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If you would like to use this checklist with your partnership, just print
this page for a hands-on tool.
Meeting the Needs of ALL Learners
How well is your School-to-Work partnership meeting the needs of ALL
learners? All learners, according to the School-to-Work Opportunities Act
of 1994, includes the male and female learners from the following:
- Regular Education learners
- Disadvantaged learners
- Learners with diverse racial, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds
- Learners with disabilities
- Learners with limited English proficiency
- Migrant children
- School dropouts
- Academically talented learners
Your community can use this checklist as a guideline for accountability
and evaluation in implementing school-to-work opportunities that truly serve
ALL learners.
How To Use This Checklist
- checking off those items you feel you are doing well and then having
a dialogue with your partners about the items not checked
- using the items not checked to develop a plan to improve your efforts
- rating each item on a scale of 1-5 (1 = not doing at all to 5 = doing
very well) and then reviewing those items rated a 3 or lower to develop
a plan to improve your efforts to include all learners
- share with others and use as a general guideline or planning tool
- post on your wall to remind yourself what it is that you are striving
toward!
School Based Criteria
Our school-based, school-to-work opportunities build self-confident
learners by:
- ___Encouraging learners, through training, to set goals and
career plans for themselves and to understand their learning style, interests,
abilities, and disabilities as well as encourage them to share this information
with others.
- ___Building capacity in learners to mentor other learners and
helping them to learn self-advocacy skills.
Our school-based, school-to-work opportunities individualize instruction
and support by:
- ___Providing flexibility and adaptability, and emphasizing access
based on interest - not on prerequisites or categorical labels.
- ___Offering a variety of learning situations (e.g. size, teaching
and learning style, location, individualized, working as a team, interpersonal
skills).
- ___Supporting individual learners (K-12) in exploring a variety
of careers and training.
- ___Ensuring that instructional strategies are adaptable to the
needs of a variety of learners.
Our school-based, school-to-work opportunities develop relevant school-to-work
curricula by:
- ___Involving a variety of employers, learners, families, communities,
and workers in the design and evaluation of curricula.
- ___Guaranteeing that each course is relevant to preparation
for adult life. Every teacher can explain the relevance of the material
to learners.
- ___Coordinating curricula across all subject areas within a
school-to-work system.
- ___Integrating school-to-work processes with graduation standards
and industry standards.
- ___Providing instruction by traditional and non-traditional
sources for all partners.
- ___Using state-of-the-art technology.
- ___Demonstrating continual improvement.
Work-based Criteria
Our work-based, school-to-work opportunities individualize career
development by:
- ___Ensuring learners know about themselves and can share this
information/helpful accommodations /support with employers.
- ___Including a jointly developed, individualized plan (learner,
family, school, employer) with measurable learner outcomes for each work-based
learning opportunity.
- ___Providing work-based learning opportunities based on individual
learner interests and career goals.
- ___Including follow-up, follow-along evaluations involving employers,
learners, and others.
- ___Integrating and linking with work-based learning activities
with past, present and future learning (e.g. academic, vocational, career
guidance).
Our work-based, school-to-work opportunities include business/industry-based
training by:
- ___Offering a variety of career awareness and career exploration
opportunities at community work places.
- ___Providing learners with information about and experiences
in all aspects of an industry, including career paths/clusters, business
structures, and industry specific occupations.
- ___Ensuring work place compliance with federally mandated protections(
e.g. child labor laws, Americans with Disabilities Act)
Our work-based, school-to-work opportunities lead to employment and/or
career-related post-secondary education by:
- ___Resulting in paid employment or post-secondary education/
other training related to career choice upon graduation.
- ___Including adequate supports for success during school and
after graduation (e.g. community/school supports, child care, home living,
cultural sensitivity).
- ___Identifying support for learners within the work place and
expectations of the support role.
Connecting Activities Criteria
Our connecting school-to-work opportunities develop collaborative
partnerships by:
- ___Including commitment and buy-in of key stakeholders.
- ___Including learners at every level of planning and implementation--individual,
local, and state -- through the entire cycle of school-to-work activities.
- ___Providing opportunities for educator, business, employer,
and labor exchanges.
- ___Supporting and guiding all partners in their involvement
in school-to-work opportunities.
Our connecting school-to-work opportunities build connections between
school, work, and the community by:
- ___Providing opportunities often and starting in elementary school,
for learners to have exposure to and an integrated experience between schools
and careers.
- ___Increasing coordination between secondary and post-secondary settings.
- ___Increasing coordination between traditional and non-traditional
educational organizations and community services.
- ___Removing bureaucratic barriers to participation in school-to-work
activities.
Our connecting school-to-work opportunities support learners in meeting
individual career goals by:
- ___Offering learners and families the support and guidance they need
to benefit from all school-to-work opportunities and options.
- ___Providing opportunities for learners to learn about, be involved
in, and be informed by student leadership organizations.
- ___Ensuring learners and their families possess the information required
to be equal partners and can take responsibility in making informed choices
about their work-based and post-secondary options.
- ___Promoting greater understanding of the relationship of individual
capabilities to the work place.
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