Work Experience

Work Experience is not a formal program. It is a class offering available through each high school. Generally, a student is placed on work experience by a teacher or counselor.

There are important facts for work experience.

• A student can earn up to 4 credits.
• Forms must be completed AND returned to the proper school personnel before a student's schedule should include work experience or allowed to leave the school campus. These include:
  • Worksite Agreement
  • Activity Authorization
  • Training Agreement IF student is working at a job deemed hazardous by the Dept. of Labor (to qualify, a student must meet the guidelines as a student learner). See the Child Labor Laws.
• In addition, a student should recieve an Off Campus Permit if leaving campus during the traditional school day.
• Depending on the number of periods of Work Experience are on a student's schedule, a certain number of hours should be put in on the job. The number of hours on the job should approximate the number of hours that would have been spent in the classroom.
• A student should NOT recieve credit for Work Experience if they do not work the correct number of hours and those hours have been documented.
• To make Work Experience an educational experience, goals should be set and school personnel should monitor the experience. Evaluations of the student's work performance are an important part of the educational experience.
• Work sites that are not in compliance with labor laws, ADA, and other pertinent laws should not be considered for Work Experience credit. Examples of inappropriate work sites include:
  • Places where a student is paid "under the table"
  • Babysitting for private individuals or families
  • Places where accomodations are not made for the disabled
  • Students who are under age 18 are asked to perform hazardous work (as defined by the Department of Labor) unless done as a qualified student learner