Juniors at Phillip & Sala Burton Academic High School recently participated in one of the most anticipated weeks of the school year: Week Without Walls, an immersive experience designed to provide all 230 Burton 11th graders with illuminating work-based learning experiences. During this week (March 20-24, 2023), juniors went off-site to participate in a series of career readiness workshops and academy-specific, work-based learning experiences under the guidance of industry partners across the Bay Area.
Burton is a “wall-to-wall” academy school, meaning that they offer specialized career and technical education to their students in the form of project-based learning classes taken during the school day. Week Without Walls takes juniors outside of those walls to participate in transformative experiences that influence their future career pathway. According to Burton’s website, “The mission of Week Without Walls is to elevate young people’s interactions with their career pathway beyond academic learning, and to provide experiences that connect their learning to real world environments while listening to the stories from real people in those industries. Throughout Week Without Walls, young people are encouraged to and provided opportunities to envision their professional pursuits beyond high school, and are challenged to expand their skill sets and perspectives as working professionals.”
This year, Burton’s Circle the Schools partner, the Warriors, joined in on this exciting opportunity by hosting an unforgettable event at Chase Center on March 22. The 54 Burton juniors who visited Chase Center came from all four of Burton’s academic pathways: Health Sciences, Engineering, AME (Arts, Media, and Entertainment), and Performing Arts.
Students arrived the morning of March 22 to tour Chase Center from a broadcasting professional who has worked for the Warriors for 20+ years. While on the tour, students saw broadcasting equipment, the broadcasting room, the press conference room, and even learned how to operate one of the cameras used to capture Golden State Warriors live game footage. Students were provided with a generous lunch, and spent the early afternoon participating in a resume workshop. Here, they learned about searching for jobs, interviewing, effectively positioning their resume at the early-career stage, as well as other tips from the employer perspective. Students then had a chance to mingle with 15+ Warriors employees in numerous fields, including reporting, data analysis, partnership management, information technology, etc. Earlier that week, Warriors legend Adonal Foyle spoke to the students at their Week Without Walls introduction at the Southeast Community Center.
The Burton-Warriors partnership is a new Circle the Schools relationship that is off to an incredible start. In just four months since the partnership began, the Warriors have donated memorabilia to Burton’s silent auction for a fundraiser in support of its Teacher Grant Program and providing AP test fee coverage for students, held an impactful career panel in February, and hosted the Week Without Walls event at the Chase Center. In May, the Warriors are planning to continue their support by donating to Burton’s staff for Teacher Appreciation Week.
Thank you, Warriors, for your incredible support and partnership!
Learn more about our Circle the Schools program, current partnerships, and how you can get involved here.
