The Department of Education pitched new graduation requirements to the Legislature this week, including a proposal to revamp the senior project into a more hands-on experience that reflects the growing diversity of paths students take after high school.

Some schools like Clark Fork Junior/ Senior High School, nestled in a town of about 600 along its namesake river in North Idaho, already have projects that encompass the ideas in the “future readiness project” proposal.

In Clark Fork, seniors complete a 40-hour job shadow and then present reflections on the experience to a panel of community members.

Teacher Becca Palmer created and runs the program, that she says seeks to give students a hands-on experience and lead them through lessons learned best by doing. 

Community ‘hungry’ for good workers

When Palmer began teaching in Clark Fork 12 years ago she inherited the school’s senior project program. 

“I didn’t really like how they did it,” Palmer said. “It was kind of a portfolio of academic work, and it wasn’t very practical, especially for our kids who weren’t going on to college.”

Her goal was to rework the program so it was “super practical” not just another research paper. 

Palmer also wanted the project to teach students skills they might learn during electives at a larger school like building a resume, writing a cover letter, or project management. 

That’s how she settled on job shadows. 

Students go on their job shadows throughout the fall, typically on Fridays set aside for the project. Then students reflect on their experience and create a 10-minute presentation that includes a demonstration of the skills they learned. The students give the presentation to a group of fellow students and a panel of community members, who serve as judges.

Students think about what they might like to do after high school, then are tasked with finding a job shadow that would give them insight into that path. 

Not all jobs are easy to find in a small town like Clark Fork so students often drive as far as Spokane or Coeur d’Alene. A requirement of the project is that they have their own transportation. 

The biggest hurdle, Palmer said, is gas money. 

“The community is hungry both for good workers and to help our kids,” Palmer said. 

Students set up their job shadows themselves. Palmer provides a script for them to follow as they call potential mentors. Once they have a placement, it’s on students to set up logistics such as dates, times and dress code. 

While the ideal placement is in a field the students can see themselves in, that’s not always possible. If a student wants to be a therapist, patient confidentiality makes it almost impossible to job shadow one in their area, Palmer explained. 

Students may also have a job or other commitments that make a job shadow difficult. Palmer is flexible in those circumstances. In the past she has counted a student’s weekend training for the Army National Guard. This year, one student worked with their father at his mechanic shop. No matter what the situation, Palmer said students learn key skills like time management and building professional relationships.

“If they don’t get anything from this other than this is how I make eye contact and talk to an adult … then we’ve done it,” Palmer said.

Two students present experiences that refined their goals

After years of blasting through fantasy novels, Liv Caldwell’s dream is to become an author.

Caldwell had hoped to work at a local bookstore to learn more about selecting recently published books for sale. But without a new bookstore in the area, she looked to the East County Library District in Sandpoint. 

“I’ve had social anxiety for a long time so it was kind of hard to find someone to be comfortable with,” Caldwell said, in an interview after her presentation. “But when I got to the library and did my interview for them it was really nice. I thought it was actually a great choice and I’m surprised I didn’t find it sooner.” 

There Caldwell learned how to catalog books, a surprisingly complex process, and how to mend damaged books. 

She is applying to colleges in Oregon with plans to study creative writing. 

After a long application process, Stone Koivu earned a place in Avista’s craft internship program. 

He is halfway through his year learning from employees at the Cabinet Gorge Dam.

Koivu was unsure what he wanted to do after graduation but now he knows a trade or craft is for him. 

“I know I want to go into a craft instead of working an office job,” said Koivu, adding that even sitting in the chair as an operator all day would be hard. “I like the more hands-on.” 

The hardest part of his days at the dam have been waking up early, Koivu said. His classmates echoed this, although few had his 5 a.m. start time. Koivu said he also learned time management and how to work with other people.

“You can’t rush through anything, and you gotta take it slow to really think about it, or else it’s like you can mess something up if somebody can get hurt,” Koivu said.

Koivu learned basic welding and wiring after mastering the basics of personal protective equipment. 

He’s thinking about joining the U.S. Air Force after graduation with hopes of becoming an airplane mechanic. Preparing for Friday’s presentation pushed Koivu to really think about his time at the dam so far, and take time to capture his experience in the photos and videos he took to include in his presentation. 

“It made me reflect on everything I did,” Koivu said.