Student Labor—Can It Work?
Can we still make a go of student labor? Should we?
Building the Program
Editor: Tell me about your work program at Forest Lake Academy. What are you doing, and how did you get it started?
Caskey: First let me tell you that when I was principal at Mt. Pisgah Academy in North Carolina, we built up a full work program there. We found that it had at least three specific benefits: the work ethic itself, the considerable financial benefit to the students, and a tremendous impact on our academy budget.
Editor: And what happened when you moved to your current position?
Caskey: When I arrived at Forest Lake Academy in Florida, I found they were spending considerable money trying to employ students on campus. They had made a number of attempts to attract industries to the campus, and during my first year or so we went through ten different industrial possibilities. But all of them fell through until at length we made arrangements with an organization that does medical packaging and that had contacts with Florida Hospital. They employed approximately twenty of our students, including 14- and 15-year olds, which was a real help.
Editor: What changes did you introduce?
Caskey: One change that I persuaded Forest Lake to accept was making the work program part of the academic program, so students could get academic credit for working. Another change was hiring a work coordinator to arrange for student employment off campus.
Editor: With what results?
Caskey: Soon we had a large number of students working off campus—at Florida Hospital, and in grocery stores, fast-food places, and different organizations. We took the students each day to their workplaces. Soon our name became so familiar and so appreciated that we had more job offers than we had students to send out. When a Dunkin' Donuts opened up within half a mile of us, in one day they hired 13 students. Just like that! And they wanted sixty!
"We're saving $50,000 to $60,000 a year in our school budget, and the students are earning $3.35 to $6.50 an hour, often significantly more than we could pay them on campus."
Right now we're saving $50,000 to $60,000 a year in our school budget, and the students are earning $3.35 to $6.50 an hour, often significantly more than we could pay them on campus. And they can keep working through the summer if they want to. It's really great. It's tremendous.
Community Partnerships
Editor: Tell me more about the kinds of work the students do.
Caskey: The fifty or so students employed at Florida Hospital fill a variety of positions, from paging to assisting in the Med Tech departments, doing secretarial work, working on the grounds, and so on. Then we have students working for architects, engineers, doctors, builders, telemarketers, and in health care.
One of our clients builds models of executive jets. If Sears or some other major company buys a private jet, this organization builds a couple of models of the plane as nice gifts for the executives' desks. This man isn't an Adventist, but he won't employ any students but ours. He says he tried high-school students and they didn't work out. "I only want students from Forest Lake Academy," he says. He thinks our young people do a terrific job and are very responsible.
One company sells parts for 1955, '56, and '57 Chevies all over the world. We have thirty to thirty-five students working for them.
We currently serve about forty-five different employers. Almost every day someone calls in and asks for students.
And we still have jobs on campus that generate income. Our hospital laundry employs a few students. And the medical packaging program that I mentioned a moment ago is a special blessing in that it employs 14- and 15-year olds.
Editor: You've developed a good-sized circle of influence!
Caskey: Yes we have! Our work program has resulted in greatly improved relationships with the community.
Practical Implementation
Editor: How do you arrange your class schedule to permit students to hold their off-campus jobs?
Caskey: The sophomores and seniors go to school in the morning, and the freshmen and juniors go in the afternoon.
Editor: Do you offer any training in work attitudes and habits?
Caskey: Every student who goes out to be employed receives instruction on how to dress, how to behave, how to act at an interview, and how to relate to people. We have a telephone seminar for students who are going to be answering the phone. And so on.
Our training is ongoing. Our employers fill out an evaluation form each quarter, and we watch attendance. Students aren't allowed to skip work, and they're taught to show up on time.
Editor: You said that a number of employers would rather have your Academy students than any others. Why is this?
Caskey: Very high on the list is our work coordinator. She is very personable and is also very cognizant of the needs of the labor market. I can't overestimate her contribution. She's out there every day checking on the students and working with the employers. If a problem develops, like tardiness, or not showing up, or whatever, the employer isn't left on his own to deal with the students. Our coordinator moves in quickly, trying to reaffirm the students' sense of responsibility and renew their commitment. If necessary, she gets in touch with the parents.
Our attendance requirement helps a lot. Fast-food places suffer from constant employee turnovers. Their people may or may not show up; they're not reliable. But our students can be counted on.
Philosophy and Character Building
Editor: What is your philosophy behind this program? Is it merely a way to pay the bills?
Caskey: No, it isn't merely a way to pay the bills. I have a firm philosophical position on it. Whether they need the money to pay bills or not, every one of our dormitory students is required to work a certain number of hours each week. This is one of our rules. We believe deeply that learning how to work and take responsibility is character building. People have to work all their lives. The type of practical training they get when they're young builds character and can make them more responsible and accountable, more effective in society.
"We believe, and research supports us, that the person who both studies and works does better than the one who does only one or the other."
I don't think the academic emphasis ought to be cut in any way; it's extremely important. But I believe that work experience sits right alongside it, because it's the practical side that makes the academic aspect of our program meaningful. We believe, and research supports us, that the person who both studies and works does better than the one who does only one or the other.
In some ways the work program does make for difficulties. The daily program is certainly tighter. But by having a busy program, students are kept involved in their studies and in their work and don't get involved in less helpful activities.
Student Development
Editor: What changes, if any, have you noticed in the students?
Caskey: It's always going to be true that the typical teenager would rather do something besides work! But the students who come to us know that work is part of our program, which helps their attitude from the start.
We've noticed an interesting thing. When students are put into community positions, they often function more effectively than when they work on campus. They see themselves as part of the real world. They see that their employers are out to provide a service and make a profit, and if they're going to be part of the work force, they're going to have to get in there and hustle and demonstrate the qualities that can make them employable.
Spiritual Dimensions
Editor: Are there spiritual benefits connected with this type of work-study program?
Caskey: Any time you deal with character qualities, there are spiritual overtones. When we recognize that we're accountable to God for who we are, what we do, the kind of job we do, and everything else—"Whatsoever your hand finds to do"—that certainly does have a spiritual overtone.
"The Christian does his best in every area, for Jesus' sake. He gives an honest day's work. He treats his employer as he himself would want to be treated."
It's part of our philosophy that the Christian does his best in every area, for Jesus' sake. He gives an honest day's work. He treats his employer as he himself would want to be treated. He treats the customer as he would want to be treated. Such an attitude comes from a broad-based spiritual commitment. Furthermore, when young people help pay for their Christian education, they tend to appreciate it more.