At the core of Dalton Public Schools is the mission to provide meaningful and engaging work, resulting in profound learning for each student.
Once in high school, students are offered an elevated experience where they are encouraged to make community connections, apply their academic knowledge and dive deep into their future careers.
The mission of the Work-Based Learning Program at The Dalton Academy and Dalton High School is to assist in providing a highly-trained, technologically-sophisticated and career-oriented young workforce.
This is accomplished by developing partnerships among businesses, students, parents, schools, coordinators and post-secondary institutions, leading the participating student into a meaningful career.
The Work-Based Learning coordinator at Dalton High School, Larry Tripp, works with students who have a career focus and have completed a career-tech pathway to help them succeed in the program.
Tripp focuses on connecting students with community partners who will provide them with real-world experiences and skills.
“I offer students a structured experience and connect them with local businesses and industries so that they can apply what they learn in school to the real world,” Tripp said. “Many of our students attend secondary schools and return to where they worked or interned. We’re teaching students valuable employability skills, and the businesses we’ve partnered with say our students are performing well.”
The Work-Based Learning Program has longstanding partnerships with businesses such as Shaw Industries, Mohawk and Dalton Utilities.
“Students learn the ability to communicate, to work as a team, to use time management and to use all of the skills they acquired in their career pathway,” Tripp said. “It gives students the opportunity to experience and network with people in their future career fields.”
Rhett Tripp, a 2021 graduate of Dalton High School, participated in the Work-Based Learning Program and said it served as a pipeline to his future career. Tripp is a sports management major at Kennesaw State University with hopes of becoming a college basketball coach.
He started his work-based learning journey working for the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department as an athletic assistant, coordinating practices and coaching children’s recreation league teams.
Additionally, he was selected for an internship with Coach Alex Ireland, head coach of the Dalton State College men’s basketball team.
“Work-based learning prepared me for my job with job shadow day,” Tripp said. “On job shadow day I got to follow around Coach Ireland at Dalton State and it showed me the ins and outs of college basketball, reassuring me that I wanted to get into college coaching.”
Tripp is now serving as a Kennesaw State student basketball manager, a role his work-based learning experiences gave him the confidence to pursue.
Being a part of college-level practices gave Tripp realistic insight into the world of college coaching. He encourages current students to apply to the Work-Based Learning Program and hopes they will find it just as formative.
“I believe that work-based learning helps students learn hard work and what the workforce will be like after high school,” Tripp said. “It also helps you earn money, school credit, and gets you out of school early.”
To learn more about how your business can partner with the Work-Based Learning Program, please visit daltonwbl.com.