Program Adds Workplace to Curriculum

High school district and city officials have developed a new program aimed at teaching at-risk students work skills while at the same time earning class credits.

The Student Partnership Program, created by William S. Hart Union High School District and Santa Clarita officials, is aimed at students who might otherwise drop out of school. It begins this fall and will run throughout the school year.

“It is a great way to provide an introduction to students who wouldn’t normally have an introduction to these businesses,” said Rick Putnam, city director of parks, recreation and community services.

The program will begin with 10 ninth-graders from each of Santa Clarita’s four high schools and will expand to higher grades in future years. It will allow teen-agers who dislike traditional classes to attend two courses a day off-campus and then to participate in work projects or pursue career opportunities, officials said.

Family support is a major component of the program, organizers said. Students must commit to completing assigned work, and parents must agree to both support them and enroll in a parental education course.

For their work, students will receive a small stipend paid by the city and school district rather than the participating businesses.

Organizers said that 25 to 35 Santa Clarita Valley firms are needed to provide work projects for the program and that several have already expressed interest.

The Hart district is providing instructors for the program, diverting $120,000 in state attendance funds to cover the cost. The city will spend $50,000 annually for transportation, stipends and equipment costs.

Keeping students in the classroom is often a task left solely to school districts, but Santa Clarita officials say programs such as this avoid higher costs down the road for law enforcement, vandalism cleanup and imprisonment.

As Putnam noted, youths who misbehave in the classroom usually misbehave out of the classroom as well.

“Quite frankly, we deal with the same kids,” Putnam said. “Why not try a cooperative approach?”