Reprinted in part by:
The Maple River Education Coalition

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All Aspects of Industry

Block Scheduling

Block scheduling is a means of reconfiguring the school day. The traditional school day is typically divided into six or seven classes, each lasting from 45 to 55 minutes. With few exceptions, classroom instruction begins and ends within the allotted time period. Blocked courses may be scheduled for two or more continuous class periods or days to allow students greater time for laboratory or project-centered work, field trips or work-based learning, and special assemblies or speakers.

Career Academy

A career academy is typically a school-within-a-school that offers students academic programs organized around broad career themes. Often integrating classroom instruction with work-based learning, academies try to equip students with the necessary skills for both workforce entry and postsecondary admission. Staffed by a team of teachers from various disciplines, academy classes are usually block scheduled and smaller than those in the typical high school to build students™ sense of membership in the academy community. Curricula are often planned with the assistance of business partners, who suggest program structure, provide classroom speakers, host school field trips, and provide mentors for individual students. Students may be placed in jobs related to their field of study in the summer, and may spend some part of their senior year participating in a work experience program.

Career Awareness

Career awareness activities generally take place at the elementary level. They are designed to make students aware of the broad range of careers and/or occupations in the world of work, including options that may not be traditional for their gender, race or ethnicity. Career awareness activities range from limited exposure to the world of work, through occasional field trips and classroom speakers, to comprehensive exposure. The latter may involve curriculum redesign, introduction of students to a wide span of career options, and integration with activities at the middle school level.

Career Development

Career development is the process through which an individual comes to understand his or her place in the world of work. Students develop and identify their careers through a continuum of career awareness, career exploration, and work exposure activities that helps them to discern their own career path. Career development encompasses an individual's education and career related choices, and the outcome of those choices.

Career Exploration

Career exposure can be defined as activities at the high school level that provide actual work experience connecting classroom learning to work. Career exploration generally takes place at the middle school level and is designed to provide some in-depth exposure to career options for students. Activities may include the study of career opportunities in particular fields to identify potential careers, writing individual learning plans that dovetail with career majors offered at the high school level, or review of local labor market information.

Career Exposure

Career exposure can be defined as activities at the high school level that provide actual work experience connecting classroom learning to work.

Career Guidance & Counseling

As defined in the Act, the term "career guidance and counseling" means, "programs—(A) that pertain to the body of subject matter and related techniques and methods organized for the development in individuals of career awareness, career planning, career decision-making, placement skills, and knowledge and understanding of local, State, and national occupational, educational, and ongoing market needs, trends and opportunities; (B) that assist individuals in making and implementing informed educational and occupational choices; and (C) that help students develop career options with attention to surmounting gender, race, ethnic, disability, language or socioeconomic impediments to career options and encouraging careers in nontraditional employment."

Career Major/Pathway

As defined in the Act, the term "career major" means "a coherent sequence of courses or field of study that prepares a student for a first job and that — (A) integrates academic and occupational learning, integrates school-based and work-based learning, and establishes linkages between secondary schools and postsecondary institutions; (B) prepares the student for employment in a broad occupational cluster or industry sector; (C) typically includes at least 2 years of secondary education and at least 1 or 2 years of postsecondary education; (D) provides the students, to the extent practicable, with strong experience in and understanding of all aspects of the industry the students are planning to enter; (E) results in the award of a high school diploma or its equivalent; a certificate or diploma recognizing successful completion of 1 or 2 years of postsecondary education (if appropriate); and a skill certificate; and (F) may lead to further education and training, such as entry into a registered apprenticeship program, or to admission to a 2- or 4-year college or university."

Career Map

A career map is a written plan of study that helps students select a coherent sequence of secondary (and where appropriate, post-secondary) courses and experiences to prepare them for college entry or work in a selected career cluster or area. Career maps are particularly valuable for entering high school freshmen, because they can provide them with the direction they need in scheduling their course of study in their career of choice.

