Lawley Hosts a Job Shadow Day for the Lancaster High School Academy of Finance

Local businesses ensure high-school students are Future Ready by hosting job-shadows for The Academy of Finance at Lancaster High School

Buffalo, NY April  6th, 2017 – Lawley, one of the largest independent insurance brokers in the United States according to Business Insurance, has partnered with the Lancaster High School Academy of Finance to provide fourteen sophomores a snapshot into a variety of careers by hosting a job-shadow day on Tuesday April 4th, 2017.

A job-shadow day is a four-hour opportunity for students to learn about a variety of career choices at a local business as they engage in Lancaster’s nationally recognized work-based-learning program. Work-based learning connects what students are learning in class with the working world. It’s a continuum of activities that begin with awareness, goes on to exploration and finally transitions to preparation.

Students enrolled in the Academy of Finance spend time with professional mentors, engage in mock-interviews, spend time researching a variety of careers and then explore those careers through job shadows. Each of these activities is designed to prepare students for a high quality 120-hour paid internship before high school graduation, dramatically increasing their college and career readiness, leading to better decision-making about their futures and an average of 11-17 percent higher earnings than their non-academy peers.

Local, regional and national partners work together in support of students enrolled in Lancaster’s Academy of Finance by sitting on our local advisory board to ensure the classroom matches the needs of today’s workforce while providing students with opportunities and resources necessary to be successful for college and career.

“When companies take time to provide students with opportunities such as job-shadows they have taken a shared responsibility to ensure our youth has a realistic view of the workplace. Each student is then able to envision him or herself in that workplace. says Scott Dixon, Academy of Finance director at Lancaster High School.

“It’s great to see students mature into young adults as these work-based-learning experiences are a vital part of understanding what to expect after high-school graduation and yet cannot be provided within the classroom. Our board works to ensure those experiences happen.” says Marc Rachiele of Crossfuze, the president of Lancaster’s Advisory Board.

“We enjoy taking the time to teach these students about opportunities that can happen after they graduate. We speak to them about Lawley and what we do here, but also, how we’ve accomplished our goals, what skills we’ve needed to succeed, and we give them tips about interviewing and being professional” says Beth Bauman, Lawley’s Controller, who organized the visit on behalf of Lawley.

About NAF and the Academy of Finance at Lancaster High School

• The Academy of Finance at Lancaster High School is part of NAF a national network of career academies that are part of large, public high schools serving nearly 100,000 students in 675 academies. Lancaster’s Academy of Finance has been awarded NAF’s distinguished status recognition for each of the past 6 years in a row. This designation is given to a select few who have exhibited fidelity to an educational design that prepares students for success in college and careers.
• Mission: NAF solves some of the biggest challenges facing education and the economy by bringing education, business, and community leaders together to transform the high school experience.
• Vision: NAF envisions a world in which all young people have equal opportunity for successful futures.
• History & Heritage: Since 1982, NAF has been partnering with existing high schools in high-need communities to enhance school systems at a low cost. Lancaster High School has been part of NAF since 2004 having graduated nearly 500 students.

About Lawley
Lawley is a privately-owned, independent regional insurance firm specializing in property, casualty and personal insurance, employee benefits and risk management consulting and ranked among the 100 Largest Insurance Brokers in the U.S., according to Business Insurance magazine.

For over 60 years, Lawley’s team of more than 350 associates have developed customized property, casualty, surety and benefits insurance programs for businesses and municipalities of all sizes along with personalized protection for individuals and their families. Lawley is recognized as one of the Best Places to Work nationally by Business Insurance and Buffalo Business First.

Headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Lawley has branch offices across New York in Amherst, Batavia, Fredonia, Melville, Purchase and Rochester along with Darien, Connecticut and Florham Park, New Jersey. To find out more, visit lawleyinsurance.com.