VRP Site: Newark Street School

Grades: 7-8

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VRP Goals: This unit meets the VRP goals of School-Community Partnerships in that each student works in a local organization one day a week for seven weeks.

Goals:

• Allow students to work in an area of interest and potential employment

• Help students gain an understanding of the workplace environment

• Forge relationships between the school, students and the business community

Focusing Questions:

• What goes on in a typical day at work?

• How does the perception of a job dovetail with the reality of actually doing the job?

• What type of skills, education, etc. is required to perform the job?

• What makes a job particularly interesting?

Activities:

Students will work alongside a mentor at a job for seven weeks. Each student keeps a journal as well as writes a final evaluation of her/his experiences at the placement.

Vermont Standards:

2.14 Planning/Organization

3.14 Dependability and Productivity

3.15 Career Choices

Assessment:

A community celebration will focus on both student work as well as a panel discussion with mentors and students. The student work is displayed in a science fair type arrangement so that attendees may visit each booth and talk with each student. The panel discussion highlights the experience of both students and mentors throughout the job shadow experience.

Timeline:

The job shadow runs for six - seven weeks, one day a week. The final project takes about one week to complete.

Ilene Kanoff