High School Apprenticeships

More than a third of high school students in New York don’t graduate in four years. What’s the connection to after-school? Research shows that high school students who have meaningful academic, vocational and recreational activities beyond the school day improve their grades and their school attendance. They’re also more likely to graduate

TASC develops programs for New York City high school students that help them develop skills they need to be successful throughout their lives. They learn to be responsible and professional, to work in teams to solve problems, to set and meet goals and to be respected and rewarded for doing good work.

Model Apprenticeships and Internships

	City Connection Stories Hear 17-year-old Jason talk about the teacher he assists at a program on the Lower East Side:

TASC works with our community organization partners to train high school students to work with younger kids. The older students then work in paid internships at after-school and summer programs run by community organizations.

High school students learn practical lessons, such as how to manage children and lead activities. They also learn life skills – how to develop responsible work habits, present themselves in job or college interviews and create resumes that reflect their achievements.

Though they deal with many of the same issues that cause other kids to drop out, these interns have supervisors who mentor them through situations such as being the first in their families to apply to college, or the only ones to earn paychecks. They learn from role models. They also become role models.

TASC manages four model high school programs.

• City Connection and the TASC-New York Times Summer Jobs Program both cultivate the leadership skills of at-risk students. We support them as they work with younger kids during the school year and summer.
• The Scholars in Training program, sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, serves younger at-risk teens who receive close counsel and mentoring from their community organization supervisors as they work with younger students.
• The After-School Apprenticeship Program is an adaptation of Chicago’s successful After School Matters apprenticeship program. High school students do eight weeks of intensive spring training to work in summer arts and sports camps.