Internships can be great, but be careful

The letter that arrived at a Charlotte-Mecklenburg high school asking to recruit students for summer internships carried the Observer's logo and offered work in sales, customer service and business management.  But the counselor who got it couldn't find any information about the company claiming to be the Observer's partner,  so she asked me to check whether it was legit.

Nope.  The company was in talks with the Observer,  but nothing had been settled.  The folks in our business offices weren't amused,  and the counselor didn't let the company in to recruit.

"It is amazing how many people want to come in and recruit students for things that may not benefit them,"  said the counselor,  who asked that I not name her because she doesn't want to get caught in any controversy over what she jokingly dubs her work as the troll at the gate.

Good internships provide valuable education

It was a reminder that every good thing comes with a flip side.  Helping students get real-life work experience is a big trend in CMS and other public schools.  I'm all for that.  My parents sent me to a prestigious private journalism school,  and by far the best education I got was from a 10-week internship at the newspaper that eventually hired me. In the ensuing decades I've worked with lots of high school and college interns, and it's usually a great experience for them and the newsroom.

In the fast-changing tech world,  I suspect,  hands-on work can be even more valuable.

But it's good to know that counselors,  who already have their hands more than full,  are keeping an eye on the folks who want to pitch to teens.  The counselor in question said she runs a Better Business Bureau check on companies that want to enter her school;  she recently found 20 complaints about a would-be recruiter.

As they used to tell us in J-school back in the day:  If your mother says she loves you,  check it out.

And here's Tuesday's round-up of education legislation.  Things are about to get very interesting with the Senate budget looming.

Senate Bill 860,  introduced by Mecklenburg Republican Jeff Tarte,  would revise the formula for school letter grades to make growth a bigger factor.  It would also extend the testing window and revise some aspects of educator contracts.

SB 852 would extend eligibility for the National Board supplement to instructional coaches in Title I schools.

House Bill 1243 would set up a fund to provide college loans that could be repaid by teaching in the science,  technology, engineering and math fields in N.C. public schools.