Clinical Experiences

Clinical experiences are school- or work-based placements in which students are taught academic and occupational skills from school or employee instructors who supervise and evaluate their work. School-based clinical experiences typically expose students to situations and settings they might encounter once they enter their profession. Simulations and role-playing allow students to hone their professional skills in school under the direction of a classroom teacher. Work-based clinical experiences offer students real-life activities in a professional setting. These experiences, offered under the direction of a practicing employee, are designed to help students learn the skills and attitudes necessary to become a competent practitioner. Both students and clinical instructors are typically supervised by school-based coordinators or intermediary organizations who monitor placements to ensure that appropriate instruction occurs. Students successfully completing a clinical experience program may qualify for industry certification or may receive credits that they may apply toward a professional degree.

Connecting Activities

Connecting activities are programs or human resources that help link school- and work-based educational programs in the manner described in the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. Connecting activities include:
     (1) matching students with work-based opportunities;
     (2) using school site mentors as liaisons between educators, business, parents, and community partners;
     (3) providing technical assistance to help employers and educators design comprehensive STW systems;
     (4) providing technical assistance to help teachers integrate school and work-based learning as well as academic and occupational subject matter;
     (5) encouraging active business involvement in school- and work-based activities;
     (6) assisting STW completers in finding appropriate work, continuing their education or training, and linking them to other community services;
     (7) evaluating of post-program out-comes to assess program success, particularly with reference to selected populations; and
     (8) linking existing youth development activities with employer and industry strategies to upgrade worker skills.

Curriculum Alignment

Curriculum alignment is when academic and vocational curricula are linked so that course content and instruction dovetail across and/or within subject areas. Curriculum alignment may take two forms: horizontal alignment, when teachers within a specific grade level coordinate instruction across disciplines, and vertical alignment, when subjects are connected across grade levels, in a cumulative manner, to build comprehensive, increasingly complex instructional programs.

High Performance Workplace

A workplace that employs sophisticated, technically advanced and efficient production techniques. In order for this type of workplace to function, workers must be equipped with advanced thinking and occupational skills that enable them to learn on the job, adapt to rapidly changing technology, and work in teams to solve problems. In addition to their economic development potential, high performance workplaces may help drive school reform by providing educators with a set of occupational skill standards that are required for market-place success.

Learning Objectives, Performance Measures, & Performance Standards

Educators sometimes develop performance measurement systems to assess student achievement, monitor school progress, and support program improvement. The terms learning objectives, performance measures, and performance standards are used to define each part of the three-part process of establishing a performance measurement system. The process begins with identifying learning objectives for students or other program participants. After identifying these objectives, it is then necessary to decide how to measure their attainment. After developing appropriate performance measures, standards must then be set to represent the level of performance that is desired. The three terms are defined below:

1. Learning Objectives: Summarize the knowledge, skills, and abilities that students will be expected to achieve. A learning objective answers the question, "What do we want students to know, understand, or be able to do?"

2. Performance Measures: Describe how attainment of the learning objectives will be measured or assessed. Performance measures typically rely on standardized tests, performance assessments, surveys, or other methods of documenting and quantifying performance. A performance measure answers the question, "How will we measure attainment of the learning objectives?"

3. Performance Standards: Set the level of knowledge or skill mastery that students or schools will be expected to attain. Performance standards define the minimum acceptable level of achievement on the performance measures for each learning objective. A performance standard answers the question, "How much is enough?"

Local Partnership

Mentors

1. A School Site Mentor is defined in the Act as, "a professional employed at a school who is designated as the advocate for a particular student, and who works in consultation with classroom teachers, counselors, related service personnel, and the employer of the student to design and monitor the progress of the School-to-Work Opportunities program of the student."

2. A Workplace Mentor is defined in the Act as, "an employee or other individual, approved by the employer at a workplace, who possesses the skills and knowledge to be mastered by a student, and who instructs the student, critiques the performance of the student, challenges the student to perform well, and works in consultation with classroom teachers and the employer of the student."

