Clearwater senior transition program offers real-world experience

A program designed to give high school seniors practical work experience or college class credit wrapped its first semester when Clearwater Public Schools closed for the Christmas break, Dec. 20.

Program managers Kendra Shrader and Amy Selting say the senior transition program has been a positive experience.

"It's been a learning process (for all involved), but I think we're getting there and making progress," Shrader said.

Nine of the 10 senior class members participate in the program, which includes classwork with Selting, Mondays through Thursdays, and either an internship on Fridays or enrollment in the Fridays@Northeast program at Northeast Community College.

Coursework in Clearwater focuses on resumé writing, interview skills, cover letters and college life. During second semester, students will take personal finance.

Family Consumer Science educator Becky Eickholt teaches class occasionally, focusing on the seven habits of highly effective teens.

According to Selting, students are "loving the program."

"They may talk non-stop about having senioritis, but I do think this is curtailing that. It's giving them a focus because they do know they're only here Monday through Friday," she said.

Four seniors are enrolled in Friday@Northeast.

One attended an animal science class and lab, which will apply toward the veterinary technician associate's degree program offered at NECC.

Three enrolled in a certified nursing assistant class. At the end of the course, students took the certification test.

If they pass the test, the students will be able to apply for CNA positions, which, in this area, pay $14 to $16 per hour.

"That's a pretty good high school gig," Shrader said.

Lauren Behnk chose to participate in Fridays@Northeast.

"I felt like it would be an excellent stepping stone to a career in healthcare that would provide me with experience both in the classroom and the workforce before actually starting my degree next year."

Behnk plans to attend the University of Nebraska Kearney to study nursing and Spanish.

"The program has prepared me for both work and college. Obtaining a CNA certification is a great way to get a foot in the door for a career in health care," she said.

The course is a prerequisite for a nursing degree.

Selting said students discovered there's a vast amount of homework in college classes.

"They're really holding students accountable. They're not taking into consideration these are seniors, which is a good learning curve," she said.

The CNA course consists of lectures and practicing skills. Eighteen chapters were discussed throughout the entirety of the class and quizzes followed each chapter.

Students receive a packet with 46 skills needed for mastery.

Some skills have as few as seven steps; others had around fifty.

Behnk said, "Many skills have steps that are deemed "critical" so if you miss that specific step, then it's an automatic fail on the state exam. It's really important to pay attention to all of the skills being presented because you never know what skills you will be asked to demonstrate during the state exam."

Five students were placed in internships, with a goal to make a first impression and gauge interest in a career field.

Students were placed with the O'Neill airport, Stracke Realty, Nebraska Game and Parks, Elkhorn Valley elementary school and Kruse, Schumacher, Smejkal & Brockhaus, PC.

Finding businesses to place students wasn't as easy as Shrader and Selting thought it would be.

"A lot of times it comes down to connections," Selting said. "We're definitely finding networking is huge."

Through internships, students are discovering possible career paths.

Selting said some who questioned attending college now see the value in it because they see everything they will have an opportunity to do.

"Some see they may need to pair another career path with their initial interest, like farming and welding. Some have learned some jobs do not have a steady income or normal hours, so the first choice may not be the ideal career to begin with," she said.

If a student is unable to attend the internship on Fridays, they may work with the Nepris system at school.

Nepris pairs students with professionals in different career fields from all over the world.

They meet via Zoom, video-chat software, and the professionals talk about the industry and answer student questions about work, as well as college life.

Shrader and Selting said the program teaches valuable life skills, like time management.

"They're finding the value of using a planner," Selting said. "Even though they're very busy right now in high school, they're going to have more time in college. What are they going to do with that time to be more productive?"

The CNA class met from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Behnk would wake up at 6:30 and be on the road by 6:50.

Academics are important to her, so being late for class was not an option.

She said time management was a lesson she learned from taking the class. She learned to find a balance between school work, activities and attendance.

The State of Nebraska requires 75 contact hours between students and their instructors. A couple times, Behnk needed to leave class early for cross country meets and homecoming festivities.

"I was required to make up but my instructor was so easy to work with that I had the hours made up in no time. It really taught me a sense of responsibility and accountability," she said.

"Becoming CNA certified is something I've always wanted to do, so I wasn't going to let early morning or make-up hours interfere with that," she said.

During the second semester, she plans to continue Fridays@Northeast by taking the medication aide course.

Selting and Shrader said the program has a huge value for career-planning efforts.

With the Summerland consolidation, they envision more students interested in the program.

"It's going to be exciting," Shrader said. "We'll have two years under out belt and we'll move more connections."

Behnk recommends students conduct research and check out all the courses available.

"I've had nothing but great experiences through this program," she said.

Without it, she would have spent hours during the summer taking the CNA certification course, which would have limited the number of hours she could work.

"Fridays@Northeast has provided me with more freedom and has helped to increase maturity, accountability and responsibility," Behnk said.