HSSIEP (High School Senior Internship Education Project)

HSSIEP provides work-based learning experiences in the field of education to highly motivated high school seniors in good academic standing, while supporting their school and community-based partners.

Goals of HSSIEP

• To offer high school seniors the opportunity to complete a paid work-based learning education internship.
• To accelerate the growth of the teacher pipeline in MA with a particular focus on increasing racial/ethnic diversity.
• To improve educational outcomes for underserved students, particular younger learners, due to the pandemic.

HSSIEP Rationale

• Several high schools in MA have built senior projects and internships into their programs of study and the project will provide an increase in opportunities for students to participate in an authentic learning experience in the education field.
• HSSIEP aligns with Commissioner Riley's priority of working to diversify the educator workforce so that our educator population reflects the population of students in MA.
• One of the most effective ways to improve outcomes for students is individual tutoring from cross-aged peers. Research confirms that it can improve academic and socioemotional outcomes because of the timely feedback that students receive. Further, cross-aged peer tutoring can strengthen attachment to school for students which is necessary right now considering the decline in student participation as a result of the pandemic. Also, cross-aged peer tutoring improves outcomes in math fluency and across other disciplines.

HSSIEP Implementation

• HSSIEP will largely build on current work-based learning structures to support implementation. The structures include a collaboration and partnership between DESE's Connecting Activities, school districts throughout MA, and Regional MassHire Workforce Boards.
• Support for high school interns will be provided by Connecting Activities Leads at MassHire Workforce Boards and professional development from Educators Rising. This student organization will offer, through monthly meetings, an opportunity for educators to learn concepts to support students in their internships.

What Could a High School Educator Intern Schedule Look Like?

• Teacher interns can be part of "regular" school day programming or an after school program.
• Districts will need to determine delivery models that would best suit student schedules and needs.
• The use of teacher interns could range widely across various grade levels and in schools and educational supports. Schools, districts, and non-profits should determine immediate need and identify the services that schools, and students need for success, and the role that high school senior interns could play in meeting those needs.
• High school teacher interns can provide educational support for students in grades K–8. The tasks completed by interns could vary greatly and may include:
  1. Providing in person academic and social supports in schools and in community learning pods.
  2. Providing classroom coverage on an interim basis (supervised when feasible)
  3. Mentoring
  4. Academic tutoring
  5. Lunch and recess monitoring
• Note: To ensure health and safety of staff and students, high school seniors participating in the internship will be required to sign a safety attestation and be willing to be tested for COVID-19 frequently as determined by the placement.

Last Updated: February 1, 2022