Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) Programs are up and running in four high schools in Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties in Maine, with programming reaching students at two additional schools, thanks to a grant secured by the Center.

The grant comes from  the US Department of Labor’s Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities program and is enabling these schools and their communities to invest in their youth, help  shape student aspirations and design career pathways. The Center has partnered with Rural Aspirations Project, Maine Outdoor Brands, and the Maine Development Foundation to fund and support ELO Coordinator positions in these schools, and to work with the business and nonprofit communities to provide workforce development experiences for students.

Participating schools include Stearns High School in Millinocket, Katahdin Middle/High School in Stacyville, Piscataquis Community Secondary School in Guilford, and Greenville Consolidated School in Greenville. In addition, the Katahdin Higher Education Center supports students across the region, and the Greenville School serves Forest Hills School in Jackman.

Rural Aspirations Project (RAP) works directly with each school to design Extended Learning Opportunity programs. ELOs are experiences outside the regular classroom that provide students with hands-on learning related to career exploration. ELO coordinators work directly with students one-on-one to help them gain meaningful work experience, test the fields of work they think they’re interested in, and build relationships with mentors, community members, and potential employers. RAP provides extensive professional development and facilitates a professional learning community among the ELO coordinators.

Together with the Center, Maine Outdoor Brands and Maine Development Foundation support connections to businesses in the outdoor recreation and forest products industries and also develop K-16 career pathways that outline the many different ways that businesses, teachers, schools, and ELO programs can support students’ interest in related careers at different grade levels.

Through the ELO program at Stearns High School, student Makenna did a summer internship with the Millinocket Memorial Library, earning academic credit through the ELO program.  Makenna provided community-based programming connecting youth and adults through the medium of Art. The internship provided professional connections in collaboration with other partners who offered programs and gave an overview of general library operations and offerings.

In the process of completing the ELO requirements, Makenna designed a final project that reflected her work at the library with her personal interests and connections to art and community. She set up a self-running community mural where patrons contributed to completing coloring a line drawing, done by Makenna herself. Participants responded to the prompt “what does the library mean to you” on the back of each “puzzle piece” that they colored. In the end Makenna re-assembled the pieces and framed the mural, gifting it to the library as a token of gratitude for her time spent there throughout her youth.

“I learned many skills, like teaching a variety of ages and skill levels, hosting programs, responsibility, multitasking, problem solving (the solution- usually more paper towels!), social skills, making connections, helping pass the love of art to the next generation, and so, so, so much more!” said Makenna about her internship. “My time there has been absolutely wonderful, and I really hope to work there again someday.”

At Katahdin, one student is currently working with York’s of Houlton as an auto tech and learning many life skills throughout his day. From clocking in for the day, to running the technology and completing paperwork, to communication and auto maintenance skills.  He has recently been accepted into Central Maine Community College and is being sponsored by York’s of Houlton to continue his work experience there as he furthers his education in the Ford Asset Program.

Another student is independently learning how to develop his small lawncare business and is gaining his clientele each day through the business cards that his ELO services provided.  The Houlton Police Department is providing one ELO student ride-alongs and is helping her find resources and providing guidance on how to further her interest in forensics psychology.

Kelly Edmunds-Francis, Katahdin’s ELO Coordinator says that the ELO program is “doing such amazing things for the students to help them develop their career paths and still connect it to their education.”

The grant team is continuing to convene business and industry leaders to discuss how to best connect students with work opportunities and careers in their fields. Through these convenings, ELO Coordinators and businesses work together directly to find creative and effective ways to expose students to opportunities and careers, and support them through job shadows, internships, and other ELOs. These relationships provide the foundation for long-term success supporting students as they develop into tomorrow’s leaders and workers in our communities.

The three-year project will cost $1.9 million in total, with the federal WORC grant providing $1.2 million or 64 percent of the cost. The remaining $715,328, or 36 percent, will come from the school districts, which have varied sources of funding, and other grants secured by the nonprofit partners.