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Green River HighSchool expands work-based learning; students complete capstones and employer placements
Summary
The high school's work-based learning program enrolled 24 students this year across 13 local placements and is expected to grow. Program staff reported employer evaluations, online curriculum and capstone presentations as components used to assess student learning.
Green River High School presented its work-based learning pilot to the board, reporting expansion in employer placements, student participation and academic alignment.
Program leads described a model that combines an online course, employer evaluations and student journals with end-of-term capstone presentations. "This year, we had 24 amazing students participate in this venture, and they were at 13 different locations," the program lead said, listing placements that included Birch Family Dental, the hospital, chiropractics, Genesis Alkali, engineers, an architect and a veterinary office.
The program team said 15% of a student's grade comes from online curriculum completed during the first three weeks of the semester, 35% from workplace learning (employer evaluations and daily journals), and the remainder tied to capstone presentations. Mr. Haslip said the district initially focused pilot placements on students who were CTE concentrators and that industry partners had been receptive: "We've got some amazing partners within our community in the industry that are looking forward thinking, how can I build this program to better suit these students and suit our needs?"
Student speakers described concrete benefits. Senior Lily said she worked in a therapy clinic and moved from entry tasks to responsibilities such as managing schedules, learning insurance details and improving communication and time-management skills: "The skills that I honed in on were the communication, the time awareness, and then the confidence and problem solving." Trustees and staff said capstone presentations demonstrated students' ability to connect workplace tasks to classroom learning; the board also heard that about 30 students have already expressed interest for next year and staff are working on credit articulation and accessibility.
Board members praised the staff for building employer relationships and for designing assessments that capture workplace learning. The board encouraged staff to explore how the program could award core credit and to continue building industry partnerships as the program scales.
