EDUCATION

addition, all seniors receive one-onone coaching to help guide them in the college application process. In all, 29,871 students received some type of career and postsecondary counseling during the 2021-22 school year.

The Orchard Foundation offers events to connect local businesses with high school students and educators. The Students Exploring Career Opportunities expo is an interactive career expo where 10th graders can learn about different career fields. More than 2,400 students attended the 2022 expo, visiting 60 hands-on, interactive displays at the Randolph Riverfront Center in Alexandria over a two-day period in November.

The Orchard Foundation also implements Workplace Experience Exchange (WEE) Camps for teachers to learn about trends, skill requirements and opportunities in industries within the region, and how externships can work for educators and students.

In 2022, The Orchard Foundation began offering WEE Camp Elementary for teachers of PreK6 students in addition to its WEE Camp for teachers of grades 7-12 and WEE Camp II, an in-depth program offered for educators who completed WEE Camp I. Forty-three educators attended one of the three WEE Camps in 2022.