A study of high school work experience programs was designed to explore the work environment in regard to employer policies, practices, processes and program ingredients to gauge their impact on high school student workers during the school-to-work transition. Two work experience programs were analyzed (North Terrytown, New York, and in Newark, Delaware) and data was gathered directly from student and employer participants and graduates. Findings indicate that the majority of students and employers perceived the most valuable outcomes of the work experience program to be contributions to (1) the development of interpersonal skills and wider ranging socialization; (2) the opportunity for career exploration, career education, and skill development; (3) the provision of initial exposure to the world of work; and (4) the personal growth of the student. Employers and students shared a high regard for the value of paternalism in training and supervision. Two of the six policy recommendations are that the school should assume greater responsibility in screening student and employer participants to assess and better understand their motives for participation and their expectations and that the school should assume an active role in educating employers and supervisors to the potential impacts and outcomes of the program. (Appendixes contain descriptions of the two work experience programs and results of survey questions.) (LRA)