Cooperative Education

The Cooperative Education (CO-OP) Program is designed to give fourth quarter junior and all senior students, who have completed three years in their career-technical program, the opportunity to extend their learning experience into the world of work, whereby the student is placed into a paid position during shop hours. Student’s co-op gains and achievements are assessed using the Massachusetts Work-Based Learning Plan endorsed by the Massachusetts Department of Education in collaboration with the Massachusetts School to Career System. The Massachusetts Work-Based Learning Plan (WBLP) is a diagnostic, goal-setting and assessment tool designed to drive learning and productivity on the job. The WBLP was developed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education through an interagency collaboration of employers, educators and workforce development professionals.

Co-op eligible students at LPV Career TEC, upon the recommendation of their instructor, who are in good standing in their career/vocational technical program, are invited to participate in the CO-OP Seminars. The CO-OP Seminar is aligned with the Vocational Technical Education Frameworks Strand 4: Employability Knowledge and Skills giving students the opportunity to develop employability skills to secure and keep employment in a chosen field.

In order to be eligible for CO-OP, students must meet the following requirements:

Students must be presently enrolled in a program at LPV Career TEC and be considered “job ready” by the instructor, Guidance Counselor and/or Placement Counselor.
Approval by the Director of Occupational Education is necessary for CO-OP placement.
Students must have demonstrated 90% minimum attendance.
Students must be passing all their subjects, including all academic courses with a minimum grade of 80%. The position must be related to the student’s area of study.
A minimum of 15 hours a week on-the-job is necessary for a CO-OP position.

Students who do not meet the above requirements may go through a petition process in order to obtain approval for a CO-OP despite not meeting the above requirements.

Approved and participating CO-OP students are responsible for the following:

Required to attend all scheduled classes at their sending school prior to reporting to their CO-OP employer.
Greater than 10% absenteeism and/or tardiness to school and/or work shall be cause for removal from CO-OP.
Failure to follow work rules and regulations, falsifying illness, academic course failures, and personal problems that interfere with employment, shall be cause for removal from CO-OP.
Participating students who fail to adhere to cooperating employer rules and regulations will be removed from CO-OP.
Students failing to comply with safety regulations or who fail to utilize prescribed safety equipment on the job will be subject to removal from CO-OP.
Students whose personal conduct or effort indicates lack of responsibility may be excluded or removed from CO-OP by the Director/Supervisor of Occupational Education.
Students will be e-mailed every Friday (Thursday, if Friday is a holiday) or can pick up a hard copy from the Cooperative Education Coordinators’ Office, the Cooperative Education Student Weekly Journal Timecard. Timecards are to be filled out by students weekly, and are due by Tuesday of the following week via email, fax or dropped off.
Students are required to obtain from the Co-op Coordinator, the “Evaluation Card” (time card) to be filled out by both student and employer. These may be faxed or e-mailed to the CO-OP Coordinator at the end of each week.
Students are required to provide their own transportation to and from their CO-OP, and are personally responsible and liable for their actions en route to and from CO-OP.
It is strongly recommended that students participating in CO-OP take out the sending school sponsored “student accident plan” approved by the School Committee in their sending school in the event there is no family accident insurance in effect.

When a student is placed in a CO-OP:

The Co-op Coordinator will obtain a CORI check on the cooperative employer prior to placement of any student in cooperative education employment.
The Co-op Coordinator, in concert with the career/vocational-technical instructor, will effect a selection process utilizing student grades, conduct, effort, attendance, recommendations, competency level, and any other significant criteria before a placement decision is made.
The Co-op Coordinator will act as liaison between the CO-OP employer and the student to assist in any problems which might arise during the course of the cooperative employment.
The Co-op Coordinator will conduct supervisory visits to each cooperative employment work site to ensure that both student and employer are benefitting from the Cooperative Education Program.
In recommending a cooperative student to an employer, the school is of the opinion that the student will make an appropriate employee with entry level skills in his/her career/vocational-technical field.

“Cooperative Employers” will be responsible for the following:

The Cooperative employer will complete the CORI form and return it to the Co-op Coordinator for processing prior to the student’s employment.
The Cooperative employer will have three or more employees on site while the Cooperative Education student is working. Three or more employees includes employer and student.
Provide the Co-op Coordinator with a job description indicating the type of work the student will be doing.
Cooperative employers must ensure that employment orientation is conducted for the student including work rules and regulations, safety procedures and equipment, special instructions concerning work conditions, and any other pertinent employment information.
Cooperative employers must provide “Workers Compensation” for each Cooperative student while working on-the-job. Without this insurance coverage, a placement cannot be made.
Cooperative employers agree to pay the legal minimum wage to the student and should consider a higher wage commensurate with the student’s experience, ability, and work to be done.
Periodic evaluations should be conducted of the student’s work to ascertain if increases in the wage rates are justified.
Students must be supervised and provided on-the-job training by a Craftsman (journeyman) or other employee who is experienced in the area in which the student is working.
Cooperative employers must insure that the student’s work and training will be in a field directly or closely related to the student’s career/vocational-technical program.
Cooperative employers agree to follow the guidelines set forth in the Work Based Learning Plan endorsed by the Massachusetts Department of Education in collaboration with the Massachusetts School to Career System and developed for the individual student.
If there were to be insufficient work available or training must be temporarily curtailed for the student, the Cooperative employer would be responsible for notifying the Co-op Coordinator of this so that immediate reassignment of the student to his/her school schedule can be made.
Cooperative employers agree to allow student’s sufficient time-off from employment to attend official school functions, especially those scheduled for seniors related to graduation.
Cooperative employers are encouraged to express recommendations to the school concerning possible changes to update the program of instruction, to include the adoption of newer teaching techniques and the acquisition of more modern equipment. Cooperative employers are also encouraged to join related Program Advisory Committees.
Cooperative employers are responsible for verifying the student’s hours worked and grading the student’s work performance by completing the Evaluation form e-mailed every Friday (Thursday, if Friday is a holiday). Evaluation forms are due the following Tuesday via e-mail or fax. This grade will provide the basis for the student’s report card grade.

The “Cooperative Agreement” may be terminated at any time by mutual agreement between the Cooperative employer, CO-OP Coordinator, the Principal/Director of Occupational Education and/or the sending high school principal, and the student, and expires upon graduation of the student.