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Questions and Answers About Youth Apprenticeship <br />Q. What is youth apprenticeship? <br />A. Minnesota Technology Inc. and its Youth Apprenticeship Steering Committee, which has <br />pioneered planning for youth apprenticeship programs in Minnesota, uses the following <br />definition: A program that integrates academic instruction and work-based learning; <br />provides for worksite learning and paid work experience; is offered to students beginning <br />in about the 11th or 12th grade; is intended to resuh in receipt of a high school diploma <br />and an approved certificate of competency, and lead to entiy into a post-secondaiy <br />program or permanent employment <br />Q* Does school end at 10th grade, once a student has mastered basic skills? <br />A: No. Once the basic academic skills are mastered, educational opportunities will be <br />expanded during the final two years of high school, and beyond. Students will <br />professional or technical courses in broad career fields, a college preparatoiy curriculum, <br />a youth apprenticeship program, or a combination of options. Built-in flexibility will <br />permit students to move back and forth between options leading toward college and the <br />workplace. Students will continue to earn a high school diploma after 12th grade. <br />Q. Will the role of the high school change? <br />A. It depends. Some high schools may choose to offer the same choices they currently <br />offer, in which case, change would be minimal Other high schools could choose to <br />specialize in certain areas: for example, offering intense preparation for i^cca laureat c <br />degree programs, or offering ycuth apprenticeship programs tbat combine learning with <br />on-the-job eiqierience. In addition to high schools, other institutions could offer <br />programs to attract 11th and 12th graders. Businesses or industry groups could set up <br />training academies, either independently or in cooperation with high schools. <br />Community colleges could offer, as technical colleges now offer, programs for high* <br />school-age students. Students could use the Post-Secondary Options Act to college <br />courses or enroll in youth apprenticeship programs. <br />Q* Critics argue that forcing 11th grade students to choose between baccalaureate <br />preparation or work-based learning amounts to a *two-track* system that divides <br />students according to their ability. Is that a valid argument? <br />A. No. Students will have more options than they do now to pursue different irindi of <br />learning experiences. In addition, students who choose one option and then change their <br />minds will be able to choose another career path without penalty. The United States is <br />the only major industrialized country that docs not have a well-defined and implemented <br />school-to-work transition. By offering new opportunities for skilled technological <br />training, often in non-traditional setiings such as the workplace, this initiative reaches out <br />to our most negleaed students — the 50 percent or so who will not go on to college.