Funded by JPMorganChase and supported by Greater Washington Partnership (The Partnership) and Education Strategy Group (ESG), TalentReady brings together five of the region’s most populated jurisdictions to prioritize and strengthen career pathways to prepare more underrepresented learners for high-value careers. Since its launch in 2019, the initiative has supported 25,000 students in pathways across the region and enabled nearly 800 students to participate in work-based learning experiences.

Participating jurisdictions are working to expand regional coordination and alignment, address barriers to scaling high-quality work-based learning opportunities in high-demand sectors, and strengthen their career readiness strategies. The Partnership caught up with Makeeya Hazelton from one TalentReady jurisdiction, DC Public Schools (DCPS), to learn more about the summer AI program piloted with Marymount University, as well as DCPS’ broader approach to work-based learning:

Through TalentReady, DCPS created a summer program with Marymount University and Work-Based Learning Alliance that offers students internship experience, college credit, and a deeper understanding of AI. For other educators looking to stand up similar programs, what were the steps in this process? 

A great starting point is to take inventory of your existing post-secondary partnerships and decide on the industry (or industries) you want to focus on. We knew our TalentReady summer program would focus on Artificial Intelligence, and we were able to identify a partner who was already working in this emerging industry. Next, finding a partner who can support work-based learning experiences for students is necessary. The program we piloted with Marymount had time built in to allow for an internship experience and we worked with the Work Based Learning Alliance (WBLA) to facilitate the internship portion of the program. Lastly, when executing your plan, drafting an agreement collaboratively between all parties will allow you to outline key responsibilities and program details such as student salaries, data sharing, and dual enrollment credit.

Tell us about how DCPS approaches and considers the importance of work-based learning for students. Are there specific skills, experiences, and competencies you think are most effectively delivered through employer engagement opportunities?

Work-Based Learning is an essential part of our Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programming in DCPS. Beginning in middle school students are able to take advantage of experiences offered through CTE middle school courses and within their pathways in high school. This entails an array of experiences, from guest speakers, job shadowing, career fairs and industry visits to summer and yearlong internships. It is important that students gain valuable workplace readiness skills through opportunities to engage with people and spaces. Students need to see the skills and concepts they are learning about applied in real-time through authentic learning experiences.

Who were your key collaborators and what did it take to partner with them?

Our key collaborators were our external partners along with our internal stakeholders within our organization. It took a lot of coordination to execute the program agreement which included regular check-ins and openness about timelines.

When developing your summer program, why did you choose to focus on AI? 

An important part of CTE is understanding trends in technology and workforce demands. There is so much information out there about the growing field of artificial intelligence. AI integrates into every single industry in some way, and we knew this could be an engaging way to introduce it to students who are in one of our pathways and for those who are just becoming interested in the world of technology.

Can you describe the program’s impact on students in its first year? (# of students participating/completing; student feedback, key skills/abilities developed through participation)

Our first year of the program included a small cohort of 12 students who participated in the full program which included a college level introduction course on AI and a complementary virtual internship managed by the Work Based Learning Alliance (WBLA). All participants successfully completed the virtual internship and earned eligibility to receive dual enrollment credit from Marymount University by receiving a C or better in the course. While participating in the summer program, students expressed overall improvement in their employability skills and gained an increased awareness of the Artificial intelligence industry because of the program. It was reported by WBLA that students who participated in the program saw improvement in themselves and peers in areas such as teamwork, communication and problem solving & critical thinking. Overall, students were found to have gained insight into their future career pathway by participating in the program.

How can employers and other community stakeholders get involved in your work-based learning initiatives? 

Ultimately, we would love to develop partnerships with organizations who are looking to help develop pipelines to employment for our students. They are working hard to earn industry recognized credentials and become work ready, and we want them to be prepared to take that next step after high school.

An immediate way to support is offering your time to help prepare students. We need people willing to help host mock interviews, develop resumes, participate in college and career fairs, be guest speakers and agree to host students for industry visits and interns. Any amount of time is impactful, and we have students who are eager to get extra support.

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To learn more about TalentReady, please contact Kim Sarro or Ahnna Smith.