Business leaders to work with high schools
Gary Moskowitz
Hoover High School Co-principal Kevin Welsh is a big fan of
anything that makes his students’ high school experience more than
just “seat time.”
Any time professionals in the Glendale business community share
with his students what it is really like in the business world, Welsh
believes the students are learning how to plan for successful
careers.
“We don’t want them just getting through and just fulfilling the
required seat time in our classrooms,” Welsh said. “Without a doubt,
we have a wide range of students, and I love having options for them.
If we can help find a niche for them, we are doing our job.”
Hoover High School, along with the district’s four other high
schools, can expect to see as many as five career-driven events
sponsored by The Character & Ethics Project in 2003, according to
project Executive Director Terry Duffy.
Project participants are scheduling days when local business
professionals can come into high schools for question-and-answer
sessions with about 30 students at a time, Duffy said.
“I think the adults [who participate] get a lot out of it, also,”
Duffy said. “They get a refreshed appreciation for young people. It
can be a very powerful experience.”
A youth leadership conference for Glendale Regional Occupation
Program students will be hosted by The Character & Ethics Project in
January, at which local business people will be matched up one on one
with students to discuss workplace ethics.
The Character & Ethics Project started in 1999 and a yearlong
campaign with the principal of “respect” was kicked off in January
2000.
The project now promotes 12 guiding principles among Glendale
students and the community. The principles are respect, honesty,
trustworthiness, loyalty, courtesy, self-discipline, integrity,
responsibility, fairness, cooperation, citizenship and compassion.
A 24-member board of directors has worked to form partnerships
with the Glendale Unified School District, the Verdugo
School-To-Career Coalition and local business professionals.