The Royal Oak High School Co-op program provides seniors the opportunity to work for school credit in order to obtain a hands-on learning approach throughout the school year.
Co-op coordinator Alicia Brown supervises and monitors the students’ connections with various businesses.
“The co-op program is an opportunity for students who are taking career technical education or CTE classes to take the skills that they have learned in class and bring them to the work field, and get on-the-job experience with the actual professionals in the field that they are interested in,” she said.
Students interested in co-op must be enrolled in a CTE class. The courses offered at ROHS include: Medical Skills, TV and Video Production, Graphics, Business, Architecture and Computer Aided Design (CAD). Students in the second year of their CTE class of choice can contact Brown, schedule an interview, and collaborate with her to find what works for their schedule and for their field of choice.
Brown explained how the grading system works for co-op students.
“You get a regular grade, just like you would for a classroom. Employers are the ones that will evaluate the students with a questionnaire that I provide for them,” she said.
Aside from employer evaluations, Brown explained that students are responsible for turning in weekly time sheets that show they’ve been working the required minimum of 10 hours per week.
Aside from gaining the actual on-job experience, there are even more benefits for seniors in the co-op program as they look into colleges.
“Certain programs, like for a nursing program or a business college, they actually are like ‘Wow this kid is really serious. They’ve been working out on the field, and they’ve taken it above and beyond the step of just sitting in a classroom,’’’ Brown said. “[They actually respect it more that the student has had the experience.”
ROHS senior Matthew Haney, who is involved in the co-op program through his business CTE course, appreciates the opportunity that co-op has given him to learn how to improve his sense of time management and responsibility.
“It gives you experience in the work world and teaches you to multitask while still being in high school, ” he said.
Haney also explained how through co-op, he has four classes compared to the regular six, and therefore leaves school earlier than other students.
“It’s not for everyone, but it’s still a fun adventure,” he said.
Aside from experience, a main advantage of the co-op program is that it provides an opportunity to practically apply skills students have learned in their ROHS classes in a professional setting.
“[You learn things that] can’t be provided in a classroom with other students,” Brown said. “It’s a great program.”
