Internship Introduction
Greetings to all box folders, cable sorters, and equipment haulers; current and future.
If you are looking at possibly becoming an intern, look over this page to get a feel for what you might be doing. Then be sure to check to see if you qualify and find out when the next application period is open.
For new interns... Congratulations on your position in this internship program at the Information Technology Department within the Shoreline School District!
This program can provide an opportunity to serve the staff and students of the Shoreline School District while still being a student yourself. Over the next one, two, or three years (depending on your age), you will engage in a learning environment that encompasses elements of computer science, information technology, computer engineering and other technical disciplines. Additionally, you will be able to perform work "in the field" in order to help maintain District technologies and systems and gain practical experience.
On this page, you will find general information on what you can expect from being an intern and see an overview of what is expected of you as an intern. The IT department accepts a limited number of students per enrollment period and you must be sure that this is right for you. The time and mental demands can be very challenging so be sure to fully understand what you may be getting into.
What do Information Technology interns do?
Learning Experience
For new interns, there is a multi-month learning curriculum to bring new students up to speed. The material gets VERY DEEP into how computers work. We get into computer mathematics, logic design, electronic circuits, computer architecture, low-level programming (Assembly), and high-level programming (Java, Perl). This can be quite intimidating as the topics explored are typically considered college level material. This learning experience makes sure students have a deep foundational understanding of how computers work and cements their skills in abstract thinking, causality and effective communication.
Once new interns have completed the initial learning phase, they become full interns and have many more learning options and activities available. Interns are always engaged in learning activities and projects and they can decide what pathways to follow according to their interests. Where possible, interns will be assigned tasks/duties that coincide with their chosen learning pathways to enhance the learning experience.
Hands-On Labs
All interns use their acquired knowledge in practical lab projects. Early projects are guided learning experiences working through pre-made kits. Interns have access to electronic components, workstations, oscilloscopes, signal generators and other tools to create working projects. Later projects can be custom projects or enhancements of recreations of previous projects done by previous groups of interns.
IT Department Support
The Information Technology department of the Shoreline School District services over 1500 and 8500 students across 20 sites in the cities of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park. Interns will often engage in helping technicians to troubleshoot, install, maintain, decommission and inventory equipment and software. These tasks will usually be done during non-school days (school breaks and the Summer). Interns must have a flexible schedule to work on those days.
The most common work involves physical labor, repetitive and small tasks. While these tasks may not sound exciting, they are critically important and have a significant impact on school functions. Interns must be willing to take on these kinds of duties. Interns will gradually learn more and build their skillset allowing them to take on more complex and interesting technical tasks. Students will gain experience with networking systems, servers, and programming. This experience will enhance the internship learning pathway that they are involved in. There are often large-scale technology/programming projects that students can participate in. Examples include:
- Implementing network infrastructure installation and configuration in school buildings
- Programming websites for district-wide functions
- Building applications to support monitoring and troubleshooting tasks.
- Operation system development
Note: It is important to understand that time spent in the internship program is entirely voluntary. Students have used aspects of the internship experience to gain community service credit for high school, college credit for internships or independent studies, and bullet items for resumes. Prospective students should be fully aware that there is no inherent provisions made for monetary compensation.
Time Commitment
All interns are expected to participate (in person) at least 20 hours per month that is spent on structured and independent learning projects. That time will be scheduled with the program coordinator. Students can sign up for extra time to get help with work on personal projects and to work on district projects to get hands-on practical experience.
General Schedule Information
To enter into the program, new interns will spend approximately 20 hours per month in deep learning about computers. These sessions will occur in the afternoon of early release days, one Saturday a month and one day during each of the school breaks. This is generally completed over the course of 6 months.
Code of Conduct
The Shoreline IT Department is an active service location for thousands of computer users. As an intern, it is expected that you will act in a manner that is appropriate for a business environment while at the same time enjoying the experience. With up to a dozen student interns at any given time, there is a Code of Conduct that must be adhered to. Most of the items follow common sense or have legal implications and are not considered unreasonable. All interns must follow the guidelines provided.
You may be privy to information that you would not have access to as a student. This may include details about District infrastructure, credentials, conversation and other sensitive information. The handling of confidential information, and especially student information, is a serious responsibility. The Revised Code of Washington is particularly verbose about the pitfalls of tampering with systems that handle student information.
Understanding the nature of these responsibilities, the Code of Conduct is also attached as a picture to the right and can be found in the intern manual.
As interns have to handle tools and equipment that can be heavy, expensive, and injurious, a set of Safety Guidelines must be adhered to. These guidelines were updated in 2020 in light of the COVID pandemic.
Community Service Credit
Time spent working and helping the IT department with tasks can count towards community service credit. Opportunities include individual tasks, IT projects and ongoing job assignments/responsibilities. Note: Time spent learning and working on educational projects will not count for community service credit.
Interns that wish to accrue community service credit hours must coordinate with the IT department internship coordinator in advance to register as a credit recipient with the program. Work with the coordinator to determine tasks and/or job assignments that would be applicable. A sign-in sheet will be provided for students to track their time. They must date and sign in on the form and sign out during each applicable time period to receive credit. There will be no retroactive calculations made for students that neglect these requirements.
Other Compensation
Occasionally, some district departments may have opportunities for you to perform tasks that are significantly more labor intensive than usually encountered through the internship program. These activities more closely mirror actual employment and will provide paid compensation. These opportunities are only available to students that are at least 16 years old and have served at least one year as an intern in the IT department.
It is important to note that the IT internship program is not intended to be a source of income- rather, it is intended to provide experience. While there may be "blitz" periods of paid work, the primary purpose of this program is to provide you with a deep learning experience.
The minimum wage in the State of Washington, as of January of 2023, is $15.74.