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May 11, 2004 For Immediate Release:
Live and On-line discussion to focus on job shadowing and internships for high school students ======================================================
A weeklong on-line community dialogue on job shadowing and internship experiences for St. Paul high school students will kick off on May 17, 2004 with a live discussion at Highland Park Senior High School.
The live discussion will take place at 9:30 a.m. at the field house lobby of Highland Park High School. Community members, high school staff and students who have benefited from job shadowing or internship experiences will be on hand to discuss the need for job shadowing and internship experiences for high schools students.
The discussion will go online at 10:00 a.m., and continue through 5 p.m. Friday, May 21.
The public is invited to participate in the on line discussion day or night throughout the week. To access and participate in the online discussion:
Register at: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The on-line discussion will help participating high schools articulate the need for high school job shadowing experiences and how community members, businesses, corporations, and other organizations can provide support for students ranging from actual job shadowing and internship opportunities, to mentoring students through the process of researching and setting up a job shadowing or internship activity.
During the weeklong online discussion, community members will be able to ask questions about job shadowing, internships or mentorships as they evaluate their capacity to support the effort.
"This dialogue will be important to our school's program and to other schools' programs as well," said Leslie Snow, small learning communities coordinator for Highland Park Senior High School. According to Snow, the event will help Highland
Park and other high schools "understand better how to work with the community to make experiences for students exciting, valuable and safe."
Community members interested in providing job shadowing and/or internship experiences or mentoring students through the process will be able to indicate their interest in working with an individual school or request they be assigned to a school. Job service coordinators at the six high schools will contact interested parties when the 2004-05 school year begins.
"We'll have partners in the community that we can turn to in the first month of the new school year," Snow said, "rather than taking that first month to get organized. Our work this spring will give us a huge boost at the beginning of the school year."
The live and on-line discussions are part of a partnership between six St. Paul public high schools and a number of community organizations.
In addition to Highland Park Senior High School, the other schools participating in the live and on-line discussion include Johnson High School, Harding High School, Humboldt High School, Como Park Senior High School, and Arlington High School.
The event is being sponsored by three community organizations, Support Our Schools and St. Paul E - Democracy, and the Center For School Change at the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
"We are happy to serve as co-sponsors of this event," says Roger Barr, co-founder of Support Our Schools, a nonprofit organization that supports public education in St. Paul and works for its improvement. "This is the community stepping up to the plate and saying, "we'll help connect high schools and community members who want to support students in exploring career options."
"On line technology offers an incredible opportunity to widen the dialogue beyond those who have the time to attend a meeting in person," said Tim Erikson of St. Paul E - Democracy. "School staff, students, business owners and parents can log-on to the event evenings or early in the morning and participate."
"The Center for School Change is committed to fostering community partnerships with the high schools says David Evertz , program director for the Gates Exemplary Small School Project at The Center for School Change. "We are excited to support the schools and the community organizations in this tremendous opportunity to dialogue on the linkage of school and careers."
Contacts: ============================
Roger Barr Support Our Schools 651-603-8858 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tim Erickson St. Paul E - Democracy 651-643-0722 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
David Evertz Center for School Change 651-696-1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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