From Classroom to Office, Teacher to Boss

Mentoring and school placements are critical to making our youth work-ready

As I look back on my secondary education, I realize that life could not possibly get more dull. Junior and senior kindergarten, grades one through eight, and three-and-a-half years in high school, I knew it could only get better. As my last semester lay on my doorstep, I made a choice–one that would greatly benefit me. Instead of attending high school for my last semester, the idea of a “co-op” education plan came to surface–an agreement between the school and a workplace that allowed me to work for the company in return for hours needed towards credits to finish high school. Each credit consisted of 110 hours, and I was after my last three.