One of the real strengths of living in San Francisco is that kids in our high schools can be hooked up in summer internships that bring in paychecks and give kids a chance to explore where they're headed.

San Francisco Chronicle's Jill Tucker did an article recently on the fact that the recession has caused many businesses to stop using the intern program. The District wants to continue giving kids its advantages, has come up with $150K to keep this program alive. It will pick up part of what is paid out by employers to the student interns.

The paid internships offer students six weeks of paid summer work, starting the third week in June. They exist within a structure called Career Technical Education. It operates through Career Academies. These smaller schools are operated within our larger high schools to promote easy transitions into definite career paths (see http://www.sfusdcte.org)

Starting in ninth grade there is classroom work to help students identify where their interests lie. The offerings are in seven areas: Business, Hospitality/Tourism, Health Science/Biotech, Law, Teaching, Information Technology, and Engineering & Construction. There may be field trips to visit job sites. At present those specialty programs occur as follows:

• Business & Finance at Burton and Lincoln High Schools
• Information Technology at Balboa, Galileo, and Lincoln
• Engineering & Construction at Burton, O'Connell, and Washington
• Hospitality/Tourism at Balboa, Galileo, Ida Wells, Lincoln, O'Connell, Washington
• Health Science/Biotech at Galileo, Lincoln, and Wallenberg
• Teaching at Lincoln and Marshall
• Law at Balboa and Lincoln

In tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades, students who will be age 16 by April 15th may apply for paid summer internships. The application is a simple one-page form with six questions, and it is available with one click at the website.

That's not the whole process, however. The student needs to submit four things:

• a completed application,
• a photocopy of a Social Security card,
• a proof of Age (birth certificate, passport, or California ID from the Dept. of Motor Vehicles), and
• a proof of school attendance (current report card, or letter showing current grades from school administrator on official stationery).

The Work Permit Office is at 555 Portola Drive, Room 380, and it's open 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. Its phone is 415-695-5504.

For more information about the entire paid intern summer program, you can call the Internship Coordinator Lynn Garcia at 415 379-7769, or email her at Garcia@sfusd.edu.