Guest Speakers are professionals who visit students in a school setting. Guest Speaker visits are a critical and valuable component of the curriculum and provide a foundation to the students' career awareness. Guest speakers discuss what they like about their jobs, their typical work day, and knowledge and skills required to pursue and be successful in their career. Speakers might also be asked to discuss a specific expertise they have in their field or speak on a specific topic. These visits also give students a chance to ask questions, practice professional behavior, and to elevate their comfort level communicating with professionals.

The culminating project is a required course assessment component for students for each course. The classroom project demonstrates students’ ability to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned throughout a course in an authentic way that is relevant to their academy’s industry theme. At times, we will request a volunteer to assist students in certain aspects of their projects. This could mean talking about your career path, having students interview you as a professional, or assist them with creating a their final project presentations. You will know the specific project before you sign up.    

After completing their classroom projects, we ask students to present their projects to business professionals. You will be given a grading rubric to follow and judge the students' project. You will also give students feedback on their presentations. You will not be grading the projects. You will just be serving as an outside "observer" to give students opportunities to present in front on strangers.  

Worksite tours introduce academy students to the world of work by introducing them to the environment, expectations, and requirements of the workplace, professions, and industries. Worksite tours allow students to observe the workplace and the people working there, as well as make connections between classroom learning and the world of work. A typical worksite tour is a one-time trip to a company or organization. The tour typically lasts one to three hours during which a group of students spend time with a variety of employees observing daily activities and asking questions about the company, jobs, and industry. Students complete written assignments before and after the worksite tour to connect their experiences to their courses as well as their college and career options.

Career fairs bring together business partners from a variety of careers to share information about their company, their job, and what education, skills, and knowledge are required for success in their career. Students navigate the event independently, seeking additional information about careers that they’ve already identified as interesting to them, as well as discover new careers that may or may not be directly related to the academy theme. Students have an opportunity to ask questions of the professionals, practice professional behavior, and elevate their comfort level in communicating with professionals.

Job shadows introduce students to the environment, expectations, and requirements of the workplace. Job shadowing allows students to observe what a “real job” is like and how the skills they learn in school can be put into action in the workplace. A typical job shadow is two to six hours during which a student spends time one-on-one with an employee observing daily activities and asking questions about the job and industry.

Mock interviews allow students to practice their interviewing skills through one-on-one interaction with business partners. In a mock interview, a student is paired up with a business partner who interviews them as if the student were being interviewed by an employer for a paid internship. Students practice professional behavior and develop their comfort level in communicating with professionals.

NAF’s vision for high-quality internships recognizes that the internship is a culminating experience following a robust series of work-based learning experiences which is why internships typically happen in the 11th or 12th grade.  NAF also provides parameters for the amount of time spent in the workplace, amount of pay and stresses the need for the internship to be a rich learning experience that provides value to the employer and time for the student to reflect and be assessed on their college and career readiness. Internships typically last 150 hours and students are paid an hourly wage for their work.

Our advisory board provides a critical bridge to industry by collaborating with educators to inform curricula and provide, identify, and organize work-based learning activities. This requires a higher level time commitment.

DHS’s Advisory Board has five committees on which members are required to participate. Non-Board Members can also be on a committee without being on the full Advisory Board. The responsibilities of the committees are as follows:

1. Governance – recruit and orient new members; create policies and procedures for the Board and the roles and responsibilities of Board members; develop annual Board goals; monitor the goals of annual NAF Academy Assessment and evidence binder;  and assess problems relative to Advisory Board members and make recommendations to the Board regarding members including removal

2.  Classroom Impact – recruit volunteers for in-house projects that support learning objectives; recruit businesses for work-site field trips that support learning objectives; and work with school staff to put processes in place that will retain and continue to build relationships with volunteers and field trip sites;

3.  Internships – work with school staff to develop criteria for both students and sites for internships including selection criteria/process for both; recruit internship sites; and work with school staff to put processes in place that will retain and continue to build relationships with internship sites.

4. Leadership - responsible for establishing fundraising goals on an annual basis, organizing and implementing fundraising activities, solicit corporate support through personal meetings, professional associations, mailings, etc.

5. Community Relations - Assist in planning and executing special Academy activities (i.e. graduations, awards ceremonies, kickoff cookout etc.),create a pipeline and pool of “people resources” to support the Curriculum Support Committee with recruiting non-board members for specific Work-Based Learning needs,  identify, cultivate, and recruit prospective board members, orient new board members, encourage board members to become more active, educate the board about the organization’s work and context