When high schools put teens to work

On this day, teenagers in their best ties and slacks, or blouses and high heels, listen politely to a 75-minute PowerPoint presentation on workplace behavior. By the end, they know what's expected: no wimpy handshakes, no flirtatious smiles, no nervous fidgeting or counting the minutes until lunch. When placed in a circle for an exercise in social skills, some force a "winning" smile. Others can't bear to make eye contact. But during a break, they discuss the whole adventure with pride.

"Here, you have to earn something for yourself," says 14-year-old Carla Recinos of Lawrence, Mass. Her friends at other schools take school for granted, she says, but she sees it differently: "I'm earning my education."

Corporate sponsors have had their own risks to consider. The American Automobile Association (AAA) is among the 20 firms participating in the Lawrence area. The club had to weigh whether freshmen in high school could effectively represent the company when answering calls from stranded drivers, according to Pauline Gagnon, director of human resources at AAA regional headquarters in North Andover, Mass.

Then AAA managers considered the 40 percent savings it would incur by using four students instead of one full-time employee with benefits. Add in the public relations value of being a corporate sponsor at a new school, and the risk seemed worth taking, Ms. Gagnon says.

Students mastered their assignments and boosted spirits at a 60-person call center by arriving each day remarkably "happy to be at work," she adds.

Being able to attract participants like AAA could bode well for corporate-sponsored education, says Marcus Winters, senior research associate in education policy at the Manhattan Institute in New York, but the place to watch out for problems is back in the classroom.

"Something to keep an eye on is how much the curriculum is going to be driven by ulterior motives" of sponsoring companies, Mr. Winters says. "It would be important to make sure that the skills these schools are conveying to students are showing up in other [transferable] skills" and not just equipping students to continue in their current entry-level jobs.

To compensate for time spent on the job and away from school, school days stretch to 3:30 p.m. and the school year runs until the end of June. Skipping work is a costly option for students, as the school fines families $100 per unexcused absence.

Carrying an extra load might pay off not only in skills and habits but also in personal contacts, since these students don't come from families "plugged into" professional networks, says Jane Hannaway, director of the Education Policy Center at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. Still, such benefits need to outweigh costs.

"The downside is it does sort of distract from their academic work," Ms. Hannaway says. "The question really is one of trade-offs for the kids."

Benefactors believe the model is replicable. The Cristo Rey Network is considering adding five new schools and has 12 feasibility studies under way. "We think [corporate-sponsored education] is an important model for ... the Catholic school community and the tuition-paying community," says Barbara Semedo, spokeswoman for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which donated $9.9 million to Cristo Rey in 2003.

As long as companies stand to benefit, donors envision a bright future for students as well.

"There's a high turnover rate on entry-level jobs," which can be costly in lost productivity and training, says California venture capitalist B.J. Cassin, whose foundation committed more than $10 million to Cristo Rey. "We're filling a need [for business] at market prices."

Page: 1 | 2