ILP Logistics

Interviews:

Some organizations require interviews before they will allow students to volunteer. In order to streamline this process and give hosts the opportunity to participate in the placement process, SLA hosts a week of interviews at the end of the school year. Sessions in the morning and the afternoon are held so that organizations can meet all students potentially interested in their ILP. Hosts then provide the Coordinator with a list of students that have been accepted.

Applications:

Organizations that require applications before they accept volunteers can forward a copy of their application to the ILP Coordinator. Any further instructions can also be sent with the application.

Responsibilities of a Host:

A host acts as a student's mentor and supervisor at the ILP placement for 2-3 hours each week throughout the school year. Hosts provide a rich and engaging experience for students, while helping them to utilize their academic knowledge in real-world, meaningful applications. It is the host's responsibility to take attendance and ensure that students arrive on time, and to report any issues to the ILP Coordinator. The host should also make the rules and regulations of the organization clear to the student at the beginning of the internship.

Responsibilities of a Student:

Students are responsible for showing up on time and completing assigned tasks. They are to dress and act appropriately, according to the standards of the organization hosting them. Students should strive to communicate effectively with their hosts in all situations, and report any issues to the ILP Coordinator. If the student is absent from school on the day of their ILP, they are not required to attend their internship. Students should contact their hosts as soon as they know they will be absent.

Athletics are a very important part of the SLA curriculum. Students who participate in sports must present their game schedule to the ILP Coordinator and their ILP hosts to assess any potential conflicts and work out an acceptable time for the students to make up their hours.

SLA Responsibilities:

SLA works as both a collaborator and a mediator for students and hosts. The ILP Coordinator is one way SLA prioritizes the ILP Program. The Coordinator handles placing students, communicating with hosts, and mediating any issues that arise between students and hosts with the help of each student's Advisor.

The ILP program is considered a class at SLA and is graded as such (for more information on grading please see next section). To that end attendance is mandatory and unexcused absences will result in a deduction of a letter grade. It is a student’s responsibility to contact the ILP host and the ILP Coordinator before 8:00 AM if they are ill and not attending that day. If an emergency occurs, the student must contact the ILP Coordinator who will call the ILP host.

Attendance:

Attendance can be reported by means of the ILP Web Application.  Alternatively, hosts can email the attendance record to the <a href="mailto:jspry@scienceleadership.org">ILP Coordinator</a>  each week.

Grading:

Students receive a grade each quarter for their ILP. Grades are ultimately decided by two factors: attendance and performance. Performance evaluations will also be issued twice during the school year in order to coincide with parent/advisor conferences. The evaluations will help the student reflect on their performance as well as give guardians an inside look at what their child is working on.