Hutchinson Public Schools in partnership with several local businesses will be offering summer Manufacturing and Health Care Exploratory Camps to current 6th, 7th and 8th grade students attending both Hutchinson Public Schools and other schools in our community and beyond. Both camps will be offered at no cost to the student/family.

Hutchinson High School will provide instructors for both camps, as well as secondary student volunteers/mentors and lab space for the hands-on activities.

Each camp will run for four consecutive days, June 3rd-June 6th. Approximately 2 hours will be used for instruction and hands-on activities, 1 hour will be used to tour local businesses, and 30 minutes will be used for lunch and debriefing.

Additionally, several of our district's 8th grade students who need credit recovery and additional support will be enrolling in "High School 101" from June 3rd-June 18th. These students will also participate in many of the Exploratory camp activities and field trips and will also join the Exploratory Camp students for breakfast and lunch from June 3rd-June 6th. The fact that the High School 101 students help ensure that the students who may not have "typically" signed up for this type of experience will indeed have access to this great opportunity.

Students are recruited for this project through various methods, including an ad in the local Parks and Rec and Community Ed brochure, presentations to current Middle School students, ads and enrollment forms on the TigerPath website, and ads on the monitors around the Middle School.

The main expected outcome of this project is that students who participate will be exposed to career exploration opportunities they may not have had otherwise. They will also have the chance to become familiar with high school spaces and participating high school staff and students. They will explore businesses and careers, as well as meet and network with community members.

We believe this opportunity will give the students access to valuable relationships and resources that will help them to thrive. Ultimately, the whole purpose of College and Career Readiness initiatives in schools is to provide students with the education, experiences, resources and support needed to give them the best chance of eventually having a rewarding career that provides a reasonable standard of living, economic mobility, and valuation as a contributing member of society. Therefore, any programming that helps students further explore careers is a step toward all these critically important goals. In short, these camps will help students learn more about themselves and their individual interests, skills, and abilities to enhance their pathways to meaningful work.

For more information, contact Andrea at Hutchinson Public Schools.