Partners in Progress: Early Steps in Creating School-to-Work Systems. Executive Summary

This report presents the first product of a comprehensive 5-year evaluation of a major federal effort, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (1994), which provides 5-year federal grants as "seed money" to design systems involving work-based learning, school-based learning, and connecting ac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author Hershey, Alan M
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published Mathematica Policy Research, Inc 01.04.1997
Subjects
Career Education
Education Work Relationship
Federal Aid
Federal Legislation
Grants
High Schools
Partnerships in Education
Program Development
Program Evaluation
School Business Relationship
School to Work Opportunities Act 1994
State Programs
Technical Assistance
Transitional Programs
Vocational Education
Work Study Programs
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This report presents the first product of a comprehensive 5-year evaluation of a major federal effort, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (1994), which provides 5-year federal grants as "seed money" to design systems involving work-based learning, school-based learning, and connecting activities. The report is based on extensive site visits in 8 states and 39 communities, and a survey of a representative sample of high school seniors in the same 8 states. This initial evaluation effort has resulted in 10 conclusions, such as: (1) School-to-Work (STW) has generated considerable interest and effort among educators and employers; (2) states have begun building a system by creating employer incentives, promoting career development models, and providing technical assistance to local partnerships; and (3) two of the eight states visited (Kentucky and Oregon) have made STW reforms a central part of the state's more general school reform agenda affecting all students. Individual sections of the executive summary address: the vision of a STW system, evaluation of STW implementation, state approaches to STW implementation, approaches to career development, changes in curriculum (school-based learning and students' work-based activities), large scale participation in diverse STW activities, making local partnerships work, and emerging issues for the future. (DB)