nships
high schools have launched internship programs, helping students carry out authentic work in professional settings related
to their interests. This work motivates students to work
harder and to gain knowledge and skills that often elude their
disengaged counterparts.
Four Rivers Charter Public School, a regional school
serving 200 students in rural Massachusetts, is part of the
Expeditionary Learning Schools network. A learning “
expedition” organizes curriculum around a compelling topic
linked to a series of investigations that result in real products
for real audiences (Expeditionary Learning Schools, 2003).
Most expeditions are designed by teachers and carried out
by whole classes, but 11th and 12th grade students at Four
Rivers design individual expeditions that include internships
of one week for 11th graders and up to three weeks for 12th
graders.
At the Met School in Providence, Rhode Island, which
launched the national network of Big Picture schools, more
than 600 students spend every Tuesday and Thursday for all
four years of high school pursuing and carrying out intern-
ships related to their interests. On other days, they work
with teachers to build the skills and knowledge needed to
complete projects related to their internships (Levine, 2002;
Littky, 2004).
