On The Job Training
Students get acquainted with workplace in school program
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT WRITER
Delreen Smith can be found at the high school athletic director's office three-to-four days a week, helping Nancy Larrabee update schedules, review invoices and being available for general help.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent School-to-career coordinator Deborah Dooley (center) sits with some of the 33 NHS students who are learning outside the classroom this year.

Smith isn't earning money for her office assistance, but that's all right with her. What she gets in return is something money can't buy - credits toward her high school diploma and on-the-job experience that she can draw upon in college and in a future career.

Smith is one of 33 Nantucket High School students taking part this year in the successful "school-to-career" program, which gives them the opportunity to discover what the workplace is really like along with hands-on guidance from employers. Students are matched with jobs they'd like to try and go to work as part of their regular course load during school hours, which usually translates to a few hours a week. Students are graded based on their job performance, appearance, ability to work as part of a team and professional growth.

School-to-career coordinator Deborah Dooley says the program has helped introduce students to what life will be like after graduation from high school and college. "It gives them exposure to real-life situations," she said. "For some, the experience they get is invaluable."

Stephanie Norris can attest to that. The high school senior helped out at the executive recruiting firm Witt Kieffer, and the future Quinnipiac University business management student said she got a head start on her college career. "I love that it's something that I'm planning to study," she said. "I was much more passionate about it." Norris said her involvement at Witt Kieffer taught her about resume writing and helped her with needed interview skills.

Witt Kieffer vice president Lucy Leske, who participated in the program for the first time this year, said Norris was a welcome addition to the workplace. "She was a bright, shiny addition to our staff," she said. "She was excited about every task, and just a delight to work with."

With the Nantucket office one of 18 Witt Kieffer offices nationwide, the specialized work involved in reviewing the experiences of top executives meant that Norris had to have an eye for detail and an ability to remain focused during her few hours on the job each week. Leske said Norris was up to whatever task was given her. "She assisted with preparing materials for our clients and handled administrative tasks like filing, copying and ordering supplies. We were really busy this winter and we needed some help. I knew about the program, and I said, 'Let's see if we can help the school and if they can help us.' "

Leske said the arrangement worked out better than she expected and plans to ask for more schoolto career students in the future.

Nancy Lucchini, a nurse manager at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, can't say enough about the program. The hospital has been an active partner in the program for years, and Lucchini says the arrangement has been a mutually beneficial one.

"It's been a huge success," she says. "We usually have two to three students a year working in different departments."

And if the goal of the school-to-career program has been to introduce students to future careers, it has found fruition at the hospital. "We have students who have gone through the program and gone on to study medicine, nursing and physical therapy," Lucchini said. This summer, for example, nursing student Karel Wiggins is back working at the lab between semesters. "We have lots of students like that," Lucchini said, pointing out that many students build on the foundation they received through the school program to continue working summers at the hospital.

Dooley, who has taught Family and Consumer Science at the high school since 1980 and has headed the school-tocareer program for the past seven years, says the hospital and many other island employers have been staunch proponents of the program. "Very rarely do we have trouble placing students," she said.

To enroll in the school-to-career program, students must submit an application and receive at least two recommendations from teachers. Students meet with Dooley, keep in touch via e-mail and also keep journals of their experiences. She said the program has sometimes worked to show students that not all jobs are necessarily good fits. For these students, the program has proved to be a true eye-opening experience.

Many students, however, like those who work at the hospital, parlay their experiences into after school or summer jobs.

The success of the program, which began at NHS in the mid-1990s, can be confirmed not only by the community's response, but through student interest as well.

"We have a lot of kids already asking

about next year," Dooley said. I