Internships
Our internship program
makes up 40% of our curriculum, with students participating in internship/career work every Tuesday and Thursday. It is a required portion of the school and part of our charter- it is a requirement, not a privilege.
Internships helps students engage with the world as it exists, rather than leaving the "real world" as a mythical future place. Students are expected to complete at least one internship for Phase. Internships should also be helping students demonstrate Essential Knowledge competencies as well as the required internship competencies.
An internship has specific requirements, including:
6 weeks (12 days) of on-site work
Completing a project that demonstrates student learning AND benefits the internship site
Works with an identified 1-1 Mentor on site
Write daily reflections in EODs that students email to the Mentors
Our internship program helps students engage in and practice our Internship Career Competencies.
CTE standards xref (from CA DOE).pdfInternships ARE academic
Additionally, Internships provide excellent context for the academic expectations. The California Department of Education has done a fantastic job cross-referencing industry sectors and job expectations by academic standards in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies.
(See left.)
Setting up Internship Sites and Mentors
Mentor Guide to MC2 Internships This has most of the basic introductory information about MC2 internships, it's good to bring along when first meeting a mentor at a new site.
NH Department of Labor Approval Form for Sub/No Wage Work-Based Activities - this form is used when designing new industry pathways (programs) for MC2. One program (Criminal Justice) may cover a number of careers or internship sites (police department, probation, county court, etc). See example below.
NH Department of Labor Site Approvals This is the state database of approved sites all around NH, it includes their approval dates for work sites. It is updated regularly. Sort it by town.
Application for Pre-Screening of School to Work business partners - Used to get sites approved by DOL, this gets faxed to the DOL, and gets approved within 2-3 days
Spreadsheet of "Internship Sites and Mentors" - keeping track of your history and information regarding all internship sites and mentors
Criminal History Record Information Release Authorization Form (below)- Get this notarized and signed by whichever employee will be directly working with our student intern. This gets sent to the MC2 Business office for processing.
School Employee/Volunteer Criminal History Record Check (below and the Reduced Fee Request Form) - same as above, but with fingerprints accompanying it.
2021 Criminal Records Check School Volunteers.pdf2021 Criminal Records Check School Employees.pdfSetting up Internship Opportunities for Students
Internship Survey (pink slips) - a good way to get a lot of information about the student population - FAST
Internships Start Here - career exploration with students (after MOLO, before cover letters and resumes)
Let kids know they have an internship officially- make a big deal of it.
Have sample interview materials readily available for students: resumes, cover letters, interview questions, questions to bring...
Thank you Post Card - always have students write a thank you to their interviewer.
MC2 Unpaid Work Based Learning Agreement - this is the ultimate documentation of internship placement, acts as contract and approval from mentors and parents for the internship to move forward (also compare this to the Paid Work Based Learning Agreement and the In House Work Based Learning Agreements.)
If Needed: Independent Transportation Form - for use with students who will be transporting themselves to/from their internships either from home or school. This lets parents give blanket permission for students to transport themselves.
If Needed: Permission to Share IEP/504 Information with Mentors - Have leadership/special education staff fill out this form to have parents give you permission to advocate for students with more explicit learning needs.
Keeping and wrapping an internship
Schedule weekly driving - when setting up internships, try to make sure you're scheduling for condensed routes if at all possible. If you need additional staff to drive, this driving schedule can help you stay organized.
Mentor Meeting record forms - once a quarter, an adult from MC2 should have a 10 minute meeting with the mentor and student (on site) to discuss the successes, challenges, and problem solve together. This is most often where the internship project is designed, refined, identified.
Quarterly Evaluations - are completed at/after mentor meetings. These get logged into Project Foundry to award student habit credit.
Final Evaluations - are completed by the mentor at/after the final day of the internship. These get logged into Project Foundry to award student habit credit.
