Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workforce Development Internships topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District 300 students report hands‑on gains as regional paid internship program expands
Summary
District and regional partners reported rapid growth in a competitive, paid summer internship program that placed 243 interns across the region this year, including 60 District 300 students. Students described work‑based learning experiences in health care, manufacturing and engineering and said the placements clarified college and career plans.
District 300 and regional partners on Tuesday highlighted rapid growth in a competitive, paid summer internship program that placed 243 students this year across the Northern Kane County Alignment Collaborative and partner districts, including 60 students from District 300.
Joe Syskowski, executive director of college and career readiness, said District 300 students can participate through several pathways: a summer competitive paid internship, an internship course, school‑based enterprises embedded in CTE programs, and direct employment. He introduced regional partners who organized placements and said the program met state guidance requiring at least 60 supervised hours and consistent employer feedback.
Nancy Coleman of the Alignment Collaborative said the program paid students at least a $900 stipend, ran primarily in June–July, and had 200-plus business and community partners across 10 industry clusters. She said employers contributed more than 14,000 volunteer hours and paid more than $240,000 in student stipends this year.
Three students who completed internships described practical takeaways. Esme Insco, a Hampshire High senior placed with Good Shepherd Hospital, said she earned a pharmacy technician license, observed pharmacy operations across ER and ICU settings and learned how health care teams coordinate for patient outcomes. "Hands on opportunities for high school students in fields like health care directly aid future decision making," she said.
Tete Rufai, an intern at Hoffer Plastics, said rotating through engineering departments helped him decide to focus on automation and electrical engineering rather than mechanical engineering. "If I had gone to college for mechanical engineering, I would have found out real quick that that's not what I want to do," he said, explaining how the internship saved time and expense by narrowing his career focus.
Austin Stephenson, an engineering intern with Hampton, Lenzini & Renwick, said field and office work clarified distinctions among civil, structural and environmental engineering and helped him choose a college major.
Board members praised the growth of the program and asked staff to continue expanding opportunities. The district also reported roughly 100 students are enrolled in a credit internship course during the school year in addition to summer placements.
