Vol. 19, No. 34

June 21, 2000

Program offers students a look at working world

An equine veterinarian, an FBI agent, a pharmacist, an electrician, a probation officer, a manufacturing manager, a transportation planner, lawyers, judges, musicians, nurses, engineers, computer specialists, editors, business and industry representatives are among the volunteers in UD’s Office for School-to-Work. With some 200 volunteers, the program reaches 1,800 to 2,200 students each year in New Castle County. Bringing the working world to the classroom is an important part of children’s and teenagers’ education, according to Doug Hill, who directs the School-to-Work program, both on the campus and in Kent and Sussex counties. The program is an outreach initiative of the Delaware Center for Teacher Education. In 1999, the program evolved from the Delaware Business/Industry/Education (BIE) Alliance, which began in 1982. "From fourth grade up, we offer different programs to start students thinking about the career opportunities open to them and the importance and relevance of education to achieve their goals. The programs are designed to be entertaining, thought-provoking and interactive for the different age levels," he said. Maryann Altieri coordinates the "What’s My Line?" career exploration program, modeled after the former TV show, for young students in grades four to six in New Castle County. Volunteers visit classrooms and are introduced only by name. For the first part of the program, students question the mystery guests and try to figure out their careers. In the last part of the program, the children interview the visitors about their jobs. The volunteers also bring a tool associated with their work or sample of what they do. For example, Altieri said, a probation officer showed the children the tracking equipment a parolee has to wear, and "it made quite an impression," she added. Those in the human resources field may stage mock job interviews with the children and ask about their skills and education, which reinforces the importance of staying in school and studying. "The children really enjoy "What’s My Line?" and so do the volunteers. It gives them an opportunity to visit the schools in a meaningful way and see classrooms in action. In general, the volunteers get a positive view of what public schools are accomplishing," Hill pointed out. "Many people cannot volunteer for school programs because of job responsibilities and obligations," Altieri said. "But we schedule our sessions early in the morning and they require only an hour and a half and little preparation, so that busy people are able to participate. We’ve had a wonderful group of volunteers. No one has ever dropped out of the program, and they have always been on hand to do a program when we have asked them to." Among the UD volunteers are Lloyd Shorter and Michel Zinn, both music; Pat Grim, nursing, who also talks about her involvement with ballroom dancing and the UD student dance team; and Clinton Tymes, Small Business Development Center. Altieri said many more University faculty and staff are needed and encouraged their participation. The CHOICES program for middle school students is coordinated by Sherry Netta in New Castle County and Carol Blaeuer and Pat Luke in Kent and Sussex counties. "Our presenters are volunteers from business and industry. We provide a two-and-a-half-hour training program before they go into the classroom for two sessions," Netta said. The workshops begin with passing out fortune cookies, only instead of fortunes, the cookies contain 30 different factors that influence peoples’ lives. The leader lists these factors, plus any others the students may add, and opens a discussion of what factors cannot be changed (size, gender, race, place of birth), what factors can be controlled (friends, self-discipline, healthy lifestyle, grooming) and areas where a person may have some control (getting along with parents, religion). The program encourages the students to examine their options from a different perspective and realize that they have more control of their lives than they previously thought. In another part of the program, the leader asks for volunteers to play parts in a skit. One becomes a high school dropout who gets a job earning roughly $1,030 a month. He or she is given play money, and the students portraying landlord, grocer, Uncle or Aunt Sam, Mr. or Miss Utility and others take their share of the paycheck, leaving the dropout with little or no money or in debt. The scenario drives home the connection between staying in school and getting a better job. There also is a segment on time management. One of the bonuses of the program is that the teachers get to know the students better and get insights into their lives outside of the classroom, as CHOICES encourages students to talk about their backgrounds, viewpoints and goals. "We ask each student to evaluate the program, and we get good feedback," Netta said. "They realize they do have some control and that the choices they make will affect their future. The program promotes self-esteem, self-confidence and encourages self-discipline, which is the key to success. Some students who have considered dropping out of school have told us they decided to stick with it." There are other School-to-Work programs as well, Hill said, including "Explore Engineering," which encourages young women of high school age to learn about engineering as a potential career. DuPont hosts students with tours and the opportunity to shadow an engineer for a day. The UD chapter of the Society of Women Engineers also hosts a group of 200 girls in the eighth grade with special demonstrations and hands-on activities related to engineering. In addition, the Office for School-to-Work sponsors a job fair in Kent County where high school seniors can learn about job opportunities and be interviewed by local employers. Others in the community also are welcome to participate. This summer, Hill said, the Office for School-to-Work is offering a graduate course for academic, vocational and special education teachers to integrate career issues into the curriculum and to demonstrate how different disciplines are interrelated in the workplace. The teachers also will have a 40-hour externship, shadowing persons in the business community, and will develop integrated team projects on bringing the work world into the classroom. A former social studies teacher at Newark High School, Hill is a graduate of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, has a master’s degree from UD and a doctorate from the University of Maryland. He joined the UD staff to direct the Office for School-to-Work in 1999. —Sue Moncure