Established under Title V of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the National Skill Standards Board serves as a catalyst to stimulate the development and adoption of a voluntary national system of skill standards, assessment, and certification of attainment criteria. This system of skill standards is intended to increase the economic competitiveness of the United States by aiding:

• industries in informing training providers and prospective employees of skill needs;

• employers in evaluating skill levels of applicants and designing training for existing workers;

• labor organizations in improving employment security and providing portable credentials;

• workers in obtaining skill certification that enhances career advancement and job security;

• students and entry level workers in identifying skill levels necessary for high wage jobs;

• training providers and educators in determining appropriate training services; and

• government in evaluating outcomes of publicly funded training programs.

As defined in the Women Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Act, the term nontraditional occupations refers to occupations and jobs in which women make up 25 percent or less of the total number of workers.

An occupational cluster is a grouping of occupations from one or more industries that share common skill requirements. Occupational clusters form the basis for developing national skill standards, organizing instruction in all aspects of an industry, establishing career academies, and creating career pathways or majors as part of school-to-work programs.

On-the-job training is hands-on training in specific occupational skills that students receive as part of their work-place experiences.

The Secretary™s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) was convened in February 1990 to examine the demands of the workplace and to determine whether the current and future workforce is capable of meeting those demands. The Commission was directed to: (1) define the skills needed for employment; (2) propose acceptable levels in those skills; (3) suggest effective ways to assess proficiency; and (4) develop a strategy to disseminate the findings to the nation™s schools, businesses, and homes.

The Commission identified five competencies (i.e., skills necessary for workplace success) and three foundations (i.e., skills and qualities that underlie competencies).

–   COMPETENCIES — effective workers can effectively use:

Resources — allocating time, money, materials, space, and staff;

Interpersonal Skills — working on teams, teaching others, serving customers, leading, negotiating and working well with people from culturally diverse backgrounds; — working on teams, teaching others, serving customers, leading, negotiating and working well with people from culturally diverse backgrounds;

Information — acquiring and evaluating data, organizing and maintaining files, interpreting and communicating, and using computers to process information; — acquiring and evaluating data, organizing and maintaining files, interpreting and communicating, and using computers to process information;

Systems — understanding social, organizational, and technological systems, monitoring and correcting performance, and designing or improving systems; — understanding social, organizational, and technological systems, monitoring and correcting performance, and designing or improving systems;

Technology — selecting equipment and tools, applying technology to specific tasks, and maintaining and troubleshooting technologies. — selecting equipment and tools, applying technology to specific tasks, and maintaining and troubleshooting technologies.

–   FOUNDATIONS — competence requires:

Basic Skills — reading, writing, arithmetic and mathematics, speaking, and listening; — reading, writing, arithmetic and mathematics, speaking, and listening;

Thinking Skills — thinking creatively, making decisions, solving problems, seeing things in the mind's eye, knowing how to learn, and reasoning; — thinking creatively, making decisions, solving problems, seeing things in the mind's eye, knowing how to learn, and reasoning;

Personal Qualities — individual responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, and integrity. — individual responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, and integrity.

A school-sponsored enterprise is an enterprise in which goods or services are produced by students as part of their school program. School-sponsored enterprises typically involve students in the management of a project that may involve the sale of goods for use by others. Enterprises may be undertaken on or off the school site but are always part of the school's programs.

Individuals assigned or hired to oversee and implement the required components of a school-to-work system, including school-based activities, work-based activities, and connecting activities. At the State level, school-to-work coordinators may be responsible for drafting a state plan; coordinating state efforts with other national and state legislation; organizing technical assistance, follow up, and placement assistance for STW stakeholders; and monitoring local partnership plans and activities.

At the local level, school-to-work coordinators may be involved in drafting local plans; recruiting and coordinating business partners; organizing technical assistance, follow up, and placement assistance for local STW stakeholders; and monitoring local partnership plans and activities for program improvement purposes. Coordinators must be knowledgeable of community resources; labor markets; school operations; and possess negotiation, team-building, leadership, and administrative skills.

