MCPSS Summer Internships: Connecting with Careers

MCPSS’s Summer Internship Program has expanded to include more than 35 businesses and industries throughout Mobile County, giving students an opportunity for hands-on learning about a wide variety of career fields.

Students will start work in June at these paid internships. Participating entities include the cities of Citronelle, Creola, Mobile and Mount Vernon; 10 contractors affiliated with the Academy of Craft Training; the Dauphin Island Sea Lab; the Mobile County DA’s office; and numerous private companies and businesses.

The internship program “allows students to make meaningful connections, gain real-world learning experiences, and uncover opportunities right here in the Mobile area, setting the foundation for their future success,” said Claire Minto, MCPSS Career Academies Supervisor.

The Summer Internship Program was expanded in 2014, when MCPSS added Signature Academies in each of its 12 high schools. These small learning communities, each geared to a specific career theme, offer students a full slate of college and career ready opportunities, including job shadowing, workplace tours, worksite training and business mentors.

The Academies are intended to bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical application “and to strengthen the bond between education and the local economy,” Minto noted.

The Summer Internship Program is a key component of the school system’s initiatives to align its curriculum with the needs of local businesses and industries and to make sure that all graduates are well-prepared to be highly competitive in their future endeavors, whether their paths include college or the workforce.

In addition, the MCPSS Career Tech Department and each of the high schools’ signature academy specialists have been working closely with the Mobile Chamber’s Economic Development Team as part of the newly-formed Mobile Area Workforce Alliance, a partnership intended to enhance classroom instruction in order to meet the needs of businesses and industry throughout the region.

The team also offered valuable support to MCPSS to enhance the school system’s educational opportunities, arranging student visits and classroom speakers and helping to organize a Career Fair for high school seniors on April 3, with more than 70 businesses, industries and organizations represented.