MPR staff work with Berkeley High School to provide work–based learning opportunities for students in the Community Partnerships Academy, a small school within the larger high school.

Focused on preparing students for both college and careers, this community service project builds academic and workplace skills. Students conduct research, learn professional behavior, and strengthen their computer and communications skills.

With MPR research staff, students conduct a group research project on an issue of interest to them. Research topics have included homelessness, racism, and school violence. To link students’ work and the “real world,” MPR finds a sponsor for the research; sponsors have included the UC President’s office; the Berkeley Unified School District; and the office of the mayor of Berkeley.

Students create and administer a survey and analyze their findings. The end result is a professional research report and a public presentation by the students, many times given before Berkeley’s mayor and city council. By helping students build their academic skills in a work-based context, MPR’s community service work encourages them to make more informed decisions about their future.