Career skills and internships at Athol High School

The Massachusetts Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership (CDEP) provides opportunities for Massachusetts high school students to take college-level courses for free and earn credit toward high school completion and their future college degrees.

The Department of Secondary and Elementary Education, DESE, has approved the program for the Athol-Royalston School District to take part in the CDEP program. Fifty students participated in the program this year. They must be in their senior year of high school and in good standing with their teachers and guidance counselors. Donna Lajoie is the AHS Internship Coordinator, Heather Berlin is the AHS Counselor and Laura Robinson is the Masshire School Liaison for the Athol program.

The students who volunteer for this program participate in place of a class. They gain career skills and more information about what they might be interested in for their career. The student must fill out a job application stating why they are interested in this particular internship position. They work for 5 hours a week at their particular place of employment. Each business has a plan of action for the student. The students fill out a check-in log and time sheets. They must dress appropriately for their position.

The students will be earning both high school and college credit for each course that they take. The college courses are offered through Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, but at the AHS location. The classes are taught by MWCC professors. The classes are English 1, Psychology, Sociology and Statistics. They will earn college credits, which will also earn them high school credits toward graduation. All of the credits will be transferable to MWCC, or any other two- or four-year college or university. If the student goes to MWCC for an Associate Degree, they will earn a $1,500 scholarship toward each semester.

The students will also be working as an intern at ACES, ARMS, and Athol Fire Department, where they will shadow the teachers or firefighters in a safe manner. Some other companies that participate in the internship program are Starretts, Topsy, Paragus Plumbing, Hometown Real Estate, Baxter Chiropractor, Eye Center, Kessler Investments, Julie Miller – Home Interior Staging. Internships also may be completed at the high school in accounting, yearbook, and in-house newsletter. These internships benefit both the student and the business plus the student earns credit and some earn minimum wages.

At the end of the semester, each student must give a presentation to a teacher and to Donna Lajoie about what they have learned and what the benefits are. They also have to explain why the internship was a good fit for their career goals or if it was not a good fit, why they felt that it was not a career path that they want to pursue.