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Engagement soars and Employability Skills are more deeply developed when learning happens through community partnerships and internships beyond the four walls of the classroom. These provide authentic experiences for students to create, solve problems, and practice skills that have relevance in their community.
Tools to get started
Tools to get started
Explore this Authentic Learning Matrix to evaluate where you are and where you want to be with community partnerships and Internships.
This tool is most effective when used collaboratively with school leaders, educators, and industry-partners. It can help spark ideation for learning experiences and it can also reveal opportunities to refine policy or instructional resources.
Examples
Examples
C4, IN
C4, IN
C4 Columbus Area Career Connection housed in Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation hosts a Career Week each year to develop high school student resumes and interview skills through a mix of community-led workshops, senior interviews, and industry presentations.
Columbia City, IN
Columbia City, IN
Students at Columbia City High School participate in internships and then create industry one-pagers (2nd example) to showcase their learning.
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA
In at the Mount Vernon School have the option to participate in the Innovation Diploma program. Students participate in community-based projects called Design Briefs.
Resources
Resources
Articles, Videos, Resources
Teamship: a reimagined internship experience where teams of students solve real problems for real businesses.
Watch the The Power of Internships video
Unbundled Education Toolkit: learning doesn't have to only happen at school
Apprenticeship Self-Assessment Tool
Read Scaling the Collaboration Pyramid to learn how to scaffold to community-based learning and internships
Additional school examples
Work Helpers in our Detroit Community: young learners identified all of the “helpers” in their local community.
Tiny Homes for the Homeless: Students at a charter school in Berkeley built Tiny Homes for unhoused individuals in their local community.
Project IDEATE: Students in San Diego created social businesses.
Building a 3D Community to explore the question, “What Makes a Good Community?”
One Stone in Boise, Idaho creates opportunities for students to solve local challenges. For example, some students worked with the City of Boise Comprehensive Planning Department to create a plan for e-scooter safety in their city. Another group collaborated with experts to design a day pass to a local music festival to ensure accessibility.
The Goals Project can be implemented in any classroom, inviting learners to engage with the United Nations Sustainable Development goals through local work and advocacy.
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