Solano County Job Program Introduces Students to Careers

On October 8, Inspire: Dreams Start Now (ISDN) will host up to 1800 eighth graders in Solano County for a hands-on career exploration experience at the Kroc Center. At the event, the students will spend time visiting various exhibits from local businesses and organizations. The plan is to introduce the students to different career opportunities, sharing information about what their path to employment might include.

ISDN began in 2015. Any eighth grader from the FSUSD can attend this free event. A similar program is offered to eighth graders in Vacaville.

“It isn’t a job shadow but an opportunity for students to actually talk to people in their goal areas,” said Mr. James Woods, Assistant Director of Secondary Education for the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, and one of the people who is coordinating the event.

According to https://www.fsusd.org/Inspire, this early exposure (to specific careers) can influence the decisions students make in choosing their high school course work.

In the spring, an opportunity will be made available to high school sophomores to job shadow through Inspire: Dreams Move Forward. “ The 2018 program inspired over 800 high school sophomores, engaged nearly 30 local companies and partnered with seven community organizations to provide one amazing opportunity to explore future career paths!” www.fsusd.org/Inspire said.

The program is expanding to include a component for seniors in the 2019-2020 school year, and other plans are being made to continue the interaction between students and businesses and organizations in Solano County.