COOPERATIVE EDUCATION 

The opportunity for a co-op experience is available to each career and technical senior student provided they meet the cooperative education criteria coupled with the current availability of employment opportunities in their chosen career path. The co-op criteria for each student is that he/she must maintain passing grades in his/her career and technical program, strive to and achieve good attendance, exhibit a positive attitude, and have marketable skills in his/her area of career and technical training.  If the student meets the criteria, he/she may be interviewed and possibly secure a paid position. A co‑op job allows the student to leave school early in order to work for the purpose of obtaining on‑the‑job experience in his/her career path as well as earning graduation credits. Throughout the school year, the co‑op student must continue to meet the co‑op criteria to retain his/her paid position and earn graduation credits. At times, there are some after school co-op positions to career center students, provided they adhere to and meet co-op criteria plus the availability of jobs in their chosen career path. On‑the‑job experiences can also be obtained through non‑paid mentoring and shadowing experiences with various local companies, which is in agreement with the initiatives of the national and local School-To-Career Offices.

SUPPORTIVE SERVICES: THE COUNSELING COMPONENT

The Career Center maintains its own counseling staff that works in conjunction with the staff in the main building of the high school. The counselors work as outreach representatives in the recruitment of students from both the East Providence School system and the sending communities of Barrington, Bristol, and Warren. This arrangement allows the counselors the unusual advantage of being able to interact with most of their students on a daily basis. School-to-career, job search, SAT preparation, college applications, and financial aid planning are all part of the counseling experience. The counseling and guidance interaction usually takes place in both the guidance offices and in the training areas themselves. East Providence Career and Technical staff counselors seek to make each student’s tenure here a fulfilling, profitable, and enjoyable experience.

CAREER EXPLORATION

The necessity for Career Exploration activities is evident based on facts from the U.S. Department of Education that over 85% of our high school graduates, including those headed for post-secondary education, have no career goal in mind at the time of graduation.  Interviews with graduates today bear witness to the fact that many students don't know what they want to do because they don't know the possibilities. For this reason, there is a need to establish a comprehensive career development program that will meet school to work standards for all students from kindergarten through grade twelve. East Providence will continue to work on a district-wide grades 7-12 Career Exploration activities that will provide students with an opportunity to explore career choices and self-assess their interests and abilities. The implementation of this program involves establishing a Career Exploration Calendar, testing all eighth graders, aptitude testing for students who need aptitude testing and presentations about careers coordinated through the Career Center, Scouting Organizations, Junior Achievement, Professional Trade Organizations, and Chambers of Commerce. This will facilitate the establishment of subject relevance that will in turn enhance the desirability of (academic) courses, which don’t have obvious relevance to students today. Also, an important ingredient is the emphasis on equal access and gender equity. The mechanisms use to deliver the program will include video, computer, and text packages that will inform students, parents, educators, and business partners about the school to work career choices. The importance of building into career choice alternatives to these choices to prevent individuals from finding themselves in dead-end jobs is critical. Common core areas such as positive attitudes, promptness, personal hygiene and dress, individual expression, and dependability will be re-emphasized during subsequent presentations. Shadowing and mentoring experiences will be encouraged at both the junior and senior high level.

SKILLS USA ORGANIZATION

The purpose of the SkillsUSA organization is to provide its student members with information, representation, channels for training, and the professional contacts, which are important to anyone’s career. This organization’s major goal is to help students become fully prepared for the world of work.

SkillsUSA  is more than a school club is—its activities are co-curricular which means it provides connecting activities for each career and technical program. This is accomplished by providing students the opportunity to perform their career and technical training in the presence business and industry leaders in the state and nation.

During the winter months of February and March, SkillsUSA members have the opportunity to compete in the Rhode Island SkillsUSA Olympics contests, which include skill and leadership competitions.