A high school in Birmingham requires its students to dress as if they're going to the office. That's because they are. The idea is to get low-income kids into the white-collar world.
Going to college is seldom an option for working poor people. It's hard enough just to put food on the table. So Washington state is building a bridge between the classroom and the workplace.
People who grew up in generational poverty may never have learned the skills they need to hold a job. Twin Cities RISE! is a work-based school that tries to help its students catch up and move on.
The United States has historically educated each generation better than the last. But chief economics correspondent Chris Farrell says that's changing - and it's a change the country can't afford.
A real-world simulation aims to teach high-schoolers how to manage their money - before they rent their first apartments.
Producer Laurie Stern spent months following the people in this documentary. She found herself struggling to negotiate the relationship with one source. Their meetings were friendly — but were they friends?
Download the radio program or read the transcript.
Support for Workplace U comes from the Northwest Area Foundation Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation.