Life is a Journey. Help Launch Us Ours

Apprentice Learning has completed its pilot year with the Mission Hill School and our website reflects the remarkable learning Apprentices experienced on the job.

Help us spread the word. We are seeking placements, known as Site Partners, to serve additional schools and students. Currently, we have over 100 students at two school interested in participating.

And we are growing! In June we will announce a second Partner School.

Want to get involved and live in the Boston area? We can use your help. Please contact us at info@apprenticelearning.org.

Onward!

Why We Work with 8th Graders

Take a closer look at why and when students drop out of high school. Breakthrough Collaborative’s 2011 brief assembles compelling data on the country’s dropout crisis.  Read the full brief , “Challenges of the Ninth Grade Transition.

Among some of the most startling data:
• Ninth grade retention rates and failure rates are higher than any other grade. In fact, a ninth grade student is three to five times more likely to fail a class than students in any other grade.

• Although students who are under‐prepared academically are most likely to fail one or more courses and ultimately drop out, even students who are well prepared
academically and previously high‐achieving can face considerable hurdles when they enter high school.

High school requires students to take charge of their own learning without the continuity of watchful middle school teachers. In Boston, students are no longer transported aboard yellow school buses, instead relying on public transportation. First period classes have an especially high rate of failure because students do not arrive at school on time.

Apprentice Learning prepares students before they begin high school, with experiences that reinforce the importance of punctuality and attendance. As part of our skill set, students travel independently (with lots of support) to worksites. Apprenticing in a professional environment requires that overcome challenges of interacting in an unfamiliar environment, communicating with strangers and asking questions. Building these competencies better prepares students for the unexpected obstacles of 9th grade.

Our students are eager to begin a life with more independence. Our job is to prepare them sufficiently so they can progress with confidence.

The Inside Edge That Matters

“Getting an inside edge by using help from family and friends is a powerful, hidden force driving inequality in the United States.” Does this affect employment in certain racial groups?

According to Nancy DiTomaso, it does. A researcher at Rutgers University, Ms. DiTomaso authored a recent NYTimes article entitled, How Social Networks Drive Black Unemployment (5/6/13) , Why this is true, according to Ms. DiTomaso, is because the help we receive from family and friends, through our social networks has a strong racial component.

While the article is lean on data to support its claim, a certain truth that caught my attention: our city’s corporate culture is less diverse than our public schools. For many underserved students of color, the landscape of Boston’s downtown skyline is a wilderness. Students don’t know what happens inside the city’s notable buildings, such as 60 State Street, the Hancock Tower, the Federal Reserve Building, or the financial institutions on Federal Street. These office buildings and many more like them are unexplored regions.

What’s missing is the social capital–the connections to adults that help families introduce their children to wider career opportunities. Apprentice Learning hopes to close that gap by helping students venture into these places just as they might venture out into the wilderness on an Outward Bound expedition.

Ultimately, our goal is that the  students’ view of Boston’s skyline be marked with familiarity. All students should dream about their place in vibrant cultures of commerce, medicine, law, biotechnology, innovation, and technology. Especially when these opportunities are within walking distance from their homes.

Apprenticeships give students the chance to work alongside of professionals who can show them the ropes, share their personal stories and come to know students as individuals with the potential to contribute. In turn, Apprentices have an experience that reshapes an unfamiliar environment into one where they can imagine themselves. Experiences like these contribute and strengthen a young person’s social network, academic motivation and ultimately, develop into the type of support so important to landing a highly competitive job.

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Today you can turn potential into purpose.

Make an immediate impact on the lives of Boston’s youth by supporting apprenticeships today. Your generosity empowers young minds and creates opportunities that will resonate for a lifetime.