(New York, NY) — NAF academy students across the United States stepped out of the classroom and into the workplace today, in celebration of National Groundhog Job Shadow Day. For almost twenty years, this initiative has provided the unique opportunity for high school students to shadow an accomplished adult in their chosen field and experience first-hand what a day-in-the-life of that profession entails. NAF is national network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure that high school students are college, career, and future ready.
Hundreds of high school students from NAF academies, such as the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism at Jordan High School in California, as well as academies in Florida at Miami Sunset High School and South Broward High School, traveled to worksites in the Anaheim, CA and Miami, FL areas, including prominent hotels such as the Renaissance and Courtyard Marriott and Biltmore hotels. They spent the day touring the properties, shadowing executives, and asking questions about the intricacies of the hospitality industry. Other activities included a trip for NAF Academy of Information Technology students at Cox Mill High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, to their local Bank of America branch, where they observed the daily routines of the design team and will be assigned a real-world problem to solve as well as the chance to present their findings to the team of executives.
NAF President, JD Hoye, said, “National Groundhog Job Shadow Day provides students the invaluable opportunity to experience first-hand what life is like out in the working world. We are so grateful to all of the wonderful corporations and business partners who opened their doors to our students today and shared their stories and experiences. An investment in a student today, is an investment in the future of our workforce, and there is no better time to begin than the present.”
Job shadowing is one activity in a series of work-based learning experiences that connect what students are learning in class with the working world. NAF’s approach is work-based learning is centered on a continuum of experience that begins with career awareness activities, progresses to career exploration activities, and culminates in career preparation activities, including internships.
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About NAF:
NAF, is a national network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure that high school students are college, career, and future ready.
NAF works with high need communities to transform the high school experience through an educational design that includes industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals, culminating in a paid internship. NAF academies fit within and enhance school systems, allowing NAF to become an integral part of a plan for higher achievement at a low cost. NAF academies focus on one of five career themes: finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences. During the 2016-17 school year more than 96,000 students attended 675 NAF academies across 36 states, including D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 2016, NAF academies reported 96% of seniors graduated with 92% of graduates with post-secondary intentions. For more information, please visit: https://naf.org/