Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, Sterling High School will be offering an internship course. This course will be an opportunity for the students of Sterling High School to gain experience in future careers or pathways that they have an interest in or an aptitude for. “Working and interacting with various employees and being exposed to the basics of what a future career in the industry would entail gets students out of their high school bubble,” says Laurie Kopp Weingarten, a certified educational planner and president of One-Stop College Counseling in New Jersey. “We find that students who take on an internship in high school often mature, rising to meet the level of responsibility expected.”
To support the implementation of this course Sterling Public School has hired a full-time staff member who will place and monitor all internship students, as well as, teach two cooperative work training courses which place special educational students in work experiences that are in support of their individualized education plans. It is the goal over the next two years to expand and be able to place 200 or more students in internships/vocational placements in the community of Sterling, Illinois. This program not only allows our students to explore different careers and pathways prior to entering college, the military or a trade school, while partnering with an industry expert but also brings application to what students are learning in the classroom.
The internship program will allow the students of Sterling High School real life application of the technology-rich, rigorous eduction they receive at Sterling High School and will support both students headed to college, the military, and vocational school upon graduation. If you are interested in partnering with SHS and becoming an internship site please do not hesitate to contact Sterling High School principal, Jason Austin at 815-625-6800.