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Prince Edward County outlines expansion of work‑based learning with paid Aramark placements and School Links tracking
Summary
Staff detailed plans to expand internships, externships and school‑based enterprises, announce new partners including Aramark (paid internships for 9–12 students) and Longwood, and integrate placements with School Links for tracking; board discussed safeguards, credentialing and next steps.
Prince Edward County Public Schools presented an expanded work‑based learning plan that will increase internship and externship placements, introduce school‑based enterprises on campus and integrate placements into the School Links tracking platform.
Mister Foster outlined a three‑part framework for readiness (employment, enrollment, enlistment) and said the district will focus on internships, school‑based enterprises and clinical experiences after Virginia Department of Education regulation changes reduced placement types from 12 to six. Foster said the district expects roughly 24 internships and about 40 externships across the division and plans three school‑based enterprises such as a culinary café, automotive services and a greenhouse/plant sales enterprise on campus.
New partners include Aramark, which the presentation said will host paid placements for 9–12 students (the presenter said pay would be either $13 or $15 per hour), WFLO and Longwood University culinary partnerships. Foster said paid internships will start as paid externships and could lead to employment if matches work out.
School Links will be used as the district’s work‑based learning platform to manage applications, forms and post‑secondary outcomes; the system will auto‑fill student GPA and prevent misaligned CTE course pathways. Board members asked about protections to prevent student exploitation in unpaid placements; staff noted VDOE safeguards, required parent sign‑offs and visits by the work‑based learning coordinator to partner sites.
What’s next: staff will add partners, continue to convert externships into internships where possible, and report progress as placements begin in the spring semester.
