"Power of Partnership" issue (November)
A newsletter (for adults) about career-readiness (for kids).
Dear Readers,
As most people in the working world know, relationships are a critical part of career success. Have a positive relationship with your work mentor? You’re likely to thrive on the job. Spend time and energy on your relationships with direct reports? Your whole team will shine. Similarly, the relationships a school has can impact how its students perform and have an effect on the overall wellbeing of the community. Highly motivated students who have built social capital during school are likely to do well in their postsecondary pursuits and can be a vital asset to local employers.
We recently published a white paper that details five best practices for partnering with middle schools to build sustainable career exploration programming. Chief among the lessons we shared is that the power of relationships can’t be underestimated. Student-teacher relationships. Interdepartmental relationships. Student-mentor relationships. School-employer relationships. School-community relationships. No matter how you look at it, a relationship-centric approach in education is vital to letting all parties build social capital, unlock networking opportunities, and — as the white paper states — helping kids to contextualize what they are learning.
I urge any employers who are looking for ways to build relationships with local schools — as well as educators and school leaders — to check out this new resource. It is packed with tips and insights from those who are already paving the way for stronger career exploration programming and who are committed to a brighter future for all kids.
Jean
(If you’d like to reach me directly, I’d love to hear from you. Email me at press@asa.org)
P.S. - My pick of the month is": Ohio 4-H Announces Youth Engagement App BuckeyeNext
This story is a great example of how a digital tool can be used to empower youth to learn more about themselves and the working world! The BuckEyeNext program lets Ohio youth align their 4-H experiences with in-demand competencies. Users can build digital portfolios and transcripts that highlight how their abilities and achievements stack up against what employers and higher education are really looking for.
Middle School Career and Technical Training Hopes to Improve Student Engagement, Employment
We’ve long known that career exploration programming improves outcomes, but educators in West Virginia are proving it. Career and technical education (CTE) programs for middle schoolers are proliferating across the state, and as a result, some 56% of West Virginia’s middle school population have participated in a career exploration course!
The Bottom Line: West Virginia has a long history with the trades, and this program is bringing legitimacy and dignity to those occupations by showing kids jobs in the trades can be every bit as lucrative as careers that have historically required a college degree. The state’s Board of Education official summed it up best: “I’ve seen kids go to college and have no idea what they want to be and go get a political science degree, then they can’t get a job. I am sick and tired of a counselor telling a kid in the welding program, ‘You don’t want to be a welder,’ when [s]he can go out and make $40 and hour and get hired today.”
OCR Data Collection Finds ‘Stark Inequalities’ in Pre-K-12 Education (Findings from the U.S. Education Department’s Civil Rights Data Collection survey)
Code.org: Over 10,000 High Schools Don’t Teach Compsci (Research from nonprofit Code.org)
Are Parents Getting a Full Picture of Their Child’s Performance from Report Cards? (A new Gallup poll)
YouScience Data Uncovers Shifting Pathways and Persistent Gender Disparities in College and Career Readiness for Female High School Graduates Across the Nation (Research from YouScience)
Young People Want to Get to Work Sooner (A Report from ECMC Group)
How Higher Ed Can Adapt to Gen Z‘s Non-Degree Pathways (University Business, October 30, 2023)
Crisis-Proofing Today’s Learners Book Launch (Blue Collar Brain, November 13, 2023)
ChatGPT for Career Growth? Practica Introduces AI-based Career Coaching and Mentorship (TechCrunch, October 30, 2023)
College Is Not the Only Answer: 7 Policy Recommendations to Help Youth Succeed (The74, November 15, 2023)
The Future of Work Needs More Apprenticeships (Forbes, November 14, 2023)
Do I Really Need a Degree to Land a High-Paying Job in 2024? (Forbes, October 26, 2023)
Middle School Career Exploration is Vital to Future Success (ASA Newsroom/Medium.com, November 6, 2023)
Enhancing the Faculty Role in Student Career Readiness (Inside Higher Ed, November 16, 2023)
SkillUp Coalition Expands Career Training and Job Services to Non-degree Job Seekers in Northern Nevada (PRNewswire, October 31, 2023)
We Energies, MPS Youth Internship and Apprenticeship Program Opens Doors to Energy Careers (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 1, 2023)
Could Public Schools in Arizona Fill Gaps in Tech, Healthcare? (12News, November 1, 2023)
Grant Allows School to Expand Career Exploration (Crossville Chronicle, November 11, 2023)
Below is a list of upcoming events and recaps of recent panel presentations that elevate critical conversations in the youth career readiness space.
Register to Attend:
SXSW EDU (Austin, March 4-7, 2024)
ASU+GSV Summit (San Diego, April 14-17, 2024)
Recaps:
Four Unique Perspectives on Work-based Learning (A recap of an ASU+GSV panel)
Virtual Internship: Scaling Access to Real-World Learning (A recap of an ASU+GSV panel)
Student-Led or Teacher-Led? Career Exploration Can be Both (A recap of an ASU+GSV panel)
Skills: Building Blocks for Every Pathway (A recap of an ASU+GSV panel)
What are the Ingredients for Education-to-Workforce Success? My Conversation with Mike Palmer on the Trending in Ed Podcast (A recap of a podcast)
Democratizing Success: Blended Pathways for the Next Generation of Learners (A recap of an ASU+GSV panel conversation)
Ready for Earning, Learning, and Life (A recap of an ASU+GSV panel conversation)
Preparing the Next Generation for Future Careers - My Conversation with Jean-Claude Brizard and Michael Horn (A recap of an ASU+GSV panel conversation)
Changing the World is Hard: What Impact Investors Think About Non-Degree Pathways (A recap of an ASU+GSV panel conversation)
Here to Stay: Expanding Pathways in Postsecondary Education (A recap of a SXSW EDU panel conversation)
If Not a Degree, Then What? Verifying Candidates in a Skills-Based Hiring Framework (A recap of a SXSW EDU panel presentation)
Engaging Employers in High School Work-based Learning (A recap of a SXSW EDU panel presentation)