Bridging The Gap Between Schools And Careers

Date: Fri 29-Mar-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

schools-careers-Swetts

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with photo : Bridging The Gap Between Schools And Careers

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Did you know that the United States is the only nation in the industrialized

world that does not provide a formal system of preparing students for life in

the working world?

In addition, only 25 percent of all jobs require a bachelor of arts or science

degree.

According to a study, more than half of the students who leave high school do

so without the knowledge or skills needed to find and hold a good job; with

half of them still searching for a steady job at the age of 30.

As the 20th century draws to a close, schools are realizing that their high

school graduates, especially those not going on to college (one in every

five), need to be better prepared for the workplace.

In fact, it became a federal mandate to better prepare students for the job

world when the School-to-Work Opportunities Act was co-authored by

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and signed into law in 1994 by

President Bill Clinton.

The upstart Connecticut School-to-Career System is a partnership in which

employers, educators, students, parents, organized labor, state agencies and

the community work together to prepare students for the global marketplace and

higher education. It is designed for all students, beginning at the elementary

level and moving through to the high school.

While the program has not yet been set up at Newtown High School, the school

has made strides in recent years to offer students more hands-on work in

business and industry with its mentorship, job shadowing, culinary arts,

greenhouse, day care and graphics programs. However, School-to-Career Systems

would include many more students.

Tom Swetts, the high school's school-to-career coordinator, discussed the

program at a recent Board of Education meeting. He said schools are seeing too

many students going off to college with little idea of what they want to do.

They end up changing majors two or three times and, often, the end result is a

lot of wasted parents' money.

"I remember my guidance counselor asked me, `what do you want to do?' That was

the sum exposure to my career guidance, so I searched and searched and

searched," Mr Swetts explained. "My wife and I still say, `what do we want to

be when we grow up,' and that's what they're trying to avoid."

Mr Swetts points out that the School-to-Career System relies heavily on

employers to bridge the gap between school and work.

NHS Assistant Principal Jules Triber believes the school-to-career program is

a good concept that will require a lot of cooperation from the business

community.

"We're trying to create opportunities for kids. We're trying to link the real

world back to what they're learning in school," he explained.

Making A Difference

Newtown hopes to phase in the program over the next couple of years as the

state awaits federal funding for the program.

Jennifer Bensey, an NHS junior, works at the Early Learning Center in Danbury

as part of the school's work-experience program. She sees the School-to-Career

System possibly making a difference in students' lives.

"I think it's a really good idea. I think it gives adolescents a chance to

really see what it's like out there," she said.

The core elements of school-to-career learning revolve around three themes,

according to Mr Swetts, schools-based learning, including classroom

instruction based on high academic and occupational skill standards;

work-based learning, work experience, structured training and mentoring at job

sites; and connecting activities, courses that integrate classroom and

on-the-job instruction.

Those students who complete the program earn a Connecticut Career Certificate

or a Certificate of Advanced Mastery, both are recognitions above and beyond a

high school diploma. Each certificate is designed to be a credential attesting

mastery of academic, employability and technical skills in one of eight career

clusters, which include arts and media, business and finance, construction,

environmental, government and education, health, retail and technologies.

Several school districts in Connecticut have already received grants to help

expand the school-to-work-program.