High school students often have little sense of the future or their place in it.
WAVE (Work Achievement and Values in Education) is designed to help them get the vision of that future and how they can prepare for it. Recently, 20 students of Mountain High School, Davis District's alternative high, participated in a seminar that will help put them on course for making decisions that will lead to productive work as they leave school.The 20 were selected from among more than 80 Mountain High students who are participating in a larger program, the 70001 Training and Employment Institute. Mountain is one of 12 demonstration sites throughout the country to test the WAVE program. The parent program combines U.S. Labor Department and private resources to encourage students to prepare themselves for employment.
"We have 20 years' experience with kids," said Marija Futchs-Fine, a program worker with 70001, who conducted what she said was a successful seminar with the Utah students. "It pleases us to know we can create a shared experience that dovetails with programs already in the schools."
Employers are complaining about the quality of the potential work force coming out of today's schools, Futchs-Fine said. "Kids need the extra effort to obtain needed skills and the encouragement to prepare for work when they leave school."
Mountain High teachers have been invited to training sessions in other cities that make them feel part of a national effort, said Judy Allen-Nixon, assistant director of the school.