PRESS RELEASE
Contact Courtney Guertin
cguertin@battleshipcove.org
(508) 678-1100

 

All hands on deck!
JOB SHADOWING STUDENTS REPORT FOR DUTY AT BATTLESHIP COVE

FALL RIVER, MA: As part of a nationwide school-to-career initiative, Battleship Cove will host "Groundhog Job Shadow Day" on Friday, January 31, 2003. Beginning at 10:00 am, thirty (30) eighth-grade students from the Berkley Middle School in Berkley, MA, will get a firsthand glimpse into how one of Massachusetts' most popular museums operates by joining the ranks of the Cove's crew. Throughout the day, students will coordinate activities with the Education Department, the Marketing and Development Department, the museum's Curator, and the Ship's Store, observing staff and participating in Battleship Cove's daily activities while Executive Director Ernst M. Cummings, a retired Coast Guard captain, demonstrates the leadership skills necessary to command the world's largest fleet of historic naval ships. Partnering with the museum is Taunton Area School to Career, Inc., a nonprofit educational service agency that organizes Groundhog Job Shadow Day in Southeastern MA.

Sponsored by Monster.com, Junior Achievement, America's Promise, News Corporation, and School to Work Opportunities, this unique program unites the classroom and the workplace to help students discover practical applications of academics. In a study conducted by the Kravis Leadership Institute and Claremont McKenna College on the impact of Job Shadowing on America's youth, teens who have shadowed are five percent more likely to believe they will obtain a college degree (79.1%) than students who have not (74%). The study also indicates that students who job shadow are more optimistic about their future and more likely to finish high school, attend and graduate college, and be more productively employed.

Battleship Cove is a nonprofit maritime heritage museum comprising five National Historic Landmarks and Massachusetts' official memorial to World War II and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars. The world's largest collection of historic naval ships, Battleship Cove delivers a broad array of cultural, educational, and community outreach programs, including the Battleship Cove Community Boating Program, the Community Lecture Series, the RITE teacher externship, and the Veterans' Voices oral history program. Battleship Cove also offers youth overnight camping, and all-inclusive birthday and banquet catering packages.

For more information, contact Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA 02721; phone (508) 678-1100, (800) 533-3194; fax (508) 674-5597; www.battleshipcove.org.

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