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Mid-Del Career Connection
(Midwest City, Oklahoma)
Summary: Overview of the Strategy
The Mid-Del REACH Career Connection "attitude" is shared by
all partners of the Mid-Del Career Connection. REACH stands for Relevant
Education Achieves Career Horizons and our motto
is "Reach for the Stars!." The attitude is that ALL students have
equal opportunities to participate in individually designed activities in
the Career Connection Partnership. Each student's individual interest directs
his or her options and activities in career development.
Career Connection activities in our school-to-work system have been designed
so that ALL students have equal opportunity for:
- individual career journey guidance
- educational and career goal planning
- exposure to real practical work experiences
With a total population of 77,531 and a student population of 15,366,
the Mid-Del community is dedicated to ensure that ALL students are provided
a more relevant education, better employment prospects, positive adult role
models, and many school-to-work experiences designed to develop competence,
confidence, and connections that can promote successful careers and citizenship.
ALL students have equal opportunities to participate in individually designed
activities in the Career Connection Partnership regardless of race, gender,
academic capability, disability, geographic location, culture, language,
heritage, or other personal characteristics. It is the intent of the Mid-Del
Career Connection to provide the common threads of school-based and work-based
learning for ALL students so they will achieve career success.
The Mid-Del Career Connection Partnership is a systemically aligned
model (everything we have developed is connected and coordinated at all
levels of our system) that provides organized activities designed to guide
ALL students through their career journeys. The career journey begins at
the early elementary level and builds developmentally through the post-secondary
level. All Mid-Del students benefit from a range of relevant school-based,
work-based, and connecting activities that are designed to meet individual
student's interests, abilities, and career cluster selections.
The success of the Career connection has been dependent upon all school-based
and work-based members of the Mid-Del community contributing to the awareness
and exploration of career opportunities for Mid-Del youth.
The Need
The Midwest, Mid-Del city community is the home of Tinker Air Force Base,
General Motors, Boeing, and numerous other large industries. Thirty-seven
percent of the adult population has attended college, and 14% has attained
a college degree. The student ethnic breakdown is 65.7% Caucasian, 23.2°/o
African American, 5.7% Native American, 3% Hispanic, and 2.4% Asian. English
is the second language for 184 students and 44% of the Mid-Del student population
qualify for free and reduced lunch and breakfast programs or are from low
income families. 3,735 students are from military or other federally connected
families and there are 2,509 gifted students in the district.
Business and education partners in the Mid-Del community realized the need
to ensure that ALL students have the education, training, and skills they
need to meet the rapidly changing demands of the workforce. Employers agreed
that an investment in the youth of the Mid-Del community is an investment
in the future and the return for the investment will be highly skilled trained
workers.
The Mid-Del Career Connection was formed in order to close the gap between
what is taught in school and what is required at work. We did this by creating
a strong connection between the two at all levels of the district (K-12+)
through curriculum development, coordinated activities both in and out of
school, and practical, hands-on, contextual learning experiences.
Meeting the Need
Recognizing the need to prepare Mid-Del youth for the workforce of the
21st century, the Mid-Del Career Connection Advisory Council was formed.
The Career Connection Advisory Committee is comprised of community members,
parents, students, business partners and educators. Goals and objectives
were then set at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels.
The Advisory Council designed a systemically aligned model which provides
organized activities that guide ALL students through their education and
Career Preparation Journeys. The Mid-Del Career Connection includes awareness
and outreach to ensure that ALL students are served equally. Career preparation
concepts are infused into the instructional plan for each student in the
Mid-Del school district through:
- Comprehensive career awareness activities (grades K-6)
- Career exploration activities (grades 7-9)
- Career direction activities (grades 10-12)
Our REACH System Model
Grades K-12+
Our K-12 REACH system includes different career clusters and different
focuses at each level, but are all interrelated and coordinated into a system.
Grades K-6 Career Awareness: all students develop an awareness
of the world of work career clusters as they progress through the elementary
grades.
