Juniper DeCasso, 17, left, receives instructions from Executive Director Casey Davis, right, for preparing groceries for pickup at the Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds, on Jan. 16. Juniper, a Scriber Lake High School student, works at the Edmonds Food Bank as part of an on-the-job training class that teaches students about career options and goal planning, while also paying them for a part-time internship. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Juniper DeCasso, 17, left, receives instructions from Executive Director Casey Davis, right, for preparing groceries for pickup at the Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds, on Jan. 16. Juniper, a Scriber Lake High School student, works at the Edmonds Food Bank as part of an on-the-job training class that teaches students about career options and goal planning, while also paying them for a part-time internship. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

School program gives Scriber Lake teens class credits — and paychecks

The on-the-job training program offers paid internships and career planning assignments with a real-world feel.

EDMONDS — Casey Davis and Juniper DeCasso leaned toward the computer in Davis’ office on Jan. 16 to review the latest draft of five proposed survey questions for Edmonds Food Bank visitors.

“We ask them if they feel comfortable here,” Davis said. “Maybe we should ask them how comfortable they feel?”

“Let me write that down,” Juniper said while opening a notes app on a cellphone.

Since November, the food bank’s executive director, Davis, has mentored Juniper to create the survey. Later this month, the high school student will create a two-minute video about the survey’s findings and present it to the board of directors.

“The end goal for me is to create a film that I’m proud of, because I haven’t done a project like that in a really long time, where I’ve done step-by-step filming, editing, producing,” Juniper told The Herald. “And I haven’t presented anything like that in front of adults before, or in front of a company.”

The exercise is a practice of future job skills for Juniper, who wants to someday become a filmmaker. It’s also an actual, paying job.

Juniper is one of five Scriber Lake High School students involved in a pilot of the Edmonds School District’s new on-the-job-training program that lets students earn class credit for part-time, paid internships. The program pairs with school assignments about resumes, financial planning and career aptitude.

This spring, the district plans to double the number of spots in the program. The final vision is to expand the program to all five Edmonds high schools and support hundreds of internships each year.

Kale at the Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds, on Jan. 16, 2023. Scriber Lake High School student Juniper DeCasso works at the food bank as part of an on-the-job training class that teaches students about career options and goal planning, while also paying them for a part-time internship. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Kale at the Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds, on Jan. 16, 2023. Scriber Lake High School student Juniper DeCasso works at the food bank as part of an on-the-job training class that teaches students about career options and goal planning, while also paying them for a part-time internship. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

“We are hoping that this becomes a flagship, best-practice program that other school districts and foundations can replicate,” said Deborah Brandi, executive director of the Foundation for Edmonds School District.

The foundation funds the salaries, which top out at about $515. Students work no more than 40 hours total over a six- to eight-week term.

The pay sets the course apart from most other career-focused classes at school. And it encourages students who might otherwise skip school for financial reasons to stay in class and pick up valuable skills for their future.

“If you have to work to take care of your parents and younger siblings … there’s not really an incentive to stay in school because you have more pressing issues to take care of,” said Deborah Jacobsen, operations and communication manager for the foundation.

That’s important at Scriber Lake, where more than half of the students are considered low-income. Low-income students are more likely to drop out of high school, make lower wages and experience health problems later in life.

The school also has the lowest four-year graduation rate in the district and the highest percentage of homeless students.

Juniper DeCasso, 17, prepares groceries for pickup at the Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds, on Jan. 16. Juniper, a Scriber Lake High School student, works at the Edmonds Food Bank as part of an on-the-job training class that teaches students about career options and goal planning, while also paying them for a part-time internship. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Juniper DeCasso, 17, prepares groceries for pickup at the Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds, on Jan. 16. Juniper, a Scriber Lake High School student, works at the Edmonds Food Bank as part of an on-the-job training class that teaches students about career options and goal planning, while also paying them for a part-time internship. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Last year, not a single student from Scriber Lake applied for a scholarship from the foundation, Brandi said. So the foundation decided to start the job training program there to reach students with the greatest needs, she said.

“We are trying to change their trajectory, so they see they have options available for them,” she said. “We are giving opportunity and hope for students who just don’t know what the future is going to look like for them.”

For Juniper, the student interning with the food bank, the pay offers practice managing money.

“It definitely has made me more mature,” said the 17-year-old. “It made me realize, ‘Oh, this money comes from hard work. It comes from real learning, real knowledge and real studying.’”

Juniper has also gained several “soft skills” like public speaking and time management while working alongside adults of all ages in a “not such a homogeneous environment” as high school, said Davis, the food bank director.

Beyond placing students in paid internships and raising their confidence, the new program helps more local businesses host students, said Mark Madison, the district’s director of career and technical education. Often, small businesses want to offer internships but can’t afford to pay a work stipend.

Juniper DeCasso, 17, right, talks through writing a survey with Executive Director Casey Davis at the Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds, on Jan. 16. Juniper, a Scriber Lake High School student, works at the food bank as part of an on-the-job training class that teaches students about career options and goal planning, while also paying them for a part-time internship. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Juniper DeCasso, 17, right, talks through writing a survey with Executive Director Casey Davis at the Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds, on Jan. 16. Juniper, a Scriber Lake High School student, works at the food bank as part of an on-the-job training class that teaches students about career options and goal planning, while also paying them for a part-time internship. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

The foundation’s funding for wages removes that obstacle, allowing a greater diversity of partners to “invest their time and talent to develop a workforce” locally, Madison said.

The idea for the program has been brewing for about five years, Brandi said. It’s based on a similar model out of Tacoma.

The Edmonds version was just about to launch in 2020 when the pandemic started.

The final vision is to establish a districtwide program that can support at least 100 internships, Madison said.

“We see this as a very long runway,” he said. “It’s one of those enduring priorities that we will continue to develop over the next several years.”

Mallory Gruben is a Report for America corps member who writes about education for The Daily Herald.

Mallory Gruben: 425-339-3035; mallory.gruben@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @MalloryGruben.

Talk to us

More in Local News

News logo for use with stories about Mill Creek in Snohomish County, WA.
Mill Creek house fire leaves 1 dead

The fire was contained to a garage in the 15300 block of 25th Drive SE. A person was found dead inside.

Firefighters respond to a house fire Wednesday morning in the 3400 block of Broadway. (Everett Fire Department)
3 hospitalized in critical condition after Everett house fire

Firefighters rescued two people, one of whom uses a wheelchair, from the burning home in the 3400 block of Broadway.

The Walmart Store on 11400 Highway 99 on March 21, 2023 in in Everett, Washington. The retail giant will close the store on April 21, 2023. (Janice Podsada / The Herald)
Walmart announces Everett store on Highway 99 will close on April 21

The Arkansas-based retail giant said the 20-year-old Walmart location was “underperforming financially.”

Michael Tolley (Northshore School District)
Michael Tolley named new Northshore School District leader

Tolley, interim superintendent since last summer, is expected to inherit the position permanently in July.

Logo for news use, for stories regarding Washington state government — Olympia, the Legislature and state agencies. No caption necessary. 20220331
New forecast show state revenues won’t be quite as robust as expected

Democratic budget writers say they will be cautious but able to fund their priorities. Senate put out a capital budget Monday.

Everett Memorial Stadium and Funko Field on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Drive to build new AquaSox ballpark gets $7.4M boost from state

The proposed Senate capital budget contains critical seed money for the city-led project likely to get matched by the House.

Granite Falls
Two suspects charged in motorhome shooting near Granite Falls

Bail was set at $2 million for each of the suspects, Dillon Thomas, 28 and David Koeppen, 37.

Hikers make their way along the Heybrook Ridge Trail on Friday, March 18, 2023, in Index, Washington. (Kayla Dunn / The Herald).
‘It took my breath away’: Lace up your hiking boots because spring is here

Heybrook Ridge Trail packs stunning views and a moss-covered forest in a 3.3 mile round-trip package.

Angelica Montanari and daughter Makena, 1, outside of the Community Health Center of Snohomish County Everett-Central Clinic on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Providers at Community Health Center of Snohomish County vote to form a union

Providers expressed hope for improving patient care and making their voices heard with management.

Most Read