The Future Ready Lab: Maintaining Students' Access to Internships during Times of Crisis

In this manuscript, we highlight the virtual Future Ready Lab as one example of an innovative internship concept designed to increase the quantity of meaningful paid internship experiences available for students to participate in, prepare for further education, and be able to compete in the 21st Century workforce. The Lab's premise is to provide access to student populations (e.g., economically disadvantaged, Black, and Latinx students) who oftentimes are not afforded the opportunity to hone their 21st Century skills in a high-impact internship experience. The virtual nature of the Future Ready Labs provided opportunities for high school students to participate, despite transportation limitations, social distancing, emerging safety precautions, and requirements based on the COVID-19 pandemic. In this manuscript, we help fill gaps in existing literature concerning how schools support students' work-based learning experiences during times of crisis, particularly for diverse and economically disadvantaged learners. We conclude with recommendations for practice, and a broader work-based learning framework for how partnerships can be forged and sustained in high schools across the nation, as well as implications for educational policy, practice, and research. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Education & Urban Society is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The Future Ready Lab: Maintaining Students’ Access to Internships during Times of Crisis

In this manuscript, we highlight the virtual Future Ready Lab as one example of an innovative internship concept designed to increase the quantity of meaningful paid internship experiences available for students to participate in, prepare for further education, and be able to compete in the 21st Century workforce. The Lab?s premise is to provide access to student populations (e.g., economically disadvantaged, Black, and Latinx students) who oftentimes are not afforded the opportunity to hone their 21st Century skills in a high-impact internship experience. The virtual nature of the Future Ready Labs provided opportunities for high school students to participate, despite transportation limitations, social distancing, emerging safety precautions, and requirements based on the COVID-19 pandemic. In this manuscript, we help fill gaps in existing literature concerning how schools support students? work-based learning experiences during times of crisis, particularly for diverse and economically disadvantaged learners. We conclude with recommendations for practice, and a broader work-based learning framework for how partnerships can be forged and sustained in high schools across the nation, as well as implications for educational policy, practice, and research.