A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE            Contact:  Kerri Morgan (ED) (202) 401-3026 December 20, 1994                Lisa Cutler (DOL) (202) 219-8211

SCHOOLING THAT WORKS

Joshua Kris is a 17-year-old high school senior in Saginaw, Mich., who is attending school, learning a skill, holding a job, and looking forward to college with tuition already covered. His classmate, Alan Kounovsky, also is acquiring a skill and has a job waiting for him when he graduates from Arthur Hill High School.

Both are taking part in an innovative school-to-work transition program that serves as a model for programs that will be developed by schools, businesses and communities across America under President Clinton's School-to-Work Opportunities Act.

By 7:45 a.m., the students are at school, focused on challenging academic subjects that often track their career plans, such as psychology and pre-calculus, physics and world literature, architecture and U.S. government. At 10 a.m., it's on to the Averill Career Opportunities Center, where they relate their classroom studies to machine-tool technology -- the world of lathes, mills and drills. Then, Joshua goes to work at Allied Tool & Machine, making pistons for General Motors, while Alan makes axles at Shields Manufacturing.

After graduation, Joshua plans to major in mechanical engineering at Delta Community College, with Allied committed to paying tuition costs. Later, he might transfer to Saginaw Valley State University. Alan wants to wait awhile to further his education, but in the meantime, he will have a good-paying job as a machine operator at Shields.

Most industrialized countries have provided students with such opportunities for years. This year, Congress passed President Clinton's School-to-Work Opportunities Act, and the United States finally took action to assure that everyone -- not just those going immediately to college -- has a chance to get the kind of education and training that leads to a career with a future.

"School-to-Work is based on the notion of partnerships," says U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. "Partnerships involving schools, businesses and labor, parents and teachers, students and employers, and states and the federal government.

"We're inviting states to look at high school and what's available immediately after graduation -- apprenticeships, community colleges, technical schools -- and bring it all together in one seamless whole that creates opportunities for students to become successful employees and entrepreneurs."

Secretary Robert Reich, whose Department of Labor shares responsibility for the federal role in school-to-work, says, "The connection between what students learn while in school and what they earn later in life is crystal clear. Business and industry joining with schools to ensure students learn what they need to get a good job and get ahead is what school-to-work is all about. It's the first step on the road to high-skill, high-wage work for American's young people."

School-to-work, the secretaries said, is an example of federal support for state leadership:

Every state has received a "development" grant of between $200,000 and $750,000 to create a comprehensive, statewide School-to-Work Opportunities plan to encourage partnerships among employers, labor, education, government and community organizations; design challenging curricula; and support local planning and development activities.
When states have completed their plans they can compete for "implementation" grants to help set their plans in motion. Such funds might be used to recruit and provide assistance to employers in providing work-based learning opportunities for students; provide training for teachers, employers, workplace mentors and counselors; or work with localities to recruit and retain students.

In addition, local communities can compete for "partnership" grants to support efforts to bring together employers, public secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, labor organizations and other local entities.

"Urban/rural opportunities" grants are available to support efforts in high poverty areas. Other grants serve the special needs of Native American youth.

Riley said various techniques offer great promise in creating statewide systems to ease the transition from school to work, including:

Career academies - "schools within schools" offering occupationally focused training to high school juniors and seniors in fields such as environmental technology, applied electrical science, horticulture, sports education, business education, travel and tourism, and engineering;
Cooperative education partnerships - secondary and post- secondary school programs that provide students with school and work experiences. Co-op participants are employed at a worksite related to their field of study while enrolled in school;
Tech-prep education - a four-year, planned sequence of study for a technical field, requiring a formal agreement between a secondary and postsecondary school. Beginning in the 11th grade, and extending through two years of postsecondary occupational education or an apprenticeship program of at least two years, participants complete the program with a certificate or associate degree;
Youth apprenticeship - combines structured, paid work and on-the-job training and mentoring experiences with related classroom instruction. Career awareness can begin in the elementary grades and continue through high school. In addition to a high school diploma and postsecondary certificate or degree, participants receive a certificate of mastery of occupational skills;
Adult education - one in six high school diplomas is earned through completion of General Equivalency Diploma (GED) requirements and other alternative diploma programs, such as the External Diploma Program. These alternative methods of completing high school may be used to enter a School-to-Work system.

Upon graduation, school-to-work students will have at least two credentials: a high school diploma and a skills certificate tied to national skill standards as validated by a National Skill Standards Board. The skills certificates, available for a broad range of occupations, will be accepted by industry and recognized by employers nationwide.

Recently, 13 CEOs representing the nation's leading companies met with President Clinton, Riley and Reich at the White House to announce the creation of the School-to-Work National Employer Leadership Council (NELC) to promote and encourage School-to-Work programs. The NELC is scheduled to conduct its first meeting on January 11 in Florida.

NELC chairman and Ford Motor Co. chairman/CEO Alex Trotman says, "The members of the NELC recognize that it is absolutely imperative that the United States has a workforce which is fully capable of competing with any other workforce -- anywhere in the world. There's no doubt in my mind that our School-to-Work efforts will help achieve this."

Reich agrees. "Schools can't do this alone. Business, industry, labor unions all have an interest in making sure that today's young people are ready for the high-wage, high-skill jobs of the future. School-to-Work can keep our workforce productive and America competitive."

School-to-Work is part of a broader federal effort, Riley says, to help states and communities improve the quality of education. "The foundation is the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which also provides support for state and local planning, leading to serious education reform. We know that all children can learn and benefit from challenging academic standards.

"This new federal, state and local partnership offers an exciting opportunity to improve American education and redirect our efforts to better serve the needs of families and children."

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