Adam Krauss is an extended learning opportunity (ELO) counselor at Exeter High School (EHS) in Portsmouth, NH. Previously a social studies teacher and a former journalist, Adam is now focused full time on helping students explore personalized learning experiences. Through the extended learning program, which is available to all students in grades 9-12, participants can earn core or elective credits needed for graduation, test drive possible careers, and dive into passion projects.
 
From architecture and aeronautics to welding and website development, student interests and pursuits are wide ranging. “Students have a lot of choice and voice in designing their learning experience,” explains Adam. “Together we craft a roadmap that works backward from their goal and tangible final project, establishing milestones and check-ins along the path.” The program is also heavy on reflection, he adds. Adam and the students take ample time to consider how their experiences are laddering up toward their goals.
 
Some participants find their mentors within the school itself, such as the student who is currently working closely with the drama teacher as she adapts and directs her own play. Other projects require connections to community partners.

​Adam also says the students have had great success engaging with the Launch Now survey, which helps them identify possible career paths that map to their skills and interests. It is especially helpful to students who may not follow a traditional model of higher education.
 
“While I can ask great questions and have empathy for their perspective, I can’t necessarily generate these categories and subcategories on the spot—I’m not familiar with every career cluster that exists. The Launch Now survey tool helps enlarge a student’s interest zone and point the way to potential career paths.”
 
Last year more than 70 students at EHS participated in the program. “It is by no means an exclusive club,” Adam explains. “Students who participate in an ELO may be self-starters and go-getters or they may also be on a very different part of the executive functioning spectrum. They all similarly see this as an opportunity to invest in themselves.”
 
This investment isn’t a one-way street, however. The purpose of the program is to be mutually beneficial; reciprocity is an important part of making the projects and internships robust, tangible, and authentic.
 
“For example, we had a student complete an ELO with the central office of the school district, with a focus on policy. She assembled an incredible spreadsheet with an impeccable level of analytic detail, identifying and sorting through policy discrepancies in the district. The Superintendent’s office said this effort would have taken considerably longer without the student’s help.”
 
Adam also shared the story of a student who earned her economics core credit through an internship focused on the operations of a horticulture company. She learned a great deal about the supply and demand challenges of running a business while completing tasks that were useful to the company. At the end of the internship, they offered her a job.
 
“Currently we have students creating an art club and zine that goes out to the community,” says Adam. “We also have two students working on a substantial mural for the school, which includes community feedback. These are great examples of reciprocity.”
 
Every part of the ELO has real world applicability—from identifying focus areas to filling out the necessary forms to creating a roadmap and preparing a formal presentation of their work. With Adam’s guidance, these students are capturing the greatest value possible from this opportunity and beginning to set their sights on exciting futures.

Melorah Bisaillon is a school counselor at Epping Middle and High School with more than 20 years of experience working with students. And she is well aware of the disconnect between students who are interested in exploring opportunities within the community and businesses who are likewise interested in linking with youth.
 
“Despite interest on both sides, there simply was no way to bridge that gap without knocking on doors myself,” she explains. Melorah has played a role in the creation of the Launch Now platform and continues to be an important part of the conversation. “It was clear that a tool was needed to facilitate those connections.”
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​Melorah shared the story of a student who was interested in becoming an architect.

​Melorah is clear that Launch Now is not intended to replace the one-to-one conversations she has with students about their interests or learning plans. The platform can, however, reduce her administrative burden as well as provide students with helpful interest profiles and the ability to preview the opportunities available in the community.
 
“Once a student has completed their interest profile, we will have a discussion so I can answer their questions, talk to the potential employer, and help craft a plan, such as a month-long internship three days a week after school, etc. From there, I can literally click the button to put the student and the employer in direct communication.”
 
Because students can earn credits for their work, Melorah will continue to oversee their progress and monitor the engagement overall, to ensure that it continues to be a good fit and that students meet their milestones.
 
Melorah is passionate about the value these workplace learning opportunities can provide, both to students and to community partners. “It’s important for kids to discover what they like and don’t like before paying thousands of dollars on a degree,” she says.
 