As defined in the Act, general requirements of a School-to-Work Opportunities program include:

• integrated school-based and work-based learning that integrates academic and occupational learning and links between secondary and postsecondary education,

• the opportunity for participating students to complete a career major,

• the provision of a strong experience in and understanding of all aspects of the industry a student is preparing to enter, and

• equal access for students to a full range of program components and related activities, such as recruitment, enrollment, and placement activities. However, these services are not offered as an entitlement.

In addition to general program requirements, a school-to-work program also must feature a school-based learning component, a work-based learning component, and a connecting activities component. At a minimum, these programs should include:

1. Career awareness and career exploration and counseling programs beginning at the earliest possible age, but not later than 7th grade;

2. Career major selection not later than the beginning of 11th grade;

3. A program of study that meets the academic standards the state has established for all students, including, where applicable, standards established under the Goals 2000 Act, and meets the requirements for postsecondary education preparation and skill certificate award;

4. A program of instruction and curriculum that integrates academic and vocational learning and incorporates instruction to the extent practicable, in all aspects of an industry;

5. Regular evaluations of students and dropouts to identify their academic strengths and weaknesses, workplace knowledge, goals, and need for additional learning opportunities; and

6. Procedures that ease student entry into additional training or post-secondary education programs, and that ease the transfer of students between education and training programs.

1. Work experience opportunities;

2. Job training and work experiences coordinated with learning in school-based programs that are relevant to students' career major choices, and lead to the award of skill certificates;

3. Workplace mentoring;

4. Instruction and activities in general work place competencies, including positive work attitudes, employability, and practicable skills; and

5. Broad instruction, to the extent practicable, in all aspects of the industry.

1. Matching students with work-based learning opportunities of employers;

2. School-site mentors to act as liaisons among school, employer and community partners;

3. Technical assistance to small- and medium-sized firms and other parties;

4. Assistance to schools and employers in integrating school-based and work-based learning;

5. Encouraging active participation of employers in cooperation with local education officials;

6. Assistance to participants in finding jobs, continuing their education, or entering additional training and linking them with other community services to assure a successful transition;

7. Collecting and analyzing post-program outcomes of participants; and

8. Linking youth development activities in this Act with other employer and industry strategies.

Service learning is an instructional method that combines community service with a structured school-based opportunity for reflection about that service, emphasizing the connections between service experiences and academic learning. Although most service-learning activities vary by educational purpose, most programs balance students' need to learn with recipients' need for service. Students benefit by acquiring skills and knowledge, realizing personal satisfaction and learning civic responsibility, while the community benefits by having a local need addressed.

A skill certificate is a portable, industry-recognized credential that certifies the holder has demonstrated competency on a core set of content and performance standards related to an occupational cluster area. Serving as a signal of skill mastery at industry-benchmarked levels, skill certificates may assist students in finding work within their community, state, or elsewhere in the nation. When issued by a School-to-Work Opportunities Act program under an approved state plan, state-developed skill standards used for certification purposes must be at least as challenging as standards ultimately endorsed by the National Board.

A skill standard specifies the knowledge and competencies required to perform successfully in the workplace. Standards are being developed along a skill continuum ranging from (1) general work readiness skills, and (2) core skills or knowledge for an industry, to (3) skills common to an occupational cluster, and (4) specific occupational skills. Standards may cover basic and advanced academic competencies, employability competencies, and technical competencies. Development of these standards is tied to efforts to certify students' and workers' skills.

Work-based learning experiences are activities at the high school level that involve actual work experience or connect classroom learning to work. The least intensive level of exposure to work-based learning might occur in traditional work experience and vocational programs (including cooperative education, distributive education, or vocational courses) that do not offer work site experience. The next level of exposure may entail the integration of academic and vocational/occupational curricula, as in the case of Tech Prep programs, but would not include work site experience. At the highest level, there is full integration of academic and vocational/occupational curriculum with work site experience.