REACH: September 2020
REACH exists to prepare southeast Minnesota high school students for future careers in order to provide an employment ready, skilled workforce for major industry sectors in the greater Winona area.
Spring 2020
While spring of 2020 brought special challenges to our program, REACH students were still able to take advantage of career preparation activities.
  • Internships were halted due to health restrictions at the beginning of March. However, REACH students continued to work at local businesses as essential workers even after schools went to distance learning. (See graphic at the bottom of email to thank our essential workers.)
  • Before health restrictions were enacted, Juniors in all cohorts were able to participate in two immersions. The remaining immersions will occur as soon as health restrictions at both school and businesses allow.
  • Manufacturing & Trades immersions included CPI, Page Theater, and Fastenal, and Miller Ingenuity.
  • Healthcare & Human Services immersions included St. Anne of Winona, Home & Community Options, Bluffview Montessori, Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center, Winona Health, and Winona State University Athletic Trainers.
  • Seniors were able to participate in final resume and interview preparation, both in-person and virtually after the health restriction were enacted. In addition, they participated in personal finance training to prepare budgets for life after high school.
  • After restrictions were enacted, we were able to continue to offer virtual training in professional soft skills thanks to the Job Genius video library of Express Employment Professionals.
CPI Core Molding
Fastenal
Winona State University
Athletic Trainers
Hiawatha Valley Mental Health
Coming Fall 2020
REACH will continue with Winona Senior High School as well as launching at Lewiston-Altura and Wabasha-Kellogg High Schools. With all three schools involved, we now have career focus areas in manufacturing, healthcare, human services, building trades, and agribusiness.
In order to address current restrictions, all fall presentation and training opportunities will be virtual. All in person activities are postponed until at least spring semester. Fall training will include:
  • Personality assessment
  • personal pitch
  • Life After High School
  • Resume writing and review
  • Interview techniques and mock interviews
  • OSHA & ISO Training (manufacturing, building trades, agribusiness)
  • Dementia Friendly & Vulnerable Adult Training (HHS)
  • Resiliency
  • Radiology Tour of Winona Health Radiology Department
  • Team Player Training
Resume Review with Human Resources Professionals
Tour of Winona Health Radiology
REACH Funding
COVID-19 has had a significant financial impact, and REACH is no exception to that. Traditionally, REACH has been funded through a combination of business partner donations and grant funding. With the impact COVID has had, many of our business and grant partners have had to adapt their funding policies. As a result, funding for the REACH program is precarious.
Even though our funding sources are uncertain now, the need for school to work initiatives for our high demand businesses, such as REACH, has increased. Our local businesses, now more than ever, are facing shortages, especially in skilled labor positions, such as those we train our students to fill.
While the bulk of our training now will be virtual, we hope to return to in person activities in spring. In order to do this, we need your help today. Please consider supporting the work REACH is doing to connect our students to career paths.