Tag Archive: career prep


What We’re Reading

Filed Under: What We're Reading by Tracey Savell Reavis — Leave a comment
December 13, 2012
Catcher in the Rye cover

Due to new educational standards, novels like "The Catcher in the Rye" may be replaced by nonfiction texts on many students' reading lists.

Huffington Post: Look out Holden Caulfield, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is coming after you.

When it comes to choosing literature classics over current nonfiction, informational texts are about to gain a huge advantage.

Thanks to new educational standards approved in 46 states, nonfiction books will soon make up at least 70 percent of the texts that high school students read for class. Reports such as Recommended Levels of Insulation by the EPA will be on the reading list, taking the place of works like The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Will this mark the beginning of the end for literature? Those in favor of the new standards point out that nonfiction promotes better writing, a vital skill in today’s workplace. Some English teachers believe that the experience of making a connection with characters in literature cannot be replaced by informational texts.

The Common Core Standards new, nonfiction-heavy reading curriculum is scheduled to be in place by 2014.

Education News: New evidence from a comprehensive study links physical fitness to student performance. The study, done by Michigan State University and published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, found middle school students who were in good physical shape also performed better on standardized tests and received higher grades.

Researchers worked with 312 students from a middle school in western Michigan. After determining their overall fitness level, they compared the students’ grades and found those who were in good physical health consistently outperformed their less-fit peers.

“Fit kids are more likely to be fit adults,” said report co-author James Pivarnik. “And now we see that fitness is tied to academic achievement. So hopefully the fitness and the success will both continue together.”

This is the first comprehensive study that looked at the connection between the level of a child’s fitness and academic outcomes.

Forbes: The writer of this opinion piece argues that traditional education models are not effective enough when it comes to providing students with needed job skills. A new study adds weight to the argument as it highlights the widening gap between the education students are being provided with in high school, and what they actually need to learn to be successful in today’s business world.

In “Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works,” the McKinsey Center for Government attempts to provide answers