"The central goal is to get students out of the classroom and into the real world so they can feel and see the entire work process," said Randy McPherson, the director of counseling services and college preparation for the Memphis, Tenn., schools and the American School Counselor Association's counselor of the year in 2011. "Otherwise, they don't really grasp what a day looks like or what a job entails."
While there is no agency tracking trends with internships, interesting models are being used across the country, and students often find the work exposure enlightening—even life-changing.