2022-2023 marks the first full academic year of Washington DC’s Advanced Internship Program, a new initiative designed to encourage high school juniors and seniors to explore a variety of career fields through hands-on internship opportunities. State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant implemented the program in hopes that she could place students in fields like communications, business management, hospitality, information technology, engineering, architecture, and the health sciences so they could gain on-the-job experience that would guide their college choices and other post-secondary planning. 

The program is only the first part of a multi-year, $30-million dollar initiative called Reimagined High School, which will expand work-based learning opportunities for DC high schoolers. Later this year, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) plans to launch an advanced technical center where students can pursue postsecondary opportunities like nursing degrees. Participation in the program comes from students enrolled in CTE courses at DC Public Schools, DC International School, or one of several participating public charter schools. As part of their CTE coursework, students engage in experiential learning that augments their school curriculum and prepares them for high-wage, high-demand careers. They can also take certification exams, participate in internships, and go on career-relevant field trips.

The problem

To support this robust programming, state CTE leadership needed a platform that would efficiently track all the student usage data. That way, they can focus on conducting research and scaling the program, rather than being overwhelmed with data management. DC also wanted to be able to self-manage the software, and create external dashboards of data they can share with their stakeholders. 

Specifically, they were looking for software that enabled features like:

• Single sign-on
• Integration with ETL processes, Secure FTP, and RESTful APIs
• Desktop and mobile applications
• SSL encryption and 2-factor authentication
• The ability to post and maintain opportunities, and for organizations to enter data in the system
• The ability to link contacts with organizations
• Dynamic tracking of classes and experiences towards certificates or goals
• Data and progress visualization
• Geo check-in and mobile time-tracking capabilities
• System reporting capabilities, including the ability to export reports to PDF or Excel
• Dynamic and customizable user dashboards based on roles and permissions
• Advanced search options for students to explore, identify, and apply to opportunities
• Digital management of all paperwork with business partners, students, and parents

The Transeo solution

The Transeo team worked with the Superintendent’s office to explore how Transeo Jobs, a robust work-based learning platform, could fit their needs. Transeo puts economic mobility at the forefront of education by ensuring that students are exploring a variety of career paths and taking advantage of rewarding, relevant experiential learning opportunities.

The Jobs platform was specifically built with large districts in mind, allowing administrators to track and manage thousands of students at a time across hundreds of job sites. The platform is easy to use, meaning that students are empowered to take their learning into their own hands by creating goals, exploring posted internships, applying, tracking their own time, and visualizing their progress towards their goals.

Transeo also helps CTE departments with real-time data tracking. Administrators can create customized dashboards and export data to streamline federal reporting.

Results

The program launched in summer of 2022, and has continued to grow throughout the fall semester. The internship program has more than 300 slots for high school juniors and seniors, more than a third of which had already been filled by the time the year began. Their list of business partners is continuing to expand, with new local businesses answering the call every day.

Transeo simplifies and automates the background check process, making it easy to scale a work-based learning program and quickly add new partner organizations. DC ran several hundred background checks through Transeo in the weeks before the school year began, greatly expanding the list of opportunities their students had access to.

Read more about DC’s Advanced Internship Program here. And if you’re interested in learning more about Transeo Jobs and how we can help your district build and grow your work-based learning program, get in touch with us today!