For purposes of this chapter, unless the context indicates otherwise, the words or phrases listed below are defined as follows:
- (1) "Youth apprenticeship" means a program that offers students, beginning in the eleventh grade, a course of study which integrates academic curricula, work-site learning, and work experience leading to high school graduation with post-secondary options and preparation for the world of work.
- (2) "Tech Prep" means a program of study designed specifically to prepare students for careers and lives affected by technology. Tech Prep involves applied academic courses, targeted technology study, and specialized career guidance. Tech Prep blends academics and technology education and emphasizes broad-based competencies in career education. Tech Prep links high school and two-year college programs, eliminating gaps and overlaps to provide enhanced academic and vocational preparation for mid-level technology careers.
(3) "Mentoring" means an umbrella term for many forms of formal one-on-one relationships between a community's citizens and their students. The broad types of mentoring programs include:
- (a) "Traditional mentor programs" means programs which seek to build a long-lasting relationship during which the mentor and protege work on the protege's personal development and interpersonal skills. The relationship generally lasts a year, with the mentor maintaining occasional contact with the protege for an additional one to two years.
- (b) "Shadowing" means a short-term experience to introduce a student to a particular job by pairing the student with a worker. The protege follows or "shadows" the worker for a specified time to better understand the requirements of a particular career.
- (c) "Service learning" means an experience for one or more students at a work site or community agency during which the students work on a project each week after school. Under close adult supervision, students develop work skills and learn how to behave in work situations.
- (4) "Internship" means a one-on-one relationship to provide "hands on" learning in an area of student interest. A learning contract outlines the expectations and responsibilities of both parties. The protege works regularly after school for three or four hours a week in exchange for the mentor's time in teaching and demonstrating. The internship generally lasts from three to six months.