Friday, October 31, 2014

A Ready Workforce Is What Moultrie Needs

 

New Class at ALAH Helps Students Transition into Careers  

Photo by Keith Stewart Rachel Dettling researches potential careers online Monday morning during her cooperative education class.
Photo by Keith Stewart
Rachel Dettling researches potential careers online Monday morning during her cooperative education class.
October 8, 2014
First year class hopes to expand in coming years
by Ariana Cherry
Arthur/Sullivan Reporter
With today’s unstable work economy, students need help with developing employment skills, making appropriate career choices and on-the-job training. It is more difficult than ever for students (both high school and college) to find work after graduation. As a guide to professional job experience for students at Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond High School, a new course, cooperative education, has been developed.
“The goal of this program is to provide the opportunity for students to develop occupational skills that smooth students’ pathways from high school to advanced education and/or the workforce,” said the instructor Amanda Romine, who began teaching the class this school year. “This class was created to link the high school, the student, the parent, and the teacher in a dynamic support partnership.”

Cooperative education was developed in order to give students an opportunity to gain professional job experience that is related to their career goals.
“The classroom part of the class focuses on career exploration skills, planning for their future, job seeking skills, personal development, human relationships, legal protection in the workplace, economics, which includes banking credit, budgeting taxes, insurance and being a responsible citizen,” explained Romine.
Presently, the class is offered only to seniors, but it could open up to juniors in the future. While there are just three students enrolled, it is planned to offer the course each year.
“The students have been doing great. All of them have been placed in jobs within our community,” Romine noted.
“It’s a hands on learning class,” said senior Rachel Dettling. “I go for 45 minutes every day and learn about careers, building resumes, and life lessons. It is the last class that I have before I leave, and then I work at the Arthur Home for three hours.”
While Dettling explained that it was a positive experience, she did note, that this is a class that you don’t take lightly.
“I would recommend this class to other students, but what they need to realize is that it is a lot of responsibility. You don’t just have to show up for school-you have to show up for work too. It is a real job,” she said.
Photo by Keith Stewart ALAH senior and cooperative education student James Allen says he feels that the new class has prepared him for job interviews and will ultimately assist in him in landing a career.
Photo by Keith Stewart
ALAH senior and cooperative education student James Allen says he feels that the new class has prepared him for job interviews and will ultimately assist in him in landing a career.
James Allen, another senior enrolled in the course, feels that it could help him with finding employment in the future.
“It shows you what is out there in the world. It gives you skills for doing interviews and how to go about finding a job,” he explained.
For senior Beth Lambdin, the cooperative education class has helped make a decision towards a future career choice.
“My experience has definitely been rewarding,” said Lambdin. “I got into the program three weeks after the deadline, so it’s been difficult trying to catch up on missed classroom time. However, I love the class, and I’ve been learning a lot about jobs in general. The work experience at Eberhardt Village has been beyond rewarding and helped me decide to go into nursing.”
Lambdin also predicts a positive future outlook for the new course.
“Our class right now only has three students. That may seem small for such an awesome class, but I think it’s because the class is new and wasn’t widely communicated among the student body. I predict the class to grow greatly in the next few years.”
       
       
       
         

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