CTE Partnerships
Become a CTE Partner to Support SPS Students!
SPS requires strong Industry Partners to offer the Career Connected Learning that makes a CTE program so unique.
CTE is looking for Partners to:
- participate in career fairs
- visit a classroom or schools as a career speaker
- participate in the classroom as an industry expert volunteer
- open work locations for workplace tour or field trip
- offer a job shadow experience
- offer an internship, a registered apprenticeship, or a clinical experience
Interested in being a CTE Partner?
Complete the Partnership Interest Form and select the career activities or programs you are interested in. A member of our CTE Team will contact you to discuss your selection and help you to engage with students and teachers.
Career Activities and Programs
Career Connected Learning ensures that every student can combine classroom learning and workplace skills to build their confidence and be successful after they graduate.
Exploratory career programs or activities provide exposure to jobs and industries as early as elementary school. These activities are designed to promote awareness of careers, workplace norms and employer expectations, as well as personal interests and aptitudes for students.
Advance programs provide academic skills and hands-on experience to prepare for future jobs. Activities are designed to provide an in-depth discovery of a particular career and the development of the skills and understanding of the education or training needed in a particular industry or occupation.
Below are a list of programs that you can participate in.
Designed to meet specific learning outcomes, career speaker presentations are educationally rich, are tied to the curriculum, and help students connect what they’re learning in school with the workplace. Presentations are usually conducted in the school, but in some cases, speakers may “visit” a classroom electronically via Microsoft Teams or some other technology.
How will you connect with classrooms? Select Career Speaker on the Partnership Interest Form to receive emails when these programs are looking for partners to present.
Time Commitment: 1 day; can range from 1- 5 class periods (about 35 minutes per class period)
Career Fairs are events that give students and CTE partners a chance to meet one another, establish professional relationships, and discuss their career area. SPS has both general and specialized career fairs which happen at our high schools on an annual basis. These events are organized by Career Connected Learning Coordinators at the school.
How will you know what is coming up? Select Career Fair on the Partnership Interest Form to receive emails when these programs are looking for partners to present.
Time Commitment: 1 day; can range from 2 – 4 hours per school
Industry Expert Volunteers share their knowledge, time and skills to support teachers and connect what students are learning in the classroom to a career. Some examples include visiting a classroom as a guest judge for student projects, conducting mock interviews, or collaborating with a teacher to provide a workplace challenge in the classroom.
How will you connect with Teachers? Select Industry Expert Volunteer on the Partnership Interest Form to receive emails when these programs are looking for partners to collaborate with.
Time Commitment: Varies depending on volunteer activity
A Workplace Tour is a highly-structured activity in which students visit a workplace, learn about the business, meet employees, ask questions and observe work in progress. More than a simple field trip or site visit, a Workplace Tour is designed and structured to meet specific learning outcomes, be educationally rich, and build awareness of the business, its industry sector, its role in the economy and the career options it provides.
How are trips organized? Select Workplace Tours on the Partnership Interest Form to receive emails when these programs are looking for locations to visit. You can also share a specific date/time/agenda for a workplace tour you have already planned, and we will help schools/students sign up.
Time Commitment: 1 day; can range from 1.5 – 4 hours
Job Shadowing is a structured activity in which a student is paired with and observes the workday of a business partner, interacts with his or her clients or customers and attends meetings and other appointments with the person they are shadowing. Designed to help students explore a field of interest while developing research skills and building occupational knowledge, job shadowing is conducted at the workplace and occurs over most of the workday.
How will experiences be created? Select Job Shadows on the Partnership Interest Form to receive emails when these programs are looking for locations for students to visit. You can also share a specific date/time/agenda for a job shadow you have already planned.
Time Commitment: 1 day; can range from 3 – 5 hours
An internship is a highly structured, time-limited activity in which students are placed at a worksite to participate in and observe work first-hand. Internships provide students the opportunity to learn by doing real work and being productively engaged in the workplace. They may provide the opportunity to work in teams, work on a project, or rotate through a number of departments and job functions.
How will students get hired for internships? Select Internships on the Partnership Interest Form to connect with our CTE Internship Coordinator to create internship opportunities for students. You can also send internship postings you have available; they will be shared with schools/students/staff to apply.
Time Commitment: Ideally a minimum of 90-hours to provide students high school credit
Students in Health and Medical Science courses integrate knowledge acquired in the classroom with clinical practice in a variety of healthcare settings with patients at different stages of medical practice to understand the scope of healthcare professions and practice the skills they have learned in the classroom.
How will students get involved? Select Clinical Experience on the Partnership Interest Form to connect with our Health and Medical program staff to create opportunities for students.
Time Commitment: The days and hours of clinical experience are to be planned by the faculty of School and partnering organization.
Students participate in programs that have been formally recognized by the Washington State Apprenticeship Training Council as an apprenticeship preparation program, or are registered as an apprentice with Labor and Industries (L&I), and are participating in an apprenticeship program registered in Washington.
How will students apply for an Apprenticeship? Select Apprenticeship on the Partnership Interest Form to connect with our CTE Team to see if your Apprenticeship program fits into one of our current high school career programs. You can also send Apprenticeship postings you have available; they will be shared with schools/students/staff to apply.
Time Commitment: Varies, usually ongoing support.
A CTE Workgroup can include working with CTE Curriculum Specialist, Teachers or other district staff members on curriculum integration, research projects, career program advisory groups, or other collaboration projects that impact students courses or programmatic components.
How will you get involved? Select CTE Workgroup on the Partnership Interest Form to connect with a CTE Curriculum Specialist.
Time Commitment: Communication or meetings are quarterly to more frequent based on the project.
Why Get Involved?
Below are a few benefits for Employers when they engage with students:
- Community Involvement- Help strengthen communities for a stronger economic future.
- Help shape the future workforce- Enhance School curriculum to match what the workforce needs.
- Expose students to your industry and the benefits of productive work.
- Observe students’ potential for “long-term” job opportunities after High School.
- Build relationships with youth and potentially increase retention rates by creating a positive experience.
- Gain pre-trained future employees- save time training future employees when hired.
- Students provide access to a fresh point of view.
- Build leadership and supervisory skills among your current workers.
Contact Twinkle Familiare at tafamiliare@ganbingyy.net or CareerConnected@ganbingyy.net to learn more.