Greeley-Evans District 6 launches Zello internship platform; staff report 200 placements and nearly 500 student requests in the first week

Greeley-Evans School District 6 staff on Tuesday briefed the board on a new internship and apprenticeship management platform, Zello, saying the system had created 180 internship placements and 20 state-registered apprenticeship slots and had drawn strong student demand shortly after launch.

Lisa Hudson, the district’s business and community partnership administrator, said the program went live March 1 and initially registered 300 student requests when the presenters prepared slides; she updated the board during the meeting that the district had reached 480 requests and “by the end of the month, I think that we'll have about a thousand requests from our students.”

Hudson and district staff described how Zello allows students to search openings by company or career pathway, request positions (which places them in an employer’s candidate pool), attach resumes and cover letters, and request letters of recommendation through counselors or teachers. Employers will review candidate pools in April and begin scheduling interviews, presenters said, and the platform supports e-verification of student hours so internship time is validated by both student and employer.

Why it matters: District leaders said the platform aims to expand equitable access to work-based learning and strengthen a local workforce pipeline by giving juniors and seniors direct visibility into paid internships and apprenticeships. The district also emphasized supports such as resume-building tools and portfolio reflection features that will remain available to students even if they are not placed this year.

Board members asked whether businesses can target particular students and were told businesses can see students who applied but do not have an open line of contact to students; businesses contact students only after deciding to schedule interviews. The district also plans to join the Northern Colorado (NOCO) collaborative so students could access positions across neighboring districts while retaining the ability to reserve some opportunities exclusively for District 6 when funding requires it.

District staff acknowledged capacity constraints. “Every year there are more students than we have businesses,” Hudson said, noting that some students will be turned away this cycle while the district continues outreach to recruit more hosts and encourages hosts to budget for paid internships in future years. Internship length commonly is 150 hours, presenters said, and hosts often retain successful interns as employees after the placement.

The most requested opening in the first week was a library internship, Hudson said, with 23 requests for two placements. The district reported about 365 students have expressed interest in the internship program overall while 200 placements currently exist between internships and apprenticeships.

What’s next: District staff will monitor placements throughout spring and summer, visit intern sites for feedback, and consider piloting school-year work-based credit for seniors. Board members thanked presenters and encouraged continued outreach to employers, including nonprofits and small businesses that may need support offsetting intern pay.

“The employers seem happy to be able to have some control back on their side to select the student,” Hudson said. “It’s a good fit on both ends.”

Ending: The board moved from the Zello presentation into a legislative update from district counsel; no formal action or vote on the internship program was taken at the work session.