A joint initiative between the

Scarborough Community Chamber

and

Scarborough High School

With every one working together, we can provide opportunities for Scarborough High School students to explore work environments, career clusters, educational opportunities, and employment options.

Please review the proposed ways for business people to engage with our students.  The students will be available to participate individually, as members of small groups, and as members of a specific class designed to make intensive career exploration an option as students advance through the high school experience.

One or more members of your business will be available to make a classroom presentation at the school.

One or more areas of your business can be made available for individual or groups of students to visit and observe the work environment and process at your work site.

One or more members of your business will be available to meet with a student or group of students to explore the education, training, and preparation required to be successful in obtaining the skills, attitudes, and aptitudes required to be successful in your business.  Would probably involve more than one but less then 5 sessions.

One or more members of your business will be available to meet with a student who is developing a comprehensive investigation into a specific career in your business environment.  The student will be developing an in-depth analysis of the career and multiple applications for those skills and aptitudes in the business world. One to three sessions.

One or more members of your business will be available to supervise a student in an internship where the student will function as an employee while exploring multiple facets of your industry.  Would involve 10 to 15 sessions.

One student would be hired by your company for a minimum of 60 hours where the student would be compensated for the work performed but which would also provide the student with real work and career exploration in the company setting.

Since September 2004, SHS Career Development Class students have been learning about career opportunities in Scarborough from many Chamber members.  Guidance Counselor Sandy Smith, who teaches the class, has done a great job inviting presenters whose careers match the particular interests and aspirations of the students.  The classroom presenters have enjoyed interacting with our colleagues of tomorrow.  Some sample comments:

Chamber members who are interested in either being classroom presenters or having the student group visit their site to tour, but have not yet “signed up” to participate, are invited to contact Sandy Smith at sasmith@scarborough.k12.us.me.

The Career Development Council, a partnership between the Scarborough Community Chamber and the Scarborough High School Guidance Department, entered its fourth year this fall as both a high school curriculum and annual Chamber event. Established in 2004, the council provides an on-going classroom elective whereby local business owners interact with students who are seeking more information about potential careers. It also provides an annual Career Expo where local businesses and professionals volunteer their time as panelists to discuss career opportunities with the entire sophomore class.

The objective of the Career Development class is to expose and educate students to a variety of career choices that will help them plan for college or further technical education beyond high school. The business participants volunteer their time to present and discuss the various aspects of their businesses, while the students are assigned the task of obtaining specific information from the presenter through targeted questions. Whether it is the educational requirements of a medical technician, how many hours of training a firefighter must have, or explaining a typical day in the life of an attorney the Career Development class presents an amazing spectrum of careers and what it takes to prepare for and be successful in those careers. In addition to being a participant speaker in the classroom, businesses can also volunteer to offer job site visits, job shadowing, internships, work-study, or become a career investigation mentor.

Each spring the high school hosts a Career Expo where volunteer businesses participate in panel discussions with students from the sophomore class. Each panel is grouped using standardized coding that places various jobs into one of six defined categories. Prior to the Career Expo, the sophomore class participates in testing that identifies which category of jobs each individual student falls into. As the students rotate through each of the panels, they get a chance to experience a wide variety of career options and discover those career opportunities that match their individual testing.

The Career Expo is a half-day event during the morning. Following the panel discussions, a luncheon is held to discuss the event and solicit feedback to improve the experience for both the volunteers and students. The 2007 Career Expo presented to 234 students with nearly 60 panelists, 12 facilitators, and 4 staff from the high school guidance department. The expo and luncheon offer excellent networking opportunities with a wide variety of business owners and professionals. The next Career Expo is tentatively scheduled for sometime in May 2008.

For additional information you may contact Ms. Sandra Smith at the Scarborough High School Guidance Department (sasmith@scarborough.k12.me.us) or Chamber representatives Randy Judkins (randy@randyjudkins.com) or Jim Gove (govej@sbsavings.com).

Chamber members get the most out of their membership when they get involved, and we always have opportunities. Are you interested in being part of the voice of business in Scarborough? Would you like to help put together next summer’s excellent Concert series? Do you like to write articles? Do you want to help high school students explore careers? Our Board members will be more than happy to talk with you about how you can get involved in these and other valuable efforts. Please contact any of us to see how you can get the most out of your Chamber membership.