A view forward brings focus to the first year of high school.

According to an Education Digest report, researchers target the 9th grade as the “make or break year for completing high school.”1 The challenge of adjusting to the jump from middle school to high school brings out the best in some, while surfacing difficulties for others.

It’s incumbent to bring meaning and motivation to 9th graders by connecting what they’re doing now with what they’ll be living in the future. The real world can seem abstract and not foreseeable, so exposing students to a more tangible and reachable future can have a big impact.

Pay It Forward 365 will work with Cleveland area high schools and TechWorks companies to give 9th graders the edge they need.

High-tech symbolizes high success.

Real world workplace visits promote career exploration for students, while demonstrating actual examples of turning knowledge into achievement.

If students have a successful ninth grade year, they know that they can succeed, because it is a critical time for students’ perceptions of themselves as learners. That’s one reason why 9th graders who pass all their classes are three times more likely to graduate on time. Motivation multiplies motivation and success breeds success.

Since technology industries are often viewed as the greatest successes in modern society, it makes sense to provide these students with views of these companies and the people who excel in them. Careers in tech are viewed as high-status and high income, while tech companies represent the ultimate driver of progress and economic growth.

TechWorks will take the students to the tech community where they live. They will see the various technology companies in their community and be exposed to career opportunities and foster a better understanding of the value and importance of tech in the community in which they live. Potential career paths include computer programmer; website, mobile app, and game developers; cybersecurity specialist; software, cloud, and network engineers; database administrator; and data analyst.

Software Development

Entrepreneurs

Design Firm

Cultural

Pay It Forward 365 will bring 9th grade students right to the source, so they can get the feel for prospective career directions. A typical week looks like this:

Grade 9 - TechWorks (Sample Schedule)
M 8:00am - 4:30pm Visit to a software development company & Arts venue visit TBA - Lecture
T 8:00am - 4:30pm Visit with entrepreneurs at area computer hardware startups & Arts venue visit TBA - Lecture
W 8:00am - 4:30pm Visit a firm that designs websites, apps, and games & Arts venue visit TBA - Lecture
Th 8:00am - 4:30pm Visit a telecommunications firm & Arts venue visit TBA - Lecture
F 8:00am - 4:30pm Visit a clean energy company & Arts venue visit TBA - Lecture

With this exposure to tech industries and those who enjoy technology career success, students will become motivated to direct their school endeavors with a path to their future.

Student Requirements

  1. Student must be actively enrolled in school and in there designated grade for the upcoming school year. GPA 2.0 minimum.
  2. Must have no disciplinary issues such as fighting, disrespectful behavior, foul talking language and no report misconduct from there particular school or juvenile services in the community.
  3. Proper hygiene is expected at all times, no exceptions.
  4. If a student is asked not to return to program for negative behavioral problems they will be expelled immediately with no refund of previously paid payment.
  5. Boys are expected to be gentlemen at all times to everyone and girls are expected to behave like ladies at all times to everyone-no exceptions.
Enroll Now

Pay It Forward 365 is forward-thinking.

Give your 9th grader the benefits of an intensive career exploration program for students.  

Enroll for the Pay It Forward 365 TechWorks curricula.  

This is the second of a 4-year career development program, with each year focused on a different type of career option. 8th graders visit urban service organizations (UrbanWorks); 10th grade students are exposed to blue-collar trades (TradeWorks),; while 11th graders focus on white-collar professions (ProWorks). Completion provides high school students with a comprehensive view of the many career options they may not have even known existed as opportunities for them.

Year 1: UrbanWorks

Year 2: TechWorks 

Year 3: TradeWorks

Year 4: ProWorks

The Pay It Forward 365 program takes place one week during their summer vacation, starting in 2027, in which groups of fifty greater Cleveland area students in grades 8–11 get a first-hand experience with a variety of careers through visits to various workplaces.

We partner with workplaces in the community not only to give students a real-world experience, but also because that type of collaborative engagement between parents, schools, and the broader community has been shown to amplify the power of these career exploration efforts, giving students true insights into the job market and a variety of industies.2

Pay It Forward to your 9th grade student — which will pay off 365 days of every year in their future — and register today.

Enroll Now