Only 100 DeKalb County School District students earned spots in the district's Division of Operations Summer Internship Program this year, chosen from more than 1,000 applicants for a roughly 10 percent acceptance rate.

The six-week program placed students inside DCSD's operations departments, where they explored careers in fields including Geographic Information Systems, strengthened communication and leadership skills, and worked on professional projects, the district announced Tuesday, July 28, on its official social media accounts. A Facebook video detailed how the program concluded with an Internship Showcase where participants presented projects and demonstrated skills gained over the summer.

DCSD did not identify which of its 137 schools the 100 interns came from. Both Dunwoody High School and Chamblee Charter High School offer Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education programs that feed into such workforce pipelines.

Broader workforce push

The internship fits a pattern.

DCSD has expanded career-exposure programming across the district, which offers 27 industry-certified programs for high school students. In May, at the launch of a separate student-run food truck initiative, Interim Superintendent Dr. Norman C. Sauce III said the district is "aligning education with real-world businesses and real-world industry expectations."

This summer also saw Chamblee High School students Mohammad Alif and Shrikar Iyengar accepted into the SMASH Academy STEM program at Spelman and Morehouse Colleges through the district's Summer Success Series, according to DCSD's website.

The district's ELEVATE and PUSH Post-Secondary Plan initiatives aim to ensure every graduate leaves with a plan for enlistment, enrollment, employment, or entrepreneurship.

What's next

The 2026-27 school year begins Monday, August 3. The district has not announced whether the Division of Operations internship will return next summer or when applications might open.