Muskego High School has excellent programs, such as AVID, GPS Education Partners and Personalized Learning, but one program that stands out is Connect Academy. Connect Academy allows students to leave school at 12:35 to go to a job they were given. Muskego High Schools defines Connect Academy as an opportunity for seniors to gain in

sight and experiment with learning from the classroom. With an apprenticeship for two years it will support the exploration of interest through students academics and career plans. Muskego High School offers six levels of experiences. Students don’t have to participate in all levels. This program is runned by Mr.Michling.

 Each student was asked some questions about how they feel the program goes for them. Joey Framnes gave very nice feedback to my questions and to the program. Joey says, “I work at Culver’s, personally I enjoy my job, I have a lot of fun with it. Some days I do wish I could find a new job, but I like where I am at. It is a good job to have during High School.” When asking Joey if he would recommend this program to future students? He responded with, “I would recommend this program to seniors. I really enjoy it and especially if you’re going to be a senior and you might be short credits it might be a great way to get those credits.” Furthermore asking Joey if he thought the program should stay and if the program has ever affected school?  His thoughts were, “The program definitely should stay. It’s really good for those that struggle like myself and those that just want to to get started with work or start a real life. This program is going to affect my school a lot in a good way. I was worried I would not be able to graduate this year, but I found out with this program I’ll be able to graduate and I will be able to do what I like. Although you will only get a G.E.D diploma it will be better than no diploma, and a G.E.D is not a bad thing.” Lastly Joey gave us the amount of  hours/days he works and told us how many hours are required for the program.  He responded saying, “Me normally I work with football, I work Saturdays and Sundays. I record 26 hours a week. After football is over I will be working for over 50 hours a week to bring home a fat check every two weeks. For the program you need a minimum of 15 hours a week.”A few students who participate in this program are Lauren Corso and Joey Framnes.

 Asking Lauren Corso about Connect Academy, she had even more positive things to say. Starting off Lauren explained  how this program impacted her life. She replied with, “Connect Academy has made a positive impact on my life. As I am a senior and getting ready to graduate, it’s nice to start jobs that are in my field of interest. My goal is to attend school for business and marketing, and take it into health care, I thought for the longest time that since I’m 17 years old, that I couldn’t get a job in health care until I am done with school. Connect Academy gave me the opportunity to work in a doctors office and get the business in health care that I needed. I not only love my job, but have full confidence that is what I want to do after high school.” Moving on Lauren was asked if she would recommend this program to upcoming seniors or if the program should continue to happen and if the program has ever affected school? She so kindly responded with, “I recommend this program to any upcoming seniors if they have an idea of what career field they want to go into. It helps you get experience beforehand, and educated by professionals. You get high school credit for working, and get a job that not a lot of people have the opportunity to at a young age. This program should continue! It offers so many opportunities for students and helps them experience a job that they are interested in, and finds out their passion. It’s eye opening and helps students manage their time between school, work, and social life. It’s a view on what life could be like after high school for many people, and I think of it as a “kick start” in the real world. The program does not affect school for me. I wanted a very easy class load this year and I leave after 5C to go to work 3 times a week. On the days that I don’t work, I spend the time after school to work on my assignments for the week. I am also a student athlete in the fall, my coach understood my work situation and I would play on the days I didn’t work. I am still able to live senior year and work and with my OCD, I am able to manage everything very easily.” Lastly Lauren told us how many hours she works and how many days? Lauren gave a detailed response saying, “In order to complete Connect Academy and get full credit for it, you need 450 hours by the end of the school year. I work part time at Muskego Health and Wellness Center, the days the office is open, I get about 25 hours a week. I work from 1-7:30 and 1-5:30 on days the office is open to patients. I work 3 days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On occasion I will work a Saturday but only every couple of months. I work on days that the chiropractic patients come in, on Tuesday and Thursday the doctor and chiropractic technician are  in the office doing consults for a program we offer outside of chiropractic care.¨ 

Joey and Lauren both had great things to say about the program! Thanking them both for their help with making this article happen. To all the seniors or future seniors please consider this great program provided at Muskego High School.