Under new Pennsylvania mandate, schools must make it their business to prepare students for careers
At Wescosville Elementary in the East Penn School District, fourth-graders are in charge of running a doughnut shop.
It’s all pretend, but as part of the assignment, the students have $5,000 to start the business from the ground up. They’re responsible for paying rent and utilities, buying baking supplies and paying employees’ salaries.
The 9- and 10-year-olds discuss what people look for during the hiring process, research wages in food services, write interview questions and conduct mock interviews. They focus on eye contact, smiling, speaking clearly, posture, appropriate greetings and strong, confident handshakes.
It’s not new for districts to expose students to skills needed to find and land post-education careers. But nationwide, districts now are graded on how well they do it. The first report card came out in November. Another one — set to a higher standard — comes out in the fall. Schools, including charter schools, need to show the state that students, starting in kindergarten, are learning such job skills as making resumes, writing reports on industries and job shadowing.
Read more: https://www.mcall.com/news/education/mc-nws-pennsylvania-future-ready-career-benchmarks-20181230-story.html
