Fort Smith Public Schools eliminated the work program and replaced it with internships. Students may participate in a payed internship but, will no longer be able to work an everyday job and do it during school hours.

Students rely on the work program to help with their everyday life, like paying for lunch, car insurance, and gas to get to and from school. Without it, the stress of not having money will add on to the stress of school.

The work program allows students to get experience outside of the classroom. It enables students to leave during two periods of the day and go to work. They report the hours worked and the pay to the school at the end of the month.

Struggling families rely on their kids to help pay bills and buy food. The work program allowed them to keep their job and make more money by working more hours. With the program being taken away, families in the community will be struggling more so than if the student got those two hours of work.

The district has informed both high schools that students must take an internship class in order to work a job during school hours. The internship can be a paid one, but students will no longer be able to work an everyday job like McDonald’s or Walmart.

Taking away the work program enables students to get experienced in the “real world” and get them ready for a career, but not everybody wants to work a “practical” job. Some students just want to get the bills paid.