Elliot Washor's TGIF 01.23.2026

Are you with me now? A. J. Ryder

This week, Andrea, Scott and I were on a site visit tour to our California demonstration sites for the California Secondary School Redesign (CSSR) grant. It took quite a bit of preparation by Andrea to put things together with principals and this ensured that our time was very well spent. Also, prior to our school, tour this past Saturday, I met with Melissa Agudelo about work going on at Lincoln High School in San Diego that connects to this grant around allowing more students to have time in their day for internships. The issue that Melissa/we are tackling allows non-independent study schools to get their students out. It is part of the charge of this grant and allows the IBPLC to credit learning in and outside of school.

Our first stop was New Village Girls Academy where Javier Guzman joined us. It made for quite a reunion given that we had the entire lineage of principals from New Village starting with Javier, then Andrea and now Jenny Q. That in itself is a testament to how our work gets done through succession. The wraparound services provided to students at New Village is something for other schools to consider. How these services support advisors is a great question ahead of us.

Next, we drove down from LA to San Diego where we met with Robert’s staff and students and we were joined by Christine Olmstead and Leib Schucter who manage the CSSR grant. This visit featured some amazing students and a seasoned staff who knew our design and not only their students but their families and student’s mentors really well. This quote stated by an advisor at the San Diego Met that was attributed to former principal Melissa Agudelo set the tone for our visit.

                “Come as you are. We will meet you there.”

Cameron, one of San Diego Met’s ambassador students led the visit and blew everyone away with his off the cuff presentation of his years at the school. One of his many one-liners that showed the high stakes of his internships was in reference to his interior design work and went something like this: 

                 “If I mess this up their house won’t sell”

By Wednesday evening we were on planes to Sacramento where Taylor had already made the drive from Reno. Taylor is now going to manage the CSSR work. Also, we were joined by Lexi who lives in Sacramento and is an alum. At Me Sac, we had the time to go on close to a dozen LTI’s and talk with advisors, students and mentors. They were all fantastic. Students were interning with legislators, construction managers, the fire department, pet care boutiques, furniture restoration, vintage clothing shops, recording studios, record shops, electric bike repair, truck rejigging, regenerative farming, art studios and elementary schools. It was an amazing day. All of the students could talk about how their internships were meaningful to them and their community. It wasn’t just placement. They were learning how hard it is to do something well. A few things that really stuck out for me was how professional our advisors were in their questioning of students at the place of their internships. This wasn’t just a How’s it going?  check-in. There were serious questions being raised about the quality of the experience, what they were learning and their next steps. Even though advisors added their personal touch to the meetings, there was a way of doing LTI visits that was part of the school culture These drop-ins were high stakes. Another thing that stood out was the debrief time back at school with 9^th and 10^th and then 11^th and 12^th grade students. They were so articulate about doing meaningful work; work that was not just a job. This is a generation that won’t settle. That said, in my visits to schools I’m amazed at how many students are choosing skilled trades and craft work as meaningful work and work that is about repair and regeneration. They wanted personal interactions with customers and mentors. If we only stayed within our BPL schools with Harbor Freight Fellows, we would easily quadruple the number of Fellows each year. This says a great deal.

And …

Two developments that go along with our LTI work are that Dartmouth College has put $35 million into a new internship program. As Joe Cartrino, Executive director of Dartmouth Center for Career Design (note: the shift from career education to career design) states, “internships are no longer an optional add-on. They’re and integral component of a Dartmouth education.” This is a move to stay in business by giving students and families what they are looking for real-world learning experiences. Let’s see what this means for other colleges and if they could use ImBlaze.

And, in direct line of sight for Dartmouth’s push to get students out, The New Workforce Dilemma by Kristin Sharp and Molly Kinder layout lots of issues about why we are where we are including the decline of businesses offering paid training. Take a look

“One recent study found a 28% decline in employer-paid training across the United States.”

“The percentage of workers who benefited from employer-sponsored training between 1996 and 2008 dropped 42%, while on-the-job training fell by about a third.”

How can businesses complain if they are not stepping up to do their share? And, if colleges step up with work study and other funds to pay for internships will this help turn the corner?

 Last but not least I can’t forget to mention our fabulous dinner at Frank Fat’s Andrea’s relative’s restaurant in Sacramento. Joining us was Forner Mayor of Sacramento who had Met Sac interns and is working with us in a variety of ways. Frank Fat’s is more than a restaurant. It is a center of the community, Andrea’s relatives knew almost everyone dining including the mayor. They plan tennis together. My kind of restaurant.

Anthonette and I made it to the concert. At 82, George Clinton was more animated than I’ve seen him in decades. My kind of natiojn!

See you in NYC at Leadership Summit – Burr! 

No two snowflakes are the same.

Be well!