School-To-Career

Staff

Andrea Parsons, Career Technician II
email: anparsons@kern.org
Andrea Parsons has moved to Student Services Division -  Jobs Plus! - she can be reached at (661) 852-5715

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DERRICKS TO DESKS Seminar

JULY 22-24, 2008 (TUESDAY - THURSDAY)  A Petroleum Seminar for Teachers
The Derricks to Desks seminar is designed to give teachers a first-hand look at the petroleum industry of Kern County with the intent to incorporate what they learn into their curriculum. 
  • Teachers will experience an in-depth look at all facets of the industry, from the colorful history to the technology involvement. 
  • Teachers from all grade levels will walk away with lesson plans, projects and ideas that maybe integrated into all classroom subject areas./LI>
For more information contact Andrea Parsons (661) 852-5715

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TEACHER'S AG SEMINAR

Dates: 3 days TBA

Kern County remains the third largest agricultural producing county in the nation.  The Teachers Ag Seminar has been helping teachers learn about agriculture for over 10 years.  Students today, living so far away from yesterday’s life on the farm, don’t stop to think that agriculture is the backbone of our country.  Agriculture in the classroom programs will provide students with just how important agriculture is to preserving their way of life.

  • This seminar is designed to give teachers an up-close look at farming and ranching by given them
    real-life experiences and meeting agri- business representatives.
  • The seminar will bring valuable information sources for educators to weave agricultural awareness
    into their curriculum and integrate agricultural concepts.

For more information contact contact Person: Rebecca Bean - beencaliente@aol.com  or  Andrea Parsons (661) 852-5715.
Sponsored by School-to-Career, local businesses, Farm Bureau and the Kern County Ag Foundation. 

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SCHOOL-TO-CAREER

What is it?
On May 4, 1994 President Bill Clinton signed the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994. This law provides seed money to States and local partnerships of business, labor, government, education, and community organizations to develop school-to-work systems. This law doesn't create a new program. It allows States and their partners to bring together efforts at education reform, worker preparation and economic development to create a system - A system to prepare youth for the high wage, high skill careers of today's and tomorrow's global economy.

Using federal seed money, States and their partnerships design the school-to-work system that makes the most sense for them. There is no single model. While these systems are different from State to State, each provides every American student with:

  • Relevant Education, allowing students to explore different careers and see what skills are required in their working environment;

  • Skills, obtained from structured training and work-based learning experiences, including necessary skills of a particular career as demonstrated in a working environment; and

  • Valued Credentials, establishing industry-standard benchmarks and developing education and training standards which ensure that proper education is received for each career.

There is no single answer to the question "What is School-to-Work?" It establishes the infrastructure for a system that is based on existing models and efforts such as career academies, youth apprenticeship, Tech Prep, and cooperative education. The School-to-Work initiative will make the workplace an active learning environment.

School-to-Work is a new approach to learning for ALL students. It is based on the proven concept that education works best and is most useful for future careers when students apply what they learn to real life, real work situations.

Why Is It Needed?

Many of America's young people leave school unequipped with skills they need to perform the jobs of a modern, competitive world economy. They often flounder in the labor market, wasting a decade or more in intermittent, low-paying jobs. Employers are having difficulty finding workers who are adequately prepared for today's more demanding jobs. Productivity lags and America's ability to compete in 21st century world markets is weakened.

How Does It Work?

In 1994 the School-to-Work Opportunities Act was signed into law. The School-to-Work initiative is not another top-down federal program. It is an invitation to all sectors of a community to work together in new ways to meet shared and individual needs. The Act provides seed money to States and local partnerships, challenging them to build upon the good things they have already done in order to create systems that provide this new way of learning for all of their students. Federal investment jump-starts the process, leverages other resources, and sunsets in 2001.

What Does It Look Like?

Every State and locally created School-to-Career system must contain three core elements:

  1. School-based Learning - classroom instruction based on high academic and business-defined occupational skill standards.

  2. Work-based Learning - career exploration, work experience, structured training and mentoring at job sites.

  3. Connecting Activities - courses integrating classroom and on-the-job instruction, matching students with participating employers, training of mentors and the building of other bridges between school and work.

While School-to-Work may look different from State to State, each local system provides relevant education, marketable skills and valued credentials to all its learners.

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