Professional Development
Professional development is the cornerstone of KP Scholars as our goal is to prepare youth for careers with high earning potential. Students are often told they have the potential to be anything they want but they are left to figure out how to achieve their desired careers. Beyond their lack of knowledge about career pathways they have a limited view of the diversity of career options available. Our programming is designed to provide youth with career exploration and experiential learning opportunities that allow them to build the knowledge, skills and abilities they will need incrementally as they progress through the K12 system. KP’s professional maturity model provides a framework for each phase of a student’s development:
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KP Scout (ES): Exposure to diverse occupations that facilitate their dreams—recognizing look and are essential to a high quality life.
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KP Cadet (MS): Developing an understanding of the relationship between entrepreneurship, industry segments, companies and careers.
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KP Intern (HS): Learning to perform basic business functions/ administration—significant oversight required. Interns work 5-10 hours / week during school year and 20-30 hours / week during summer.
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KP Apprentice (College): Able to perform more advanced business functions / administration and problem solve independently—limited oversight required. Apprentices work 10-20 hours / week during SY and 30-40 hours / week during summer.
Students receiving professional development in an after-school setting participate in a simulated work environment with its own virtual economy. Students are assigned a virtual pay rate for each hour they are “at-work” and can earn an increase in their compensation for achieving performance expectations and may be docked pay for failure to meet expectations. This unique engagement model is designed to not only motivate and engage students but to crystalize what they should expect when they enter into the workforce.