South Beloit adopts high school internship partnership to place students in public works and wastewater

South Beloit’s City Council approved a partnership to host South Beloit High School students in a Craftsman Character internship that will place upperclassmen in public works and wastewater rotations during the spring semester.

City staff said the program is a two-week rotation in which two students spend about an hour and a half each day on Streets work during one week and Wastewater the next; students will rotate through the departments Monday through Friday. The partnership operates in coordination with Lincoln Academy; South Beloit High School will handle student transportation to the city facility.

Sonia Hoppe, the city administrator, and public works staff said the arrangement is intended to provide students an inside view of municipal operations and to support recruitment. Staff emphasized the program’s administrative needs, including scheduling, waivers and ensuring department bandwidth for supervision. A council member said staff will attend a scheduled meeting with school representatives the next morning to finalize details.