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Norfolk Public Schools highlights "Start on Success" paid internships for students with disabilities
Summary
Norfolk Public Schools described its Start on Success program, a school-to-work initiative that partners with DARS, VCU and Nauticus to place students with disabilities in 16-week paid internships following classroom instruction in workplace skills.
Norfolk Public Schools on video described Start on Success, a school-to-work program that places students with disabilities in 16-week paid internships after coursework in employment skills.
The district said the program is supported by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and partnered with Nauticus. A Norfolk Public Schools staff member described the program as one in which students “participate in a 16 week paid internship” after enrolling in an education-for-employment class where they work on “soft skills necessary to be successful in the workplace.”
The nut graf: Start on Success aims to bridge classroom training and real-world work experience for students with disabilities by combining in-class instruction with supervised, paid internships at partner sites. That combination, the district said, gives students a chance to apply workplace skills learned in school.
In the district description, the first part of the school year places students in an education-for-employment class focused on soft skills. During the internship portion, students come into partner workplaces to test and practice those skills under supervision. The district did not provide in the transcript specific employers for each student, enrollment limits, or post-internship placement rates.
District staff emphasized the program’s hands-on component and the paid nature of the internships, but the transcript did not specify the total number of students enrolled in Start on Success for the 2024–25 school year, the hourly wage for internships, or whether internships lead to ongoing employment. The description also did not include individual student names or employer names beyond the named partners.
The district presented Start on Success as one part of its transition services for students with disabilities. The program’s next steps, funding sources, and any evaluation metrics were not described in the transcript.
