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 programs with employers across the East Valley, expanding hands‑on learning and potential paid work while addressing practical barriers such as liability, student schedules and transportation.

Key program details and partnerships

- Target students: juniors and seniors (11th–12th grade); prerequisite for MITE is being a CTE program completer. District staff said the course is currently being designed and final enrollment figures were "not finalized."

- Course structure: two semesters. Semester 1 — career exploration, soft skills, job search, income management and workplace professionalism. Semester 2 — internships (paid or unpaid) that can be on‑site, remote or project based; teachers will serve as points of contact and will visit internship sites at least three times during placement.

- Credit requirement: Brown noted that Arizona requires 130 internship hours for academic credit.

- Partnerships: Brown said the district developed about 19 new business partnerships in the last two years and cited a recent memorandum of understanding with Elevate Ed, an intermediary with ties to companies such as Bank of America, Mayo Clinic and Honeywell. Elevate Ed will place on‑campus career support staff at Chandler High School and Basha High School to increase student touchpoints.

- Local examples: Brown highlighted small business partnerships and gave Tutor Doctors as an example where a project‑based unpaid internship evolved into a paid role. The district also ran its second Build for Tomorrow Expo (career exploration fair) at Perry High School this year with about 56 exhibitors and roughly 160 community attendees.

Internship placements and program growth

Brown reported 23 internship placements in the prior year across five program areas (sports medicine, marketing, software and app design, digital photography) and 30 placements this school year across a broader set of programs, including agriscience, culinary, education professions, marketing, media and film, sports medicine, software and app design, and technical theater. Staff credited CTE teachers and outreach work for the growth.

Barriers and district responses

Board members and staff discussed recurring challenges: liability and legal concerns for minors, students’ competing schedules (including half‑day seniors and extracurriculars), transportation to off‑site internships, and employer concerns about intellectual property for technical placements. Brown and other staff described mitigation strategies:

- Business Partnership Handbook: a streamlined guide for employers outlining legal expectations, district supports and feedback processes.

- Project‑based and remote internships: used where employer security or scheduling makes on‑site placements difficult; staff said project work can use existing school resources (AutoCAD, 3D printers) and protect intellectual property.

- Campus teacher liaisons: each of the six campuses will have a designated teacher for the MITE course to serve as the local contact for internship opportunities and student support, improving the flow of internship notices from the coordinator to students.

- Transportation supports under discussion: Brown said the district is exploring options with Elevate Ed, the Chandler Foundation and existing local services (references to the Chandler "flex"/Lehi program) to help students without personal transportation reach internship sites.

Board questions and next steps

Board members asked about program access, whether non‑CTE students could enroll, entrepreneurship/finance content, and workplace rights. District staff said the initial rollout will emphasize students who completed CTE programs so employers can rely on technical preparation; staff also said the curriculum will include legal and ethical employment topics and that entrepreneurship/finance topics are addressed in existing marketing and finance course components.

Staff indicated the district will finalize rosters and identify students needing transportation support prior to the fall launch. Brown said the district will continue to collect employer feedback and labor‑market data to refine the program.

Ending: The board did not take formal action on the presentation; staff will return with enrollment and implementation details as the MITE launch approaches in fall 2025.