CCSD Pathway Profile - Work Based Learning

Cherokee High School Work Based Learning teacher Emily Henderson greets senior Catherine Butterworth, who participates in the program as a Healthcare Science Career Pathway student, as she arrives for a mock interview.

This week’s CCSD Pathway Profile focuses on Work Based Learning, which is offered at all CCSD high schools.  CCSD offers 38 Career Pathway high school programs, which provide students with a wide selection of job exploration and preparation electives.  Through CCSD Pathway Profiles, we regularly share highlights with you from one of these programs … 

The Cherokee County School District’s Work Based Learning program enhances all Career Pathways with its opportunities for real-world learning.

Students in any Career Pathway at any of CCSD’s high schools can choose the program for their fourth course credit.  Through the program, students intern or work at local businesses that focus on their field of study.

Cherokee High School senior Julianna Brown has participated in the Work Based Learning (WBL) program for her healthcare science pathway by interning at Northside Hospital Cherokee.

"The healthcare science pathway has greatly prepared me for the field of medicine I hope to one day be employed in.  Not only have I been exposed to countless potential careers I could study in healthcare, but I have learned the expectations of medical personnel in the workplace through my WBL internship at Northside Cherokee,” she said.  “By participating in WBL, I now have solidified my college major knowing I want to go into healthcare.  I am passionate about helping people, and by having the knowledge I do from the healthcare science pathway, I will be overprepared for my college classes and future career."

Teachers Michelle Duren and Emily Henderson lead the WBL program at Cherokee HS, which includes not only assistance with placement in an internship or job, but also classroom lessons on “soft skills” like interviewing, networking and dressing for success.  

Ms. Henderson said she chose her path because of her own experience in work based learning as a high school student.

“WBL (and Career Pathway courses) open doors for students to explore possible careers and opportunities for their future at an early age allowing them to make more informed post-secondary transition plans,” she said.  “My absolute favorite thing to teach is professional networking.  Networking builds shared knowledge, connections and can open doors to new opportunities that might be out of reach otherwise.”

Abigail Halls, a Woodstock High School Class of 2019 graduate, said her WBL program job at Roytec positively influenced her career path.  She now is a junior at Georgia Tech studying industrial and systems engineering with a concentration in supply chain engineering.

“I can easily and honestly say that my job at Roytec changed my life.  I learned so much on the job.  The relationships with the people I made from there are unmatched, as I still talk to many of them today,” she said.  “The experience at the job really was a jumping off point for me, and it opened up countless doors for me.  I know I would not be in this amazing program at Georgia Tech without it.  I could not be more grateful for the WBL program at Woodstock.”

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