Download Forms
Blog Instructions and Prompts
- Answer all questions in the form one long paragraph (7-10 sentences)
- Use full sentences, proper grammar, and spell check.
- You will get full credit for giving SPECIFIC details and examples from your WLE day. (Pictures are appreciated too!)
- Blogs are due by MIDNIGHT on FRIDAY (Blogs are time stamped, so we know if it’s on time)
- Stay on track! If you stay up to date, you will have much less work to do in January.
Click here for a schedule of Blog Prompts, with due dates, and more info on how to create your WLE blog and how to create your first post.
Internship Hours Expectations:
Juniors: 57 hours (8 days attending internship. Juniors do not attend WLE internship 12/5/2016)
Seniors: 65 hours (9 days attending internship)
Here are some things parents can can do to help:
1) On a daily basis, ask your student about his or her progress on finding a WLE. Discuss ideas with your student. Encourage him or her to make exploratory phone calls to potential mentors. Remind your child of the power of networking.
2) Brainstorm with us on possible mentors, then let us know about them, whether or not it’s in a field of interest to your child. If you have ideas, email them to your advisor!
3) Make a pitch to potential mentors. Tell them that the most important qualification for a mentor is willingness to provide guidance to a young adult. Inform them that Impact faculty advisors will be visiting the job sites regularly to offer support to mentors.
4) Remind your student to think outside the box. Impact students are skilled in ways that have value to a wider range of employers than many of our students first consider. For example, an interest in computers doesn’t mean that a student should work at a computer company; almost every company or organization needs computer expertise for networking, designing, web publishing, etc. The Bay Area’s wealth of nonprofit organizations is a particularly good source for such opportunities.
Contact Impact Academy or an Impact Advisor!
We are always available by phone and/or email. Contact info:
School:
Impact Academy of Arts and Technology
2560 Darwin Street, Hayward, CA 94545
Phone: (510) 300-1560
Fax: (510) 300-1565
WLE Program Contacts:
Sean McClung, Principal
510-300-1560
sean@es-impact.org
Katherine Lambert, WLE Coordinator
510-300-1560
katherine@es-impact.org
11th and 12th Grade Advisors:
Katherine Lambert, katherine@es-impact.org
Keesha Bush-Trennery, keesha@es-impact.org
Vladamir Serrato , vladamir@es-impact.org
Karl Hansen , karl@es-impact.org
Olivia Morales , olivia@es-impact.org
Alex Swanson , alexandra@es-impact.org
Clare Green , clare@es-impact.org
Matthew Russell, matthew@es-impact.org
Gabriella Corales, gabriella@es-impact.org
Marjorie Jackson, marjorie@es-impact.org
WLE FAQs
WLE stands for Workplace Learning Experience, which is a program for our high school students at Impact Academy to find internships in professional settings.
The interns are 11th and 12th grade students from Impact Academy of Arts and Technology, a charter school in Hayward. Many of our students will be the first in their families to go to college, and they often lack connections with adults who have college degrees. This program is designed to give students authentic work experiences as well as exposure to adults in a profession that they are interested in.
-
Model professionalism so our students have an idea of how to act in the working world.
-
Show the student around your workplace and introduce them to your colleagues.
-
Assign the student tasks that are appropriate given their abilities.
-
Build relationships! Our students are amazing kids who will open up to adults who show them kindness and respect.
Obviously the needs of every workplace are unique, but here are some projects that our students have completed in the past:
- Creating information pamphlets, posters, or videos to inform customers about your business.
- Designing and fundraising for an event for your business.
- Cleaning and organizing spaces that have been neglected.
- And of course they are adept at answering phones, filing papers, communicating with customers, copying, running errands, etc.
Over the past four years, these internships have proven to be powerful learning experiences for both the students and their adult mentors. Our mentors typically have great experiences with the students and often have a huge impact on the student’s future.
Families FAQs
Students must be at their internship for approximately 7.25 hours each day on the dates below. Generally, between 8:00am and 5:00pm, although earlier and/or later times are negotiable on an individual basis. Talk to your student’s advisor.
See calendar above.
Junior Students: 57 hours (8 days attending internship. Juniors do not attend WLE internship 12/5/2016)
Senior Students: 65 hours (9 days attending internship)
No. Students may not intern with their parent or guardian.
No. Each student must be paired with his/her own mentor. Students may intern at the same location, but each student must have a different mentor.
You can call your student’s mentor (your student should have their number). Please don’t call your student directly since they are not allowed to use their cell phones at the WLE (this is Impact school policy). You can also call Impact Academy’s main office. We will have all students’ WLE contact information.
No. Students receive school credit and cannot be paid during the workplace learning experience. Many mentors hire students after the workplace experience is concluded, but this is not an expectation of the program.
Sure! Just contact your student’s mentor or advisor, and we can set up a time.
The school district will be responsible for insurance coverage, as this is a school-sponsored activity. Naturally, employers would be liable in the event of gross negligence or sexual harassment.
Your student’s Advisor will meet with the mentor and the student at the beginning of the internship to set goals, create a job description, and begin to design a project for the experience. The advisor will visit the workplace several times during the course of the experience period.
Mentor FAQs
Students will generally be available between 8:00am and 5:00pm on Mondays, although earlier and/or later times are negotiable on an individual basis. Interns should work approximately 7.25 hours per week in order to meet their overall hour requirement of 57 hours for Junior (11th grade) students or 65 hours for Senior (12th grade) students. If possible students should be allowed to use at least 10 percent of their time (45 minutes each week) to complete school assignments connected to the workplace experience, such as writing their blog or preparing their final project and reflection.
See calendar above.
Junior Students: 57 hours (8 days attending internship. Juniors do not attend WLE internship 12/5/2016)
Senior Students: 65 hours (9 days attending internship)
No. Students may not intern with their parent or guardian.
No. Each student must be paired with his/her own mentor. Students may intern at the same location, but each student must have a different mentor.
You can call your student’s mentor (your student should have their number). Please don’t call your student directly since they are not allowed to use their cell phones at the WLE (this is Impact school policy). You can also call Impact Academy’s main office. We will have all students’ WLE contact information.
No. Students receive school credit and cannot be paid during the workplace learning experience. Many mentors hire students after the workplace experience is concluded, but this is not an expectation of the program.
Sure! Just contact your student’s mentor or advisor, and we can set up a time.
The school district will be responsible for insurance coverage, as this is a school-sponsored activity. Naturally, employers would be liable in the event of gross negligence or sexual harassment.
Your student’s Advisor will meet with the mentor and the student at the beginning of the internship to set goals, create a job description, and begin to design a project for the experience. The advisor will visit the workplace several times during the course of the experience period.