Boston Public Schools puts high-tech kids to work in high-tech places

BOSTON – Boston Public Schools (BPS) TechBoston program this week celebrated the 100 advanced technology students who are enrolled in Boston high schools who successfully completed a seven-week internship program.  The program, called Tech Apprentice, places skilled technology students in a wide-range of paid internships with companies and non-profit agencies. 

The Tech Apprentices worked in a range of positions—working with the computer software Microsoft Access and Sharepoint, web development, help desk and Q&A testing.   Some of the more advanced high school interns were engaged in projects that include developing databases for financial service companies and re-designing one company’s intranet site.

This year, 28 employers hired Tech Apprentices through a rigorous screening process that is managed by the Boston Private Industry Council.

“I’m so grateful to these companies for stepping up and being positive corporate citizens,” said BPS Superintendent Carol R. Johnson. “This program highlights the talents our students hold and gives them real world experience that will serve them well for years to come.”

State Street hired (20) Tech Apprentices to work in a variety of IT positions.  BPS hired (14) high school students to be trained as Cyber Mentors.  The Cyber Mentors conducted Internet safety presentations for youth participating in summer programs throughout the city.  The Cyber Mentors gave 50 presentations for more than 4,000 children.

Susanna Yee, a recent graduate of John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, is a Tech Apprentice hired by Microsoft to work at the N.E.R.D. Center for a second summer. 

“This year I've been on the Unified Communications team, where our projects revolve around communications and collaboration software,” said Yee.  “I've been working on different methods of managing group conversations and how they are organized.”

Yee will attend Massachusetts College of Art and Design in September where she plans to study web and graphic design.

The Boston Red Sox, IDG, the Department of Early Childhood and Care (EEC) and Welch's Food Inc., hired Tech Apprentices for the first time this summer. 

Tom Barry, Service Desk Manager at Welch’s said he was impressed with the IT talent of the Tech Apprentice, Torjan Pope, working in his department.  “Torian’s timely engagement at Welch’s provided the help needed to prepare, image, and initiate deployments of approximately 80 notebook PC’s to our Local and Remote Field Sales Force and internal customers.  We were able to start this project early with the additional resource. ”

Pope is a 2010 graduate from Madison Park High School who will be studying Computer Engineering at Hamilton College in the fall as Posse Scholar.