Work Opportunity Center
Minneapolis Public Schools
(Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Summary: Overview of the Strategy
The strategy being nominated is a seven-step process for an individualized
Life Work Portfolio. The process prepares all students for the transition
from school to a career and adult life. The process is used at the Work
Opportunity Center, an alternative school that is part of the Minneapolis
Public School system.
All enrolled students are encouraged to complete the graduation portfolio
process in order to prepare for adult life. We have tracked students using
this process since the 1991/92 school year and completion of the process
during this time has averaged 90% of our student population. Students are
able to use the seven steps that are part of this process to prepare themselves
for both work and post-secondary education. The process is used to prepare
for internships during school and summer as well as employment with businesses
in the community. This process includes completion of seven documented performance
assessments listed below. Documented records are compiled and kept by the
Transition Facilitator in the Career Center. The process is promoted as
on going and will be repeated throughout their adult work life.
The seven performance assessments making up the portfolio include:
- interests and learning style
- resume preparation
- application to work and post-secondary institution
- placement exams required
- financial aid FAFSA
- essay of past, present, or future autobiography (English instructor,
volunteer graduate students, and Media Specialist assist with this step)
- letters of recommendation.
Research by students is completed by using the Minnesota Career Information
System (MCIS), other computer technology and programs, as well as current
publication resources and students are assisted by the Media Specialist
and Transition Facilitator. Students are individually guided in the documenting
and checking off of completed steps by the Transition Facilitator.
The process has been embraced and promoted by all content area staff
through advisor/advisee relationships, bulletin board notices, open houses,
parent contacts, and weekly student newsletters. Five-day seminars are conducted
in classrooms for motivation and introduction to the process. It is offered
in Career Horizons classes (non-traditional), Social Studies, and English
classes. Seminar content (in brief) includes: historical perspectives of
workers, job seeking-keeping skills, interviewing and developing resumes,
educational and occupational decision making, and federal and state tax
preparation.
Open Houses offer the use of the research technology and resources in
the Career Center for family involvement. Twenty-two students are employed
and enrolled in a business/industry standards occupational course. Opportunities
for job-shadowing and attendance to the weekly 45 minute speaker from business/industry,
private/public sectors, union, non-traditional, employment agencies, and
post-secondary institutions gives all students an exposure to business and
community contacts. Special education students are also connected to a Division
of Rehabilitation Services representative on site, in addition to completing
the seven-step graduation portfolio.
The Need
The overall goal of this strategy is to prepare each student with the
necessary information and documentation they will need to make the transition
from school to work and further education. The strategy was created from
the statistical fact that the average age of enrollment into post-secondary
institutions is twenty-nine years old. Career paths with advancement need
more than a high school diploma. As I was working in a technical college
as an instructor and coordinator of the learning center I asked older students
why they came back to school. They frequently expressed that they wished
they had gone on with their learning sooner, if only they had known the
process. The common statement was that they had wasted valuable time trying
to find out how to be a substantial wage earner for their family.
Our student population at WOC consists of at-risk students from all over
the metro area. It is an individualized continuous progress curriculum.
WOC has approximately 225 students with 32 teachers and support staff. Our
student population has the following profile: African American students
68%, Asian students 10%, American Indian students 6%, Hispanic students
2%, and White American students 14%. 15% of the student population are parents,
10% are special education students, and 72% of the students receive free
or reduced lunch.
Meeting the Need
The entire staff was involved in defining what the students needed. Focus
groups were formed to identify the needs of students and how to address
them. Carl Perkins funding provided the position of Transition Facilitator.
We started by going into classes with a five-day seminar to motivate and
recruit students to try the process. We also offered a resume service first,
before starting the process, so that students would have a "visual"
that could help them see the potential merits of being involved.
Once the students saw graduates blowing their horn on their way down
the hallway on graduation day and telling what school or job they were going
to, the others followed and sought out the Life Work Portfolio process.
To assist in implementing the process, English and Social Studies instructors
gave credit to do the portfolio planning process as assignments in their
class. It became advertised in the student newspaper as "Don't leave
school without it" portfolio. The need to have the necessary documentation
to enter school or work for our graduates was our goal. The process will
be embedded into the Career Investigation and Occupational Experience High
Standard for future graduation requirements. This gives the process more
of a solid and permanent place in the curriculum of graduation standards
for all learners.
The Results
The most dramatic change is going from our having to seek students out
to complete a portfolio, to their requesting to begin a future plan. Staff
and I observed that students became more confident and behaved more maturely
in their interpersonal dealings in person or by phone with staff and employer/college
representatives as they went through this process. The number of graduates
has increased 20% per year for the last four years with an average of 90%
plus completing the Life Work Plan. Since our population is so transitory
and they move away from home soon after graduating, the phone numbers we
have of many students cannot be traced.
Records have been kept of graduates and their future plans. Of the follow-up
of 42 - 97/98 graduates, success can be seen in the many students that come
back to school to let us know about their endeavors and to show us transcripts
of completed courses, completion of military training, inquiry about volunteering,
and success in their jobs. Five had plans to go on to a four year college,
twenty three planned a two year college, one enlisted in the military and
seven others indicated employment only or short term training.
Requests for resumes to be faxed as well as the calls staff receive requesting
references for prospective employees indicates the use and success of this
process. The strategy is monitored and evaluated by the University of Minnesota
as part of the Carl Perkins School- to-Career funding. The student Council
has supported the process in offering their fundraising dollars to pay students
ACT testing fees. We have been successful in preparing students with necessary
documentation and will do a more in-depth statistical follow-up on this
year's population.
Reflections on Our Strategy
We must first plant the seed that there can be success in the lives of
students from using this process. The students did not believe anything
could help them or they knew nothing about how to succeed. If they even
talked about going on to school or getting a substantial job, they did not
know how to do it. Students wanted to know the return on their investment
was before they began the process, which was a direct statement of the mistrust
they had of the world. Offering the resume service first was a visual they
could understand. The five-day seminars helped them understand why they
should prepare. Once they saw how it could help them get more than a fast
food job, they began to value it. They saw other students being successful
and doing what they felt they were capable of. The younger members of families
began enrolling because they had seen their siblings be successful in their
career path. The students became self- confident, became positive advocates
for themselves, not demanding others to do what they could do themselves,
and were less fearful. They allowed themselves to be challenged and not
limited. They openly talked about occupations and what they wanted to pursue.
Before they used this process, students kept this information to themselves
because they feared someone would laugh at them.
Consistency and accuracy in making sure all the steps are completed before
graduation and or the credit is received, is a must. We did not take their
word but demanded proof of actual performance. Dating all conversation and
completions keeps the situation factual and eliminates delusions. Talk plainly
to the students and don't make it an endless task of assignments while showing
them the bottom line. The students understand from the beginning that seven
documentations are necessary and can visually check off. The mystery of
success is removed by this reality-based process. This has been an eye opener
and confidence builder as the student sees themselves and how they fit in
the world. Staff and students have accepted the process in such a positive
way that everyone is included and welcome.
The Life Work Plan Portfolio has turned out as planned. Engaging students
into the planning process of their future has been shown by the number of
graduates with plans. The follow-up statistics have been mostly by students
returning to show their success and seeing them on campuses that our current
students are brought to for tours and testing. College instructors have
also indicated the enrollment of former students. A more extensive follow-up
of this year's graduates will provide more evidence of the effectiveness
of this strategy. Having the phone number of a reliable person that could
be contacted during the next school year, is requested upon graduation.
Students are told that we will call to see what direction they have decided
upon and if they need any help. This is compared to students without plans.
One thing we would change is the responsibilities of the Transition Facilitator.
We would recommend having only this as their sole function and not require
additional responsibilities beyond this.
Examples of Learners
Enclosed are three examples of completed documented seven-step graduation
Life Work Portfolios. They are actual, so the handwriting in the fast pace
of an alternative school should not be judged. One sample is of a student
with a disability. The referral request from DRS indicates application and
eligibility for support after graduation for this particular student.
Updates of credits, portfolio completion as well as upcoming events and
opportunities are sent to the Advisor of the students. Lists of students
in their last 20 credits are posted in office and hallway and routinely
updated. Parents are informed by WOC Newsletter and mailings and personal
phone contacts by instructors, advisors and support staff.
For more information on the Work Opportunity Center - Minneapolis Public
Schools, contact:
Barbara Rees
Work Opportunity Center
1006 West Lake Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408
(Phone) 612/627-2908
(Fax) 612/627-2911
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