Not all learning takes place inside a classroom

GILFORD — Students will have the opportunity to observe a workplace in realtime to explore their career interests during a new opportunity for Gilford High School: Job Shadow Day on Thursday, April 24.

The offering was created by Steve O’Riordan, a Gilford High School business teacher of 22 years who has since retired, and is now working for the school as the part-time extended learning opportunity coordinator.

“Learning in the classroom is great, but there's other ways to learn, too,” O’Riordan said. “Getting out and learning, hands on, I’ve always believed is the is the best way to learn.”

Job Shadow Day is for 10th grade students, with the intent of helping them determine how they want to structure and pick classes for their remaining two years. Getting that work experience can help them determine if they'd benefit from taking advanced placement classes, whether they want to go into trades, or college. Principal Anthony Sperazzo believes allowing students to pursue their passions increases school engagement and performance.

“It allows students to really pursue a passion that they have. And so, they're going to be more engaged with something that they're passionate about. We hope that this will lead to increased engagement for our students, and then also, in return, help this community.”

First, all 123 second-year students take a survey of 100 questions, which points them to 10 career options. Of those 10, students can share with O’Riordan what type of job they’d like to observe. Then, O’Riordan attempts to pair students with a business matching their interests. The school provides buses to transport students to and from the school, if they are unable to drive.

Irwin Automotive Group is one business already committed to hosting students for Job Shadow Day. Service Manager Richard Facteau said there are many reasons for the business to participate.

“The reason why we want to do that is to try and help the community, along with trying to build new technicians for the dealership, right from the ground up,” he said.

To accommodate all students, O’Riordan is looking for 100 businesses in the Lakes Region to participate. Interested employers can contact him at soriordan@sau73.org.

The experience is taking place on one day so as to create a minimum disruption to the students’ class schedule.

Gilford High’s Job Shadow Day is different from national Groundhog Job Shadow Day, annually on Feb. 2. O’Riordan and Sperazzo decided to hold it in late spring to avoid any unexpected weather events.

“Wintertime in the Lakes Region, a snow day would have thrown such a wrench into this that all these businesses are ready to have the kid on this day, and then if we have a snow day that messes everything up,” he said.

But outside-the-school learning doesn’t just stop at Job Shadow Day. It is the beginning of a more in-depth internship experience students can take part in during their 11th and 12th grade years. Internships are longer, going for months at a time, and students can also get paid. Internships are classes, where students may leave school to attend, and depending on the project, may either finish the day at the workplace, or return to school. Students also receive credit toward their graduation requirements.

O’Riordan believes Job Shadow Day can act as a precursor for an internship.

“It's a chance for the kid to try it on, see if it's really something they like,” he said. “It's a chance for an employer, because employers are always looking for qualified people to fill positions, to maybe spot talent."

Facteau said Irwin has accepted students for internships, which is in their best interest.

“We have a pretty big onboarding and mentoring program here already set up,” he said.

Job Shadow Day also aims to tackle a bigger issue. As a part of the Lakes Region community, Sperazzo believes Gilford High is responsible for helping fill gaps in the workforce by graduating a cohort of talented students.

“We have job shortages right now in many different areas, and to be able to place some of our students out in the workforce right now, whether it's for an hour, a couple hours, a week, it's going to help this community.”