Carson City School District is proposing the implementation of a small experimental project designed to recruit young Hispanic females into computer-aided design programs (CAD) that will lead to employment in high technology careers. We believe that, if successful, the program can be expanded to other high technology, science, and mathematics programs at the high school. This program, Carson City G.R.E.A.T.S., is design to begin implementation in September of 1999, coinciding with the opening of our new High Tech center on the campus of Carson High School. The Carson City G.R.E.A.T.S. project will focus on recruiting young Hispanic women to participate in internship programs in the field of computer assisted drafting (CAD). These internships will be provided at local businesses. The internships will be 90 hours in length and must be completed within the period of one semester. Students can earn $6.00/hr or .5 credit for participation in the project. Students participating in the internship program will also enroll in the AutoCAD course. In addition, they will also be provided with additional remedial instruction in English/Language Art and mathematics if necessary. Transportation to and from work sites will also be provided for those students who need this assistance. Because Carson High School has School-to-Careers program, we were able to collaborate with five local businesses to provide CAD internships for five students each semester, bringing the total number of students to be served to 10 for the year. If this program is successful, we believe that we will be able to solicit additional internship slots, both within the CAD program and in other high technology fields as well.