- K-1st: health, education, government
- 2nd: mechanical and agricultural
- 3rd: management and sales
- 4th: economics and technology
- 5th: math and science
- 6th: visual and performing arts
Key features: work site visits, parents as partners, career festivals,
career speakers, thematic career clusters, integrated curriculum.
Grades 7-9 Career Exploration: All students explore career clusters
based upon their developing interests and abilities.
- Social Service
- Technical
- Business Contact
- Business Operation
- Science
- Arts
Key features: explore, advisement, career speakers, career classes, discover,
interest areas, ability assessments, portfolios
Grades 10-12 Career Direction: all students gain direction
through relevant educational and career connection experiences as they prepare
for career success.
(same areas as grades 7-9)
Key features: plan, advisement, course to career guides, integrated curriculum,
job shadowing, internships, teachers as mentors, portfolios, tandem teaching,
on the job training, apprenticeships, work place learning
In addition, our business partnership and commitment is very strong.
Local businesses and industries have hosted teams of teacher interns which
has resulted in changing student educational programs and curricula to better
prepare students to enter the workplace. Business partners have led professional
development seminars and have helped develop curriculum, benchmark assessments,
and exit exams.
School-to-work federal funds and additional grant monies have provided
resources for implementation of school-based, work-based, and connecting
activities. All activities of the Mid-Del Business and Education Career
connection Partnership have been "built", "owned", and
"operated" by school-based and work-based partners in the Mid-Del
community.
The Results
Mid-Del Career Connection offers a wide variety of interrelated activities
to support each individual students goals and dreams for their future. Examples
include:
- Skills for Success: large 24x36 posters outlining the soft skills
necessary to succeed in the workplace have been placed in all classrooms
(k-12). Reduced copies of posters are given to all students. Work ethics
are discussed daily in all classrooms.
- Job Shadowing: all students (k-12) are given the opportunity
to shadow a business mentor. 181 Mid-Del students spent a day with their
work place mentors. Shadowing experiences are matched according to student's
career cluster interests.
- Winning Futures: Mid-Del students are matched with business
mentors who guide them in career decisions and serve as positive adult
role models.
- Teachers as Guides (TAG): all junior high and high school students
are guided through their individual career journeys, which includes educational
and career planning, by their TAG teachers. TAG curriculum was written
by teachers and counselors.
- Business After School: the Chamber of Commerce arranged for
each of the 29 Mid-Del schools to be adopted by a business partner. The
Business After School event was scheduled for business and education partners
to kick off the connection of business to education.
- Storybook Career Awareness: Career Awareness Packets
custom-designed for the Mid-Del school district have been place in all
elementary school classrooms. Each packet contains literature books and
a teacher's guide integrating career awareness into daily lesson plans.
The ACT Discover six career clusters adapted by Mid-Del are the basis for
the Career Awareness Packets (see ACT Discover below).
- Career Festivals: Mid-Del elementary and junior high schools
hold career festivals each year. Business and community leaders including
school board members, "pour" into schools to make students aware
of the vast opportunities available to the in the world of work.
- Parents as Partners: elementary and junior high parents responded
to a survey by volunteering to assist in all pieces of the Career Connection,
such as serving as business mentors, speaking at career festivals, adopting
a school, and hosting field trips.
- Course to Career Guide: all students (grades 7-12) are assisted
in developing their course of study in the TAG group by referring to he
Course to Career Guide. The guide matches courses to career clusters of
interest.
- Eighth Grade Advisement: all eighth grade students and their
parents have individual career advisement session to do their educational
and career planning. Counselors and administrators throughout the district
assist in advisement sessions at all five Mid-Del junior high schools.
- Career Portfolio: all students (grades 7-11) have a personal
Career Journey Portfolio. Portfolios are kept in TAG toolboxes for students
to review and update regularly in TAG sessions.
- ACT Discover: all 9th grade students have the opportunity to
explore career clusters in their area of interest through this career exploration
system available all career awareness classes. Career information and interest
survey results are placed in each student's portfolio for future advisement
and preparation purposes.
- Job Fair: all ninth grade students attend the Mid-Del Technology
Center Job Fair. Students' career cluster interest areas determine which
areas of the center they will see. Mid-Del Technology senior student develop
and lead the program for the job fair as a senior project.
- Senior Career Seminars: Mid-Del high schools hold monthly career
seminars designed to assist and guide all seniors in making final educational
an career preparation plans before they graduate.
- School City: learning becomes relevant to summer school students
as they experience the real world of work by operating their own bank,
hospital, city hall, and other businesses each day.
- Tips '98: (Teacher Internship Project): teams of Mid-Del high
school and Vo-Tech teachers "went to work: in the summer to do internships
at Tinker Air Force Base, General motors, and the Midwest Regional Medical
Center. Internship teams have returned to their sites to build relevancy
into the curriculum by integrating curriculum and connecting learning to
the world of work.
- Workplace Skills: workplace skills are developed by site teams
who participated in the Teacher Internship Program. All employers emphasize
the needed for employees who have positive attitudes, good working relationships,
good problem solving skills, good work ethics, and strong basic skills.
- Integrated curriculum: academic and vocational integration of
curriculum resulted from teams of teachers doing internships. Teachers
incorporated what they learned into lesson plans.
Reflections on Our Strategy
There have been no significant barriers or negative attitudes to overcome.
The strength of the Mid-Del Career Connection is that initiative is an "attitude"
and not a program. The Mid-Del Career Connection includes awareness and
outreach so that all students are served equally.
Mid-Del was named the Outstanding Large District School-to-Work Partnership
in the state and was highlighted at North Central Association in Chicago
this year. The Mid-Del Business and Education Partners believe that it is
critical that the instructional leaders be knowledgeable of the components
of school-to-work and that they are equipped to lead professional development
for their teachers.
Curriculum coordinators and principals could have benefited from having
more in-depth training in order to lead their teachers in the initiative.
"Leadership In A Time of Change'' seminars are currently scheduled
for these groups.
Examples of Learners
Example 1
WINNING FUTURES - Courtney, age 18, was at her wits end with high school
because she said she couldn't make the connection between what she was learning
and how it would help her be prepared for a job. By the end of her junior
year, she was ready to drop out of high school. She said she was confused
about career choices and was unmotivated about learning opportunities. She
now aspires to be a Medical Laboratory Technologist because of her experience
with her 'WINNING FUTURES" mentor, Warren Eddings, a Medical Arts Laboratory
Histo Technologist. She is now planning to attend Rose State College. "
It was a great experience for me and it's great to know that I'm not going
into the world blind folded," Courtney said.
Example 2
CAR TALK - Following their summer internship experiences at General Motors,
Del City High School teachers returned to create integrated academic and
vocational curriculum centered around the theme which is close to the heart
and mind of every teenager --CARS! Students gathered, analyzed, and organized
information about vehicles and the maintenance of vehicles. Byron, a special
education student at Del City High School, demonstrated his expertise about
cars to his peers during cross peer interviewing. Byron knew a lot about
cars (changing oil, changing tires, putting in starters, etc.). Byron stated,
"The other students knew how to change oil, change tires, and put gas
in cars, but they didn't do it!" "The students I talked to, most
of their parents bought their cars. I bought my own car. I had fun. We all
took part." he added.
Example 3
SCHOOL CITY- Epperly Heights Elementary students turned their school
into a city. Students rant the city by electing their own city officials.
Math, science, social studies, reading, and language skills were reinforces
as students worked out household budgets, kept track of profits and held
their positions as city mayor, banker, police chief, city health officials,
newspaper staff, city sanitation engineers, and storekeepers. Career speakers
visited frequently to share their real work experiences with the children.
All children held a position in the city and fulfilled the responsibility
that went along with the position. Academically gifted as well as academically
challenged students had a job at School City and jobs were important.
For more information on the Mid-Del Career Connection, contact:
- Dr. Ellen L.Wortham
- Career Connection Coordinator
- Mid-Del Schools
- 7217 - S.E. 15th
- Midwest City, Oklahoma 73110
- (Phone) 405/737-4461 ext. 245
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