IGADA - Work-Based Learning Experiences for Students

1. PURPOSE AND PHILOSOPHY

Work-Based Learning (WBL) gives students the opportunity to learn a variety of skills by expanding the walls of classroom learning to include the community. By narrowing the gap between theory and practice, Work-Based Learning creates meaning for students.

WBL provides opportunities for students to learn a variety of skills through rigorous academic preparation with hands-on career development experiences. Under the guidance of adult mentors, students learn to work in teams, solve problems, and meet employers’ expectations.

The vision of the Board of Education of Nebo School District is to see that all students have the opportunity to learn skills and to be introduced to the working world through a variety of WBL activities that will prepare them to enter the workforce upon graduation from high school. 

2. DEFINITIONS

Careful Supervision is defined as providing training safeguards and workplace supervision.

Student Internship Coordinator is the employee responsible for coordinating student internships with all Nebo School District High Schools and employers

Work-Based Learning (WBL) is career awareness and exploration, work experience, structured training, and/or mentoring at the work site. 

There are WBL activities appropriate for every grade level to support students in developing career awareness, exploring career options, developing appropriate workplace skills, and relating academic skills to real-world applications.

Work-Based Learning provides students with opportunities to study complex subject matter as well as vital workplace skills in a hands-on, "real life" environment. Students have opportunities to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired in the classroom to tasks performed in the workplace. As students see the connections between their school work and what is required at the work site, they gain an understanding of the importance of learning and are able to make better decisions about their futures. 

Work-Based Learning does not include work release, for which a student earns no credit but is merely given a partial schedule and permitted to leave school to work for part of the day. 

3. COMPONENTS OF A WORK-BASED LEARNING PROGRAM

The District WBL program may offer a variety of learning experiences. Such experiences may include, but are not limited to, the following. 

Apprenticeship is a WBL program registered with the United States Department of Labor designed to culminate in certified journeyman-level skills and nationally recognized credentials. Apprenticeships offer students the combination of paid, on-the-job training and related classroom training in a specified career. The School-to-Registered Apprenticeship program is operated regionally through the Mountainland Applied Technology Education Coordinating Committee (A-TECC). Student training follows federal Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training guidelines.

Career Fair is a WBL activity that brings the workplace to the school. Employers representing various industry or career areas are invited to come to the schools where they set up booths or display various equipment or other career related items for students to see. Students visit different demonstrations, hear presentations, and talk to industry representatives about various aspects of the represented occupation or industry. 

Clinical work experience consists of structured practical application of previously studied theory. These experiences usually take place in medical settings, where students have opportunities to practice the skills they have learned in the classroom and may be a combination of course work and part-time workplace experiences. Clinical work experiences are different from other structured work experiences in that they are required and graded as part of the student's certification program and some require on-site supervision by a certified teacher or faculty member.

Field study is a WBL activity in which groups of students visit community work sites or other settings that provide career awareness and exploration. These short, on-site visits allow students to gain firsthand information related to specific topics of classroom study or areas of interest.

Guest Speaker is a business professional or industry specialist who comes into a classroom to present firsthand information about a specific career area or provide reinforcement activities that support the Utah State Core Curriculum and apply concepts currently being studied. A guest speaker can be used throughout the career development process from awareness to application and is valuable at any grade level. 

Job Shadow is a work site experience during which a student spends time, typically three to six hours, one-on-one with an employee observing daily activities and asking questions about the job and industry. Job shadowing is a career awareness and exploration activity that allows students to gather information on a wide variety of career possibilities. Such exploration activities help students make good career decisions and assist them in focusing their studies once a career interest is identified.

Mentorship is a formal, long-term relationship between a student and a professional role model who provides support and encouragement to the student. The mentor assists the student in learning specific skills and/or provides experiences for the student to explore career interests.

School-Based Enterprise means a business set up and run by supervised students learning to apply practical skills in the production of goods or services for sale or use by others. The enterprise may realize a financial gain. A school-based enterprise allows students to put into practice what they learn in the classroom by running an actual small business. The money generated from the business can be used to fund student organizations, materials, equipment, facilities, improvement and other items necessary to maintain or improve the program or school. While participating in these activities, students learn overall business operations such as managing costs, ordering supplies, working under pressure, conserving supplies and maintaining facilities.

Student Internship is an experience where students work for an employer for a specified period of time to learn about a particular industry or occupation. Internship programs extend formal classroom learning into the community. Rules governing student internships are more fully described in Section 4. 

4. STUDENT INTERNSHIPS

Eligibility

A student’s Plan for College and Career Readiness (CCR Plan), as described in Nebo School District Policy IKA, Student Education Learning Plans, will be used as a qualifying indicator for students to participate in a Student Internship. The CCR Plan indicates a student’s occupational interest and classroom preparation for a community site training experience in a selected career field. From the CCR information, the student will be matched with cooperating employers to provide work-site experiences for students. 

Either before or during a Student Internship, the student must be enrolled in both the Workplace Skills course and subject-specific CTE course related to the Internship.

A student must be a junior or senior to participate in a Student Internship. 

Student Records

The following documents must be completed and kept up-to-date and on file at the school:

CCR Plan

Student Application

Training Agreement between student, parent or legal guardian, employer and school official

Student Work Record

Student Evaluations

Training 

Students will be informed of safety and health hazards in the workplace prior to participation in a Student Internship. Students will not be placed in training sites, except under Careful Supervision and in accordance with federal child labor laws. 

Employers will assure a safe work environment and will discuss all safety issues or concerns with the Student Internship Coordinator during a review of the work site and prior to the student work-based learning experience. 

Standards and Procedures for Approval of Off-Campus Work Sites

Work-site experiences may be provided through a cooperating employer in the public sector, private sector, through service learning or school-based enterprises.

Student Internships may be paid or unpaid. Paid and unpaid experiences will follow guidelines outlined in the document, "Child Labor Requirements in Nonagricultural Occupations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, US Department of Labor, WH-1330, revised August 1990." Adhering to the intent of the U. S. Department of Labor document, "Employment Relationship Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, WH Publication 1297, (Reprinted August 1985), an unpaid intern may not: (a) displace a regular employee, (b) fill a vacancy that a new hire would normally fill, (c) be given exclusive duties to the disadvantage of a regular employee that would normally be assigned those duties, nor (d) perform services that clearly bring profit to the business.

Employers will assume responsibility for meaningful training. 

Student Transportation

Parents are responsible for transporting students to and from the work site.

5. PARENT/GUARDIAN RESPONSIBILITIES

The parent or guardian of a student participating in a Student Internship bears the following responsibilities. 

Partner with the student, the school counselor, and other school personnel by participating in development of the CCR Plan.

Support the student’s participation in the work-based learning program.

Provide and accept liability for transporting the student to and from the work site. 

Assume responsibility for the student's released time from school.

6. COOPERATING EMPLOYER / SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES

A cooperating employer bears the following responsibilities.

Provide Careful Supervision of the student at the work site.

Provide meaningful training for the student at the work site.

Communicate on a regular basis with the Student Internship Coordinator.

Consult the Student Internship Coordinator regarding problems related to the work experience, and contact promptly the Coordinator before considering suspension, transfer, or termination.

Record attendance and performance of the student.

Provide evaluation of the student’s work.

Conform to State and Federal Labor Laws.

If the Student Internship is one for which the student is paid, provide workers’ compensation insurance under which the student is covered.

7. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE

For paid work experiences, workers’ compensation insurance benefits will be provided by the employers.

For unpaid work experiences, workers’ compensation medical benefits will be provided by Nebo School District as specified in Utah Code Ann. § 53G-7-903.