribute to a more productive local economy.
The program may also help Cazenovia-area businesses to retain local talent by exposing students to job opportunities available in their community that they otherwise may not have discovered.
Additionally, the student mentors will have the opportunity to shape the future workforce by determining the skills they wish to pass onto their interns.
According to New, students will spend around 80 minutes or more at their job sites two or three times per week, and will meet with their teachers in the classroom once a week.
About 50 percent of a student’s grade will be determined based on their mentor evaluation, while the other 50 percent will come from online and classroom assignments, as well as a capstone project completed at the end of the program.
To be eligible for WBL, students must be at least 16 years old; be able to provide their own transportation; have a good attendance history and discipline record; and have completed the prerequisite Career and Financial Management course.
“The [applicants] will need to have three teacher recommendations, [the counseling office] will have to be involved, and we’ll have to meet with the parents, so this is going to be a pretty lengthy process before we bring the students to [the businesses] to make sure we are matching them to the right settings,” New said.
Students will also be required to go through an interview process and work with the WBL coordinator to identify potential job sites.
According to New, students will be matched to internships that align with their interests, aptitudes, personalities and career goals
While the district’s goal is to secure 100 percent placement for the program’s accepted students, New acknowledges that some situations might not work out.
“We will do a back up schedule for [each student], so if the placement doesn’t work . . .we can place them into their backup schedule,” she said.
To remain in the program, interns must demonstrate professionalism, an excellent work ethic, enthusiasm and academic success.
They must also demonstrate an ability to keep up with assignments, to maintain excellent attendance habits in class and at internships, to turn in their time sheets, and to abide by all business regulations like dress-code, confidentiality and health and safety.
According to Mascari, students will receive a variety of forms of recognition for their accomplishments, including a pin at graduation and acknowledgment on social media, the district website and in other news sources.
The participating businesses will be expected to provide the students with feedback, to evaluate their work and employability, to provide guidance, and to discuss any concerns with the WBL coordinator — who plans to visit each job site at least twice and maintain regular communication with the mentors.
This year, the district will be working to build the course curriculum, to establish the evaluation criteria, to determine scheduling, and to find a few students to pioneer the program.
New, MacIntosh, Mascari and Ruddy will be assisted throughout the development process by an advisory committee that will include local business representatives.
“Our goal is to have [an accepted] student and parent orientation night at the end of this year to really get the kids, the families [and the participating businesses] excited about the internships and to congratulate the kids,” MacIntosh said.
The selected students will meet with their mentors around mid-August and begin their internships in late-September 2020.
According to Ruddy, the WBL program will also offer opportunities for students with special needs.
“A lot of this is geared toward regular-ed. students preparing for college and beyond, but we are also going to have a pocket of students that we know are going to be adults [within] the community and that we want to provide appropriate work experience,” he said.
Ruddy added that the district has the capabilities to provide appropriate support in such situations.
Businesses interested in participating in Cazenovia CSD’s WBL program are encouraged to contact Christina New at [email protected].