Accelerate July 2021 Magazine

WAUKESHA COUNTY BUSINESS ALLIANCE, INC. | WAUKESHA.ORG BRIDGING THE GAP FOR WAUKESHA COUNTY For the last four years, the Alliance’s annual Bridging the Gap for Waukesha County program has featured business-education partnerships, district-wide academic and career planning efforts and regional collaboration among post-secondary institutions. This year’s virtual program provided attendees the opportunity to hear directly from a student, a parent and educators of Arrowhead Union High School District, Pewaukee School District and Catholic Memorial High School. Adriana Plach, Pewaukee School District’s academic & career planning coordinator, highlighted a capstone program for students looking to refine their post-secondary pathway while still in high school. Insight gives students hands-on, real-world experiences immersed in a professional setting. This year, Pewaukee School District took advantage of the virtual setting during the pandemic to partner with Janesville School District. Students from both districts came together virtually to work with Waukesha and Rock County businesses on a case study project. Shawn Kane, associate principal at Craig High School described how valuable the collaborative project was for students. “The narrative is that our students are falling farther and farther behind due to the pandemic. But this was the perfect opportunity to highlight how students grew leaps and bounds,” Kane stated. Donna Bembenek, president of Catholic Memorial High School discussed a new internship program the school has launched as a part of Project Lead the Way - a national high school curriculum that introduces students to the scope, rigor, and disciple of engineering and biomedical science classes. The recently integrated internship program allows students to gain greater real-world experience and a new way to be college and career ready. The parent of a Catholic Memorial student joined Bembenek on screen to share her appreciation for Project Lead the Way and the valuable internship opportunity her son received. Jane Menheer described how impactful the internship has been for her son’s personal and professional development. She attributes much of that growth to the meaningful, real-world projects her son’s employer provided, and is grateful for the experience as he steps into the next phase of his life. Anthony Christian, manufacturing & engineering Instructor 16