“What is also so gratifying for us and for students is the real-world applicability of what they are learning in the classroom. They may have never understood before why or when they would need algebra, for example, and then suddenly it clicks for them. When students experience something that sparks an interest in them, it adds real life value to what they do here in school and gives their academic life more meaning. It also gives them a window into life after their diploma, too. If sitting in class and doing homework is not their thing, now they see a purpose.”
 
For employers, there are also many benefits to these engagements, none the least of which is gaining insight into their future workforce, explains Melorah. “They may not regularly be speaking to 16- and 17-year-olds, and it’s so valuable to see what they are like and hear what they are thinking about.”
 
Melorah greatly appreciates the Launch Now vision and believes it can resolve a disconnect she has seen for many years. “This is one way we can help students get more from this time in their life and be more successful in the future.”

The path from the K-12 educational system to a good job is an obstacle course for many young people. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that neither secondary nor postsecondary systems have a clear interface with the world of work. Young people are not only unsure of their own passions and abilities, but they are also underexposed to the types of careers available to them. Moreover, there are few shared benchmarks outlining the skills required for different occupations … or how to obtain them.
 
At Launch Now, we believe children “can’t be what they can’t see.” We also know that this especially holds true for minorities, who are underrepresented in most industries in part due to lack of exposure. This lack of exposure to what is possible is more than a missed opportunity—it perpetuates a cycle that significantly hinders the economic mobility of millions of people and prevents them from becoming part of the pipeline of skilled workers employers seek.
 
Work-based learning can help
Work-based learning, or WBL, refers to activities in a work setting—whether paid or unpaid—that equip youth and young adults with firsthand work experience. This includes meaningful introductions to workers, job duties, and workplaces and authentic engagement with the tasks required in a given field. Such programs offer opportunities to learn occupational and employability skills in ways that are difficult to achieve in the classroom alone. And when introduced as early as 6th grade, we believe high quality work-based learning has the potential to unlock entirely new trajectories for youth who might otherwise be limited by a labor market stratified by race and educational attainment.
 
What makes work-based learning work
Communities and the educational system share a responsibility to create more robust pathways into the labor market. A report by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution explores the ways in which work-based learning can play a role in this effort, promoting equity and economic opportunity by way of:

1. Positive relationships with adults that support growth and development. When grounded in safety and trust, these supportive relationships with supervisors, mentors, and others help young people develop self-regulating behavior, social skills, and resiliency.
2. Social capital. Connecting young adults to a diverse array of people who can help them find resources and job opportunities is essential to long term labor market success. Equitable work-based learning programs that promote connection-building are especially important for those youth who are less likely to receive such assistance through their personal and family networks. These connections are bidirectional, providing young people inroads to the informal referral process while opening new channels for organizations to find job candidates.

1. Work experiences that offer opportunities for hands-on learning and expose young people to new environments and expectations. WBL provides young people with meaningful exposure to jobs, tasks, roles, and workplaces. These experiences may further existing interests or introduce individuals to career paths they may otherwise have never explored—or even knew existed. Through these work experiences, students can develop technical and professional skills that employers value but may be difficult to acquire in classroom settings. They may also add work credentials and skills to their resume or even find a paying job that may become permanent. Put simply, work-based learning solves a problem that many jobseekers face: It’s hard to get a job without previous work experience, and it’s hard to get work experience without a job.

 
Reimagining the pathway from school to work
There is no single straight line to a meaningful career. And without exposure to the opportunities that exist, that path is harder to find. Long before they search for their first job, learners need time to discover possible careers, consider which of those careers might be a good fit, and develop the skills and social capital that will help them navigate their careers as they enter and progress through adulthood. We need to reimagine the school-to-work transition so that it does not systematically leave millions of young adults behind. Rich in relationships and meaningful experience, work-based learning opportunities can be a lever for greater economic opportunity.
 
At Launch Now, we believe in the power of work-based learning to advance equity and economic opportunity for young people, particularly when introduced as soon as 6th grade. This early intervention can help children see what’s possible and continue to imagine those possibilities as they learn more about their own interests and abilities over time.
 
Ask us how we make it easy for schools to connect students to opportunities and enable companies to compete in the marketplace of the future.