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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211
The U.S. Departments of Education and Labor today announced the award of
$58 million in School-to Work grants to 10 states that are ready to implement
systems that prepare students for college and careers.
The grants will support efforts to help students obtain the academic and
occupational skills needed to prepare for the postsecondary education and
training required for successful careers and high-paying jobs.
With today's awards, a total of 37 states now have received
School-to-Work implementation grants. The states receiving awards in the
current round are:
California $21.9 million
Connecticut $ 3.3 million
Louisiana $ 4.3 million
Minnesota $ 3.8 million
Missouri $ 4.6 million
Nevada $ 1.9 million
New Mexico $ 2.2 million
Rhode Island $ 1.9 million
Tennessee $ 4.7 million
Texas $10.3 million
"These grants will help give young people the practical workforce skills
and academic knowledge they need to build promising futures," said President
Clinton. "School-to-Work is a sound investment in our youth and our economy."
"School-to-Work means learning for the future," said U.S. Secretary of
Education Richard W. Riley. "It expands education opportunities and career
options for students by connecting academic achievement and on-the-job success,
and makes lifelong learning a lifetime habit."
"School-to-Work is an investment in the future of our young people and
in America," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich. "By linking the
classroom to the world of work, we are helping students develop the skills they
need for successful careers. At the same time, we are training a highly skilled
workforce to ensure America's competitiveness in the world economy."
The grants will be used to implement statewide School-to-Work plans.
For example, the funds may be used to actively involve employers and help them
develop work-based learning opportunities for students; design and implement
challenging secondary school curricula; provide training opportunities for
teachers, employers, workplace mentors and counselors; promote partnerships
among employers, labor, education, government and community organizations; or
work with local groups to introduce students, parents and educators to the
connection between classroom activities and learning on the job.
The funds represent the first installment of a five-year investment
intended to help states and territories get School-to-Work systems underway at
the local level. States receive funds after submitting comprehensive
School-to-Work plans and demonstrating their readiness to implement them.
Implementation grants are awarded on a competitive basis to new states, as
appropriations permit.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and seven U.S. territories
received non-competitive development grants totaling $24.3 million in 1994 to
design statewide School-to-Work systems. A development grant may be renewed
until a state is ready to compete for, and is awarded, a School-to-Work
implementation grant.
The School-to-Work Opportunities Act, which passed with bipartisan
support in 1994, sunsets in the year 2001 and is jointly administered by the
Departments of Education and Labor. School-to-Work links school improvement
with workforce and economic development. It engages students, parents,
educators, schools, businesses, labor organizations and communities in
designing and implementing a high quality education that integrates challenging
academic curricula and preparation for careers -- and reflects local employment
opportunities and sources of education and training.
For example, Tennessee has a high level of employer involvement in the
School-to-Work effort, with Lockheed-Martin, BellSouth and Saturn taking strong
leadership roles. In Minnesota, a union-business partnership has established a
charter high school to provide students with the academic and workplace skills
needed to compete in today's high-tech economy. Louisiana is involving
out-of-school youth in School-to-Work efforts by developing a close working
relationship with the New Orleans Job Corps Center. In California, a statewide
school-to-career curriculum that emphasizes early career exploration is being
reviewed by the public and should be available to schools in 1997. In Texas,
Minnesota and Tennessee, state legislation now connects School-to-Work
initiatives with statewide workforce and economic development efforts.
The real success of School-to-Work is measured in people like Marsha
Dennis, who was in the 11th grade when she entered Boston's ProTech program, a
youth apprenticeship School-to-Work partnership of 10 area hospitals, the
Boston Public Schools and the Private Industry Council. While attending English
High School and Bunker Hill Community College, she also worked with a mentor as
an assistant in a hospital surgery department and a medical library. Now a
surgical technician, Dennis credits School-to-Work with giving her an
opportunity to apply what she learned and begin a successful career.
According to a recently released, two-year progress report to the U.S.
Congress on the implementation of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, 500,000
students, 135,000 employers and 1,800 schools throughout the nation are
involved in federally funded school-to-work activities.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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