Cardinals Get Career Ready 

New Programs prepare for life after high school

By: Olivia Hoppe 

Big changes are happening at Doniphan-Trumbull, as teachers and administrators have been working hard to implement a new Career Readiness Curriculum including an internship class and an education class. 

Classes have been added to give students an opportunity to experience different careers that they are interested in. One class that has been added, an internship class taught by Mrs. Laurel Rader, is preparing students for life after high school. To help students prepare for the workforce, Rader is helping them work on their soft skills, including work ethic and interpersonal skills. DT also added a class to help further kids' interest in education. The class taught by Mr. Robert Kerr, is helping students explore the motives of teaching. Kerr is also helping them figure out their strengths and weaknesses in the classroom. 

“I want students to learn how to problem solve and interact in a work environment,” said Rader. “I want them to learn these skills so that they can be leaders in their workplace.” 

The internship class is offered to juniors and seniors, who in just a year or two upon graduation from high school, will have many life-altering decisions to make. Students will choose whether to attend a trade school, 2 year college, 4 year college or enter the workforce. The internship class will give students a head start in discovering which path is best for them. 

Senior Carly Johnson, a member of the internship class stated, “this is the first time I have heard of a program like this offered at Doniphan-Trumbull, and it is really helpful with teaching us how to go into the workplace after high school. It will help prepare us for college.”

Internship class will be broken down into two semesters. The first semester will be the introduction class. Students will work on their soft skills and determine which internship they would like to pursue. The second semester students will begin their internship and go to job sites on a regular basis and follow the daily routine of a professional in that career. 

Rader looks forward to the internship phase, noting, “internships are geared to allow students to get their feet wet and try some of the skills that are needed for that career.” 

The education class is split into two different semesters. The first semester will focus mainly on observing teachers' classes, and what their strengths and weaknesses are in the classroom. They will also start to think about what is something that they admire about their favorite teacher and thinking about what purposes schools serve.

“Students will learn that there are individual and cultural differences between students,” said Kerr. “They will also learn different approaches to teaching lessons in the classroom and how to make things more enjoyable for the students.” 

The second semester will be more hands-on. It will allow students to get experience in classrooms and see if education is a good fit for them. The curriculum will focus on different educational ideas and methods of instruction.

“Students will do some actual lesson planning, followed by teaching of those plans, within our educational class,” said Kerr. 

Students will get a headstart towards learning how to interact in the workforce through DT’s new internship class. Those interested in a career in education will get hands-on experiences in actual classrooms with the opportunity to practice their own lessons. DT is continuously working towards preparing students for life after high school. 

Graphic by: Carley Johnson

 The internship class works on their team building skills to become a leader in the workforce.