How this school is preparing students for future careers

How this school is preparing students for future careers

Students in Topeka, Kansas, said they wanted better early career development programs , and one school district decided to take action.?

Washburn Rural High School, which is in the Auburn-Washburn Unified School District 437 , recently finished construction on its 50,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Innovation Center. The new expansion houses nine STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) programs in an effort to better prepare students for postgraduate education and careers as well as to help fill current and future labor needs .?

"Student engagement is one of the best drivers of student success at school," says Scott McWilliams, the Auburn-Washburn superintendent of schools. "Helping them understand what they want to pursue as an adult and showing them how to get them best prepared for success in the things they want to do — having those conversations earlier is not just a nice engagement tool, it's good for kids, too."?

Read more: This Kansas school district is prepping students for professional success

A DIFFICULT TIME: Menopause symptoms can have a massive impact on a woman's ability to perform at work , and the largest segment of the workforce is fast approaching — or already in — this life stage.??

The average age women experience menopause is 51, but the average onset of perimenopause (the stage preceding menopause) is 40, with some women experiencing symptoms as young as their mid-30s, according to New York hospital network Mount Sinai. Women in both stages can experience fatigue, hot flashes, night sweats, trouble sleeping, skin and hair changes and increased irritability, stress, anxiety and depression .??

"It's a different journey for every woman," says Pamela Smith , VP of account management at benefits consulting firm Corporate Synergies . "And sometimes women don't really understand what these symptoms are because they might start very early. They just know that it's become much more difficult to function in the workplace."?

Read more: Millennials are hitting menopause, and it's impacting the workplace

THE STRUGGLES OF WORKING PARENTS: The fall semester brings challenges and stresses for working parents as they adapt to new schedules and try to find child care, which can also add financial strains.?

As more employees are returning to the office , working parents are also losing some of the flexibility that came with working from home. According to UrbanSitter , an online service that connects parents to trusted child care providers , 42% of parents are hybrid workers, and 31% are in the office full time. This loss of flexibility makes child care arrangements even more important to working parents.

"We saw a huge jump in bookings when companies put a mandatory return in place last year," Lynn Perkins , CEO of UrbanSitter told EBN's Deanna Cuadra . "Before, parents could cover at least some afternoons, but now they need help because they don't have the same availability."

Read more: How to support working parents in a hybrid setting

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