Resources for Partners

Utilized within North Kansas City Schools, the incorporation of guest speakers serves as a structured Career Awareness endeavor. In this activity, students engage in informative presentations, gaining insights into the speaker’s career, the associated business or organization, and the pertinent industry. Through interactive questioning, students contemplate potential career paths within the industry.

Tailored to fulfill specific educational objectives, guest speaker presentations are thoughtfully aligned with the curriculum, delivering valuable educational content. By establishing a connection between classroom learning and real-world applications, these presentations enrich students' educational experience. Typically conducted within the school premises, virtual alternatives, such as Skype, Zoom, WebEx, or Microsoft Teams, can facilitate classroom visits by guest speakers. Additionally, virtual simulations offer the option to access recorded guest speaker sessions online, laying the groundwork for subsequent activities and discussions within the virtual classroom setting.

Employer Guest Speaker Tips Sheet

Employer Guest Speaker Fact Sheet

Career Mentoring involves a personalized exploration of potential careers and related educational paths through one-on-one or small group interactions between students and adult professionals. Unlike programs like Big Brother, Big Sister, a career mentor acts as a valuable career resource, sharing insights and guidance about workplaces, careers, and postsecondary education/training. These interactions take place formally and informally, within the school, workplace, or online, always in supervised environments and never at home. Occasionally, a mentor might work with and support a small group of students.

The cornerstone of a successful career mentoring experience is the establishment of a trusting relationship between the student and mentor. Designed to achieve specific learning outcomes, career mentoring is strategically aligned with the curriculum, enriching education by bridging classroom learning with real-world work contexts.

Career Day within North Kansas City Schools College and Career Pathways is a structured Career Awareness event where business partners from various industries connect with students in person or online. Partners share insights about their companies, job roles, and the education and skills needed for success.

Designed to link classroom learning with real-world careers, Career Day allows students to listen to speakers and explore industries to better understand career options and pathways. Students also learn how local businesses contribute to the economy and workforce.

The success and growth of Career Days and other Work-Based Learning activities depend on building strong, ongoing relationships with employer partners through consistent communication and collaboration.

Employer Career Day Tip Sheet

Employer Career Day Fact Sheet

An internship is a short-term, temporary work experience that provides students or individuals with practical, hands-on exposure to a specific industry, field, or profession. Internships are typically taken by students or recent graduates and are designed to offer a glimpse into the working world, allowing them to apply their classroom knowledge in a real-world setting.

Internships typically provide participants with valuable work experience, networking opportunities, and a better understanding of their chosen career path. While they may lead to job offers, this is not the primary goal of an internship.

Employer Internship Tip Sheet

Employer Internship Fact Sheet

Orientation PowerPoint

Employer Guide to Structuring and Preparing for an Intern

Worksite Experience Evaluation

Job Shadowing is a structured Career Exploration activity where a student is paired with a business partner, actively observing their workday. This experience includes interacting with clients or customers and attending meetings and appointments with the person they are shadowing.

The primary goal of Job Shadowing is to enable students to explore a field of interest, fostering the development of research skills and building occupational knowledge. Typically, Job Shadowing takes place at the workplace and spans most of the workday.

Employer Job Shadowing Tip Sheet

Employer Job Shadowing Fact Sheet