Jun 4, 2008 8:02 pm US/Pacific
Sparking Young Imaginations to Future Careers
Jefferson Award Winner: Chris Balme
(CBS 5)
Thirteen-year-old Alex del Rio is living out his dream, seeing first-hand what life as a police officer is all about.
"It's been really fun," he says. "We've been going to a lot of calls and seeing a lot of things."
Alex's one-on-one apprenticeship with Redwood City police officer Brad Johnson is part of an innovative program that pairs middle school students with people in the community who are doing the types of jobs than interest kids.
It's the idea of former middle school teacher Chris Balme, who says he saw too many students at Alex's age questioning the relevance of school.
"Seventh and eighth grade, that's the time students are starting to think farther down the road," Chris explains. "That's a time they are going to develop a vision of some kind, and it's up to us if it is going to be a positive vision or a negative one."
So Chris, along with fellow teacher Malia Dicker, founded Spark, a program to bring back old-fashioned apprenticeships. Starting with a summer school program in Redwood City, Spark recruited mentors in the community who shared their professional lives with a student for several weeks.
Chris says, "We had so much fun and saw the impact we were looking for in that initial group that we decided to try and reach more students.:
Four years later, Spark is a year-round program, partnering with four schools in Redwood City, and adding two more in San Francisco this fall. This year alone, 130 middle school students will complete a Spark apprenticeship in just about every job you can imagine.
"We had one student work with a doctor. He got to see surgeries, Another student learned how to fly a plane, and actually flew the plane on his own," says Chris.
Officer Johnson is one of three police officers with the Redwood City Police Department who are participating.
"It's been a very rewarding and fulfilling project," he says. "You see the confidence come up, then you can see them actually start to believe that they can do whatever they want to do and believe they can do the job you are out there with."
Alex now has specific goals for high school.
"In two more years, I'd like to sign up for the cadet program in Redwood City," he says.
Chris adds, "It's not about choosing your career for sure at age 13. It's about having the confidence to go out there and say, 'This is what I am interested in, and I know that school can help me.' What motivates me more than anything else is seeing kids inspired and engaged when they realize a connection. I want to see kids pursue what really matters to them and have that energy come into school where they can pursue subjects, because they see it as a vehicle for their dreams."
So for helping students realize their dreams and shape a vision for the future, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Chris Balme.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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