District outlines apprenticeship and 'SOFA' job-shadow pilot; aims to recruit regional partners
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Lindbergh’s real-world learning coordinator described a regional apprenticeship cohort, a new 'Shadowing Opportunities For All' (SOFA) pilot for sophomores and plans to recruit business partners and neighboring districts for a November kickoff and spring recruitment.
Julie Durham, Lindbergh’s real‑world learning coordinator, told the board the district has become a federally recognized apprenticeship site and is building a regional model that pools employer outreach and student recruitment across school districts.
Durham said the model borrows a cohort approach she previously used in Saint Charles County to grow apprenticeship placements quickly. The cohort approach reduces duplicate employer outreach by having multiple districts meet together with employers and coordinate which placements fit which students.
Durham identified a local coordinator, Cynthia Walker of Careerways, to help navigate Department of Labor registration and recruit business partners. Confirmed district partners that she listed during the meeting included Parkway, Rockwood, Mehlville, Affton, Pattonville, Clayton and Bayless; others were described as “on the fence.” She said the first informational meeting for the cohort is scheduled for Nov. 14, with student recruitment and vetting to begin in February and a first apprentice cohort potentially starting over the summer.
Durham also described a job-shadow pilot called SOFA (Shadowing Opportunities For All). The pilot will target about 40 students this year—selected through a vetting process using school data and course enrollment—who will take two-to three half‑day job-shadow experiences with skilled-trades employers over the school year. Durham said the SOFA selection will focus initially on the skilled trades and is intended as a career-exploration experience for sophomores and juniors; transportation for students is a noted barrier because students must provide their own transportation for the field trips.
On apprenticeships, Durham said juniors and seniors are eligible (students must be at least 16) and that the district must demonstrate that students receive related technical instruction—classroom coursework or South Tech instruction—before employers can register apprentices. Durham said there is no fixed cap on apprenticeship numbers; she cited a local model (Fort Zumwalt) that grew to 57 apprentices over six years. She said the district has budgeted 40 SOFA slots for this pilot year and can expand in future years.
Board members asked about outreach, capacity and which grade levels the programs target; Durham said the district will promote opportunities through SchoolLinks, ParentSquare and the counseling office.