Most every student at some time has probably uttered this phrase in a class sometime during his or her academic career: "What do I need to learn this for? I'll never use it again." Partnership Rapid City aims to change that.

With funding from the John T. Vucurevich Foundation and financial help from area individuals, business owners and community organizations, Partnership Rapid City was created in January 2007 after a series of summits involving the Rapid City school district, the Board of Education and 45 business and community leaders. Its goal is simple: to make school relevant for students by providing opportunities to apply academic concepts to real-life situations.

Julie Ward, community partnership facilitator for the organization, explains it this way: "We would like to help with the education of kids, to help them come out of school with more work-force skills," she said.

Liz Hamburg, business liaison for Partnership Rapid City, agreed. "We want to be a consistent link between the business community and the school district. We're looking at the work-force needs of our community and helping give kids who don't know what they want to do some options. The hope is that kids will get out of high school, get some training through our program, and ultimately, make a good living here in Rapid City."

Partnership Rapid City provides a variety of opportunities for students and area businesses:

- Learn and Serve America

The Learn and Serve America program, which has been available at Jefferson Academy for the past 15 years, was introduced at Stevens and Central in January. Through this program, students are placed in businesses and nonprofit agencies throughout Rapid City, receiving one-on-one experience with working professionals in careers such as pharmacy, media, medicine, the parks service and the arts, among others. Students can participate in the program multiple times, earning half an elective credit and exploring as many different career paths as they wish.

"Our big focus is to try to bring career exploration and understanding about how kids actually choose careers into the high schools and get the community and the schools together," Deb Steele, principal of the Alternative Program in Rapid City, said. Steele recalled one Jefferson student's unique internship experience. "One of our girls worked at Kirk's funeral home and ended up going off to college to be a funeral director."

Steele said that she wished this opportunity had been available when she was in high school. "I went to college to be a computer programmer, but after a week on the job, I knew it wasn't for me. If I would've been able to try it first, I would have known it wasn't right."

- Internships and Apprenticeships

Business liason Hamburg said that many of the internships available through Partnership Rapid City are in the construction industry, which is currently experiencing a shortage of qualified employees. "Kids don't always know what the community has to offer. A very good living can be made at these trades," she said.

Besides construction, health care and the tourism industry are the other major focuses of the internship program. "Students have a lot of interest in people-related industries here," Ward, the partnership facilitator, said.

Rapid City Chamber of Commerce President Linda Rabe described the chamber's role as "coming at it from a business point of view." She said that statistics show that about one-third of the seniors at Rapid City's three high schools don't go on to college. Of the two-thirds who do, about one-third do not make it through. "We're focusing on the kids who don't know what they want to do by offering them some great opportunities for specialized training." She said that students who give college a try and find that it isn't for them are welcome to give opportunities through Partnership Rapid City a try.

In addition to internships, Rapid City Area Schools will implement a new district-wide apprenticeship program this year. The program will identify and develop paid working opportunities for students, which will also count as academic credit toward graduation.

In support of the new program, the chamber is in the process of hiring a construction industry coordinator with funds contributed by local construction industry leaders such as Jim Scull, Brink Electric and the Association of General Contractors. "Their commitment is huge, as is that of Dr. Peter Wharton," she said, referring to Rapid City's superintendent of schools. "Dr. Wharton has opened the doors to these kids who are searching for career options, and our construction coordinator will go into the schools to get the word out and promote this program."

- Other opportunities

Anyone can become a Partnership Rapid City partner, and the organization welcomes grandparents, parents, community members and business owners to take part in the "We Love Rewards" incentive program. For $40, an individual or business can sponsor a treasure chest containing $40 worth of incentive items, such as certificates, pins, ribbons, pencils and stickers to be delivered to a classroom designated by the sponsor or chosen by Partnership Rapid City.

By adopting a classroom, the Rapid City community is invited to provide financial and moral support to teachers and students with a $250 contribution that can be directed toward a specific classroom or a specific school.

Community members who have expertise on a certain subject can share their knowledge by being a guest speaker and adding their names to the Partnership Rapid City Speaker Bank. Guest speakers give a presentation about an academic subject, career, hobby or performance to a classroom or group of students, providing them with real-life applications on the subject.

Partnership Rapid City also welcomes businesses and organizations that agree to host group tours for a classroom and will try to match classrooms or groups with a particular business or entity, providing the opportunity to showcase a business, career or industry.

Students can also take part in the job-shadow program, spending about two to four hours with one or more employees at a business, nonprofit organization or government agency, providing the student with the opportunity to get a firsthand perspective of what adults do in the world of work. "Kids today want to experience a career, get their hands dirty," Ward said. "We want to give them that chance."

For more information on Partnership Rapid City, contact Julie Ward at 394-6986, or go to www.rcas.org/partnershiprapidcity.

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