Salisbury High School Principal Heather Morningstar and English teacher Joseph Pacitti introduced the Student Internship Program to members of the curriculum and technology committee at its Dec. 6 meeting.

Morningstar said she and Pacitti had been working diligently on creating an internship program for senior students at Salisbury High School.

The program will be offered to seniors who have expressed an interest in a particular field of study they may pursue in college. Students who are approved for the program will be given an opportunity to serve an internship at a Lehigh Valley business in that particular field of interest.

“This is for students who would not be captured in the co-op or work-based learning programs,” Morningstar said.

Serving an internship would allow the students to determine whether the course of study they are hoping to pursue would be well suited for the them or whether they might need to rethink their career choice.

“We have a lot of organizations in the Lehigh Valley – hospitals, engineering firms, finance organizations we can get involved with that would make the program very successful,” Board President Frank Frankenfield said.

“They could try a couple of different things to see what they like,” Pacitti said.

Director George Gatanis added he is “all for the program” and noted he got his start through an internship.

“My daughter has a successful career that started at Lehigh Carbon Technical Institute and she has kept with her career choice,” Director Mary Ziegler said. “Though a broader forum, I think the SIP is a great idea.”

SIP would appear in the program of studies in January, noted Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Lynn Fuini-Hetten and be implemented in the 2018-2019 academic year.

There will be a pilot program in the spring with refinement to follow. A handbook for the program is in draft form with changes and modifications to be released in the fall.

Morningstar noted students enrolled in the pilot program would receive credits for independent studies prior to being approved as an internship credit.

The current resources at the school would be adequate to serve the needs of the students enrolled in the pilot program. The district will reevaluate staffing as the program progresses.

“This is a really big step for us and it’s a little scary,” Fuini-Hetten said. She said it is a little risky starting something new and they are unsure of what it will look like but, “through their [Morningstar and Pacitti] collaborative efforts, we have a nice framework to get started and it can provide some great opportunities for our kids.”

Director Joseph Gnall addressed a possible issue of high school students competing with college students for internships.

“Most of the college internships occur in the summer months and businesses might want to fill an internship when the students return to college,” Gnall said.

Formal approval for the program will be on the agenda for the next meeting.