Despite transportation challenges, Nashville Chamber recommends expanding work-based learning program

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce presented its Education Report Tuesday, citing four specific recommendations for Metro Nashville Public Schools to improve the district’s work-based learning program.The two-year pilot program partners 17 schools with local businesses to provide students with professional career training, an hourly wage, and academic credit.The Chamber commended the program’s innovation and recommended the district make the following changes focused on growing and sustaining the program.

• Refine and communicate the value proposition for students, employers, and parents/guardians to align expectations and showcase the opportunities of work-based learning.
• Create a centralized mechanism to better support coordination and communicate between students, employers, and schools.
• Create a mechanism to identify what supports students need to be successful in work-based learning and identify how to allocate those resources equitably.
• Revisit policies to expand work-based learning opportunities to all students who are interested.

“As we think about the themes that came out of the recommendations, they generally centered around how we are able to broaden access to work-based learning opportunities for more students as well as how we effectively manage the coordination and communication of all the different parties that are involved with it,” said committee co-chair Carrie Maxwell.The Chamber’s four recommendations come from a volunteer committee of local business professionals and community members the Chamber created to visit participating schools, review state and local data, and speak with program leaders.

Overcoming Challenges

The Chamber committee and program leaders acknowledge work-based learning has faced challenges including providing transportation for students and broadening the program to include all students interested in participating.Participating students can take Metro buses to their program site, but bus stops are sometimes over a half mile from the school, leaving some students without convenient transportation options. For students without a vehicle or another reliable transportation option, their ability to participate in this program is severely limited.Despite these challenges, the Chamber report commended the program’s success outshining its limitations, especially for students like Pearl Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School senior Justice Jackson.Jackson works at a clinic through HCA and has high praise for the real-world learning component of the program and the opportunities it provides.“It’s a really great thing to be a part of,” said Jackson in a panel discussion on the Chamber’s report. “I don’t think I would have these opportunities that I have if I wasn’t apart of the program.”Most students in the program complete a minimum of ten hours per week at their program site during the school day. To qualify for the program, the student must be a senior in good academic standing, maintain an attendance record of at least 90%, and display positive behavior.Partner companies, like Enterprise Solutions, are excited about the opportunity to create a talent pipeline, where they can train and mold their next generation of employees.“The reason why we got involved was really just to find talented, eager students,” said Enterprise Solutions Director of Corporate Communications and Community Engagement, Margaret Anne Byerly. “We are really focused on recruiting talent, but not only recruiting talent, but how do we engage them and build them into our pipelines to make sure they are successful in our companies.”Students can apply to participate in work-based learning through an online application portal that will open March 1st.