Eight Valley Park High School students recently took an important step toward exploring what comes next by attending Apprenticeship Accelerator Prep Day 1 through Valley Park School District’s partnership with CareerWayz.
The Apprenticeship Accelerator is designed to help students develop the skills, confidence and experience needed to succeed beyond high school. Through meaningful work-based learning opportunities, students can explore career pathways, connect with employers and learn more about options outside of the traditional four-year college route.
During Prep Day 1, Valley Park students joined students from other area schools to begin preparing for the next stages of the Accelerator. Throughout the program, students will receive career coaching, tour participating employers, prepare for professional interviews and ultimately participate in an Interview and Selection Day. For some students, that experience could lead directly to an apprenticeship or employment offer from a participating employer.
“The value of this program is that it makes a career pathway real for students,” said Tom Probst, Valley Park School District K-12 Instructional Coach. “Through employer tours, career coaching, and interview preparation, students get to see what the work actually looks like and develop the skills they need to earn an apprenticeship and begin building a career.”
The experience reflects several elements of Valley Park’s Instructional Design Framework, particularly Family & Community Connections, Engagement, Goal Setting, Feedback and Visible Thinking.
Through Valley Park’s partnership with CareerWayz and participating employers, students are extending their learning into the community and seeing firsthand how the skills they develop in school connect to the workplace.
Students are also actively engaged in determining what comes next. Through career coaching, employer visits and interview preparation, they’ll set goals, receive feedback and reflect on their interests, strengths and potential career pathways. Rather than simply learning about careers, students are putting those skills into practice in authentic settings.
Throughout the Accelerator, students will build communication, professionalism, collaboration, problem-solving and self-advocacy skills while gaining a clearer understanding of what employers expect.
Our eight students represented Valley Park extremely well during their first day, demonstrating the confidence, curiosity and professionalism we want our students to carry with them beyond our campus.
Limitless Learning means preparing students for more than one pathway. Whether their next step is college, an apprenticeship, the workforce, military service or another opportunity, our goal is for every Valley Park graduate to leave us prepared to confidently take that next step.
See more from the Apprenticeship Accelerator by clicking the photo below!