Chandler Unified previews MITE workforce course, expands internships with 19 new business partners

Patrick Brown, workforce development coordinator for Chandler Unified School District, told the governing board at its April 23 study session that the district will launch a new, two‑semester MITE (Mentorships, Internships and Careers) course in fall 2025 to prepare juniors and seniors for internships and entry‑level work.

Brown said the MITE course is designed as a one‑year sequence: the first semester focuses on career planning, employability skills, resume and portfolio development, workplace professionalism and basic legal/ethical employment considerations; the second semester places students in paid or unpaid internships that must meet Arizona’s academic‑credit requirement of 130 hours. "Data, data is king," Brown said, explaining that the program is built using labor‑market information and feedback from business advisory members.

The course will be offered at six CUSD high school campuses. Brown said prerequisite enrollment criteria will prioritize students who are CTE completers (two to three years in a Career and Technical Education program) and that the district expects the first year’s roster to be smaller as the program ramps up. "We want to educate and train individuals to meet the future needs of business and allow them to be able to compete in a competitive economic environment," Brown said.

Nut graf: The MITE course and the district’s broader workforce development work aim to connect CUSD CTE…