News & Events
“Bridging the Gap” during Shutdown
Published: April 10, 2020
“BTG is still alive and well learning how to successfully
Ms. Charlene, CATS College & Career Manager
transition into college and career.”
The coronavirus pandemic has now reached every U.S. state. In addition to posing public health challenges, the outbreak has prompted mass closures of schools and businesses and is straining resources. But here at CATS, we are feverishly working to maintain contact with our students. We recently transitioned from using ZOOM conferencing as concerns about security mounted. The safety of our students is of the utmost importance! Engaging our students is our highest priority so we continue to find ways of using online tools that will not only keep students earning credit toward graduation but also prepare them for the future.
CATS continues to engage with the BTG students during this time of remote access by emailing/texting and/or calling them to ensure they remain on track to complete all requirements. About 40 of the 45 have remained in contact and are completing their BTG assignments, during the shutdowns. BTG students are getting prepared for the adult world by learning about financial literacy, creating a budget, a resume, a cover letter, writing a paragraph on speaking with confidence, participating in mock interviews with BTG instructors and answering the 10 most commonly asked interview questions. During the next few weeks, BTG students will make critical decisions about life after high school and we will be there to help them for the next 18 months!
All of these assignments are preparing them, not only for mock interviews that will be held in two weeks but also for their future. Although these interviews are usually held in person, they will be conducted on the phone. CATS sees this as a great opportunity to teach BTG students how to handle the first step in some company’s hiring processes. BTG instructors will also provide feedback to the students on how they did during the interview to help them prepare for future hiring.
Here is an example of the Speaking with Confidence Assignment:
