Monroe High School’s LAUNCH students have been very busy! They finished their first trimester projects and prepared presentations. Last week they arrived well-dressed at the District office to explain their projects, findings and recommendations to a room packed with their peers, business mentors, teachers and school administrators.
The next day they pitched the LAUNCH program to every sophomore and junior homeroom, hoping to recruiting students for next year’s LAUNCH program. They were wildly successful. Of the 187 students who completed a survey to indicate their interest in participating in LAUNCH, 123 are interested in one of five Strands being offered for the 2023-2024 school year.
This week they prepared “elevator pitches” and tabletop displays to explain their projects to their peers during lunch periods. MHS students posed lots of questions about how LAUNCH works, about projects, and about whether LAUNCH was right for them.
LAUNCH is a new, year-long class where students use the knowledge and skills they are learning in the classroom to solve real world problems proposed by local businesses and organizations. Each trimester, LAUNCH students are assigned to a new team of 3-4 students to tackle an important problem and work one day a week with a mentor from the business that proposed the project..
First Trimester Projects
This year we began with two topic areas (known as Strands). Our 2022-2023 Strands include Business Analytics and Media Solutions. Students, teachers and business mentors were pleased with the results of their first round of projects.
Business Analytics students take Statistics and Business Analytics classes to develop skills in capturing and analyzing data to inform decision making. Nine LAUNCH students worked in teams to complete three Business Analytics projects first trimester. They included:
● Colony Brands — Research current customers and outside market research by age to determine how Seventh Avenue could change its product offering and marketing to better appeal to different generations.
● Colony Brands — Research package shipping efficiencies from a cost perspective to recommend solutions to how products are packaged to minimize shipping costs. Build a tool that will continually monitor shipping cost efficiencies.
● Colony Brands — Research, design and build a sustainable database and dashboard for philanthropic contributions. Modernize the existing reporting. Provide a tool that will clearly illustrate how communities and organizations have benefited from donations.
Media Solutions students take Writing, Social Media for Business, and Graphic Design classes to develop skills in graphic design, photography, videography, audio, social media, graphic web design and digital. Nineteen LAUNCH students worked in teams to complete five Media Solutions projects first trimester. They included:
● Monroe Fire Department — Develop/design a recruitment campaign directed towards 18-30 year olds, including print, video and social media material/channels.
● Green County Health Department — Develop a campaign to educate students of the risks associated with vaping.
● Big Brothers/Big Sisters — Develop a marketing and volunteer recruitment campaign with the goal of identifying and recruiting volunteers to serve as Bigs.
● St. Vincent de Paul — Develop a campaign to educate the community that St. Vincent de Paul is more than just a storefront. Increase community awareness of how donations are kept local.
● United Way of Green County — Develop a creative social media campaign that explains and highlights the impact of United Way and informs the community of their work and mission.
New Strands for 2023-2024
To better meet the workforce needs of our community, Monroe High School is adding three new strands for the 2023-2024 school year: Behavioral Health, Skilled Building Trades and 21st Century Design & Development.
LAUNCH is an example of how businesses and our school can work together to solve problems. It provides students with the opportunity to learn about local businesses and organizations and helps them identify and learn the skills they need to be successful.
If your business or organization would like to submit a project for LAUNCH students to tackle, please contact Cara Carper at caracarper@monroe.k12.wi.us or (608) 328-7573.
— Cara Carper is the School District of Monroe Student Occupation and Academic Readiness (SOAR) Coordinator. If your business or organization would like to submit a project for LAUNCH students to tackle, contact Cara at caracarper@monroe.k12.wi.us.
