Rochester City School District and Rochester General Hospital
Partnership
(Rochester, New York)
Summary: Overview of the Strategy
The partnership between the Rochester City School District's Benjamin
Franklin High School Bio-Science and Health Careers Academy and the Via
Health's Rochester General Hospital is a dynamic collaboration that prepares
all students for careers in health care. The program's mission is to deliver
a youth apprenticeship program that provides high skills and career paths
for students in health care careers so there is a highly skilled workforce
in the Rochester community.
Youth Apprenticeship is a key component of the Rochester City School
District's School-To-Work Transition Initiative, a K-12 strategy designed
to improve all student's transition from school to the workplace and further
education. For students, the program provides a tangible connection between
academics and employment, relevant after-school and summer employment and
the opportunity to gain permanent health-related employment or related post
high secondary path. The hospital benefits from being able to hire a diverse
qualified workforce. Juniors enrolled in the Bio-Science and Health Careers
Academy and meeting the attendance and academic standards are eligible to
apply for this two year work and study program. The application process
is designed to recognize student differences, but jointly established standards
are in place for special education and regular education students.
During the academic year, students attend classes in the morning and
work at the hospital 3 hours a day. Their paycheck is from the hospital
and they must accumulate a minimum of 1200 hours at the hospital during
the 2 years and the summer between. Students pick the departments they rotate
through every ten weeks. Workblocks defining the technical and applied learning
experiences for each department were developed jointly. The hospital provides
the services of job coaches working with students during each department
rotation and mentors who work with one student through the entire program.
Rotations and internship experiences are individually customized and can
consist of as little as one experience in one department or up to seven
rotations in different departments with a final, long-term experience in
the department of their choice.
The Need
The partnership represents a community effort to help raise academic
standards and provides a look down a career path for inner city students.
The connection between the hospital and the Bio-Science and Health Career
Academy was established to give the students a look at the reality of the
workplace, help teens apply their academics and earn a paycheck. The hospital
reports that without the program, "the whole community would suffer
through fewer jobs, fewer options for teens, a reduced quality of education
and a health care system without enough personnel resources for a diverse,
qualified workforce."
Eighty-one per cent of the Rochester City School District students live
at or below the poverty level. Benjamin Franklin High School was a school
on the New York State list of troubled schools. There are 38,261 students
in the district and 143 students in the Bio-Science and Health Careers Academy.
The ethnic and gender breakdown for the district is 81% students of color
and 48.8% female while it is 90.9% students of color and 70.6% female in
the Bio-Science and Health Careers Academy. The renaissance of the school
has been partially attributed to this program raising standards and increasing
student's involvement. The outlook for most of these students was not too
optimistic. Their attachment to learning peaked with high school graduation
and the job market for those completing high school was never sufficient.
The myriad of jobs in a hospital provide excellent opportunities for the
students to articulate their dream and to try it before they commit to it.
All learners have a place in this program. The standards of attendance
(90%) and academic accomplishment have been established by both the hospital
and the school. The program differs only in the academic requirements for
special education students. The process for these students is even more
individualized with teacher analysis of readiness a primary criteria for
application.
Meeting the Need
The project has not been without its difficulties. Funding the student
work experience and the hospital's job coaches and mentors was a barrier
that had to be eliminated. Initially, the students were funded by a New
York State Health Department grant to hospitals When the funding ended,
the hospital analyzed its commitment to the project and determined that
the value of the program necessitated finding alternative sources of funding.
The Rochester General Hospital Foundation and the Benjamin Franklin High
School Alumni sponsored the development activities to fund administrative
costs and student wages.
The Results
The District has received New York State School-To-Work funds and therefore
participates in the required evaluations. The Hospital's bottom line evaluation
determines that the results are worth their time and financial commitment.
Analysis of local evaluations documents the following results:
Franklin students who participate in School-To-Work activities on average
increased their Grade Point Average .45 over three years. The majority of
the Bio-Science and Health Careers Academy courses are the most rigorous
and taught to the NYS regents level. The inclusion model is followed to
accommodate special education students in the science courses. There is
a positive 24% difference in attendance of the students involved in STW
over the other students at Benjamin Franklin High School. 100 % of the students
who complete the program are offered jobs at the hospital. To date, 110
hospital employees (full and part-time) are graduates of the program.
Reflections on Our Strategy
This program reflects the commitment of a major hospital to employing
a well trained and diverse workforce while providing secondary students
with meaningful paid work experiences that connects their school curriculum
to the workplace. Involving the hospital and school staff in preparing the
workblock has forged a strong working relationship between the partners.
Each has a strong commitment to the project and the hospital staff as evidenced
by the hospital's staff volunteering to be job coaches and mentors.
Initially, the special education students who participated scored in
the low range of aptitude. The district has several vocational education
programs for those students and it was determined that the students who
score slightly below the average range had fewer opportunities and these
students are now recruited for the program. This group of students are well
trained in job readiness skills as willing workers and have added to the
success of the program.
The mission of the District's and the hospital's School-To-Work collaborative
is to educate and train young people for life long learning and to provide
them a career path into broad occupational areas that are expected to be
in demand in the future and command high wages. The rewards of the program
for the students are worth the organizational time required to establish
this partnership.
Examples of Learners
Example 1
Kristy K. was a special education student in the Bio-Science and Health
Careers Academy. Her cognitive skills were limited; she liked attending
school, but was very shy with the faculty and other students. Her parents
had sheltered her from achieving independence due to her disability. With
some trepidation, she was sent to interview for a job at Rochester General
Hospital. She rehearsed her interview several times and was hired. While
completing the two year school/work commitment, she rotated through several
hospital departments. The job coaches and especially her mentor helped her
gain self-confidence. Today she is a valuable hospital employee, whose responsibilities
include using her good people skills to interface with all hospital departments.
She is now independent and self-sufficient.
Example 2
Puthiery Va is a South East Asian refugee who was the 1998 valedictorian
and received her associate's degree from Monroe Community College a month
before graduation. She has been employed at the Rochester General Hospital
through the Youth Apprenticeship for two years. She continues to work at
the hospital while she is on vacation from her studies at the University
of Rochester.
Example 3
Nyaia Harvey received the American Dream Award in January, 1997. The
award was presented by Vice-President Al Gore to successful School-To-Work
program participants. Since that time, Nyaia has enrolled in the Syracuse
University Nurse Practitioner program and works at Rochester General Hospital
during school breaks and vacations. The hospital foundation has secured
scholarships for Nyaia to finish her education. Nyaia will return to work
at the hospital's Respiratory Therapy Department after graduation.
Recruiting
Schools of Choice is a district policy where all eighth graders choose
the high school and program they want to attend. The Bio-Science and Health
Careers Academy is one of the many programs available to all students. High
School recruitment is a process designed to engage parents and students
in the selection of appropriate high school placement. The district is currently
engaged in the New York State career Plan Pilot Initiative which reinforces
students involvement in career planning by helping the student identify
goals, strengths and other criteria on which to base a decision.
For more information on the Rochester City School District and Via Health's
Rochester General Hospital Partnership, contact:
Donna Phillips, Supervising Director/Workforce Preparation
Rochester City School District
131 W. Broad Street
Rochester, NY 14614
Phone: (716) 262-8326
Fax: (716) 262-8330
E-mail: dphillips@rochester.k12.ny.us
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