Craig Settles: And a Little Child Shall Lead Them — Digitally
How many communities are leveraging their teen populations in the pursuit of broadband and digital equity?
In 2011 at the MoBroadbandNow Summit in Missouri, I listened to the CIO of the City of Springfield explain why his city included teenagers in important broadband needs assessment and planning meetings. “In your home, who do you call when you’re trying to figure out how to use the VCR?”
His point? Springfield learned a valuable lesson: Teens push the edges of technology, and understand how to use technology better than many adults do. Therefore, it is imperative to include teenagers in the planning of what is and will be their main future technologies. The brain power and the creativity alone will lead to the success of tapping this demographic.
Fast forward to 2023. How many communities are leveraging their teen populations in the pursuit of broadband and digital equity? “Kids want to get a look into the future,” said Kevin Morris in a video. “That’s the thing that drives many of them in school.” Morris talks to many students as the director of college, careers and community services for the Duarte Unified School District.
What about their future in broadband, I wondered, when a friend talked to me about her efforts to recruit internship positions for the K12 Foothill Consortium? Many of the high school students in the Consortium are anxious to intern remotely or in-person near their homes in Southern California. It hit me — take the Springfield model of teen engagement to the rest of America!
Imagine the possibilities for local broadband or digital equity teams, local government and nonprofits if they can channel bright, tech-savvy, energetic, inquisitive teens on a mission to help bring the digital equity solutions to communities. Remote or in person interns can help with focus groups, town halls logistics, preparing and writing newsletters, usability testing and Affordable Connectivity Program enrollments.
The K12 Foothill Consortium is recruiting internship hosts for the June through August period and for at least 60 hours total. Those groups and organizations engaged with broadband and digital inclusion projects get the benefit of interns’ prior training in coding, health care, web design, engineering and other related disciplines. Since interns prefer paid internships, the Consortium also raises money for organizations that may be too cash-strapped to offer a stipend but can offer meaningful internships.
Photo of Career Technical Education students courtesy of the K12 Foothill Consortium
Internship hosts view the relationships as a win-win for everyone involved. Ivan Ayro, director of adult and career technical education at Charter Oak Unified School District, agrees. “Students are able to connect the educational experience they’re getting from Career Technical Education classes with real-life experience from workplace learning. Through the internships, many of our students are able to realize in high school if this is something that they want to do for the rest of their lives.”
A recent US News & World Report article states that, although internships are traditionally for college students, high school students increasingly are participating in them. Benjamin Caldarelli, co-founder of Princeton College Consulting, a New Jersey-based educational consulting company, said, “High school students want to work somewhere that interests them and potentially make what they feel is a more meaningful contribution. They see internships as an enrichment activity and opportunity to make an impact rather than simply trading time for a little money.”
More than 205,000 new jobs will need to be created to complete the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment expansion plans, many of them skilled workers. “There is a lot of focus placed on building broadband networks, but we cannot build them without a proper workforce,” Fiber Broadband Association CEO Gary Bolton said in a press release. “Failure to ensure the availability of high-skilled labor will result in workforce bottlenecks, which will ultimately lead to higher costs and project delays.”
The National Telecommunications and Information Association is requiring every state to have a five-year workforce development strategy. FBA published a guidebook to help states develop that strategy. Broadband and digital inclusion teams need to pencil in “internships” as part of their plans.
High school broadband and digital inclusion interns may not be considered skilled workers, obviously, but the interns should be considered the beginning levels of workforce development campaigns in every community. Start people thinking about broadband and all things digital in high school and use internships to shape their college or post-high school plans. Don’t forget that Gen Z can be an important part of broadband discussions, even if they’re not interns.
Amy Foell, principal of Amy Foell Consulting LLC, heads the K12 Foothill Consortium for Azusa, Charter Oak, Duarte and Monrovia Unified School Districts’ CTE. Their mission is to educate and train students to provide a community-sourced talent pool to sustain a healthy, balanced, local economy. Foell also supports workforce development programs across the San Gabriel Valley, including Pasadena Unified School District.
“I like to have an initial phone call and 15 to 20 Zoom sessions to ensure prospective internship sites understand the program,” said Foell. “Before we meet, it’s advisable to create a brief description of the internship project — be sure to share the organization’s purpose and mission. We’ll help hosts identify and interview candidates in May to early June, and students can start mid-June.”
Craig Settles conducts needs analyses, planning, and grant assessments with community stakeholders who want broadband networks and telehealth to improve economic development, healthcare, education and local government. This piece is exclusive to Broadband Breakfast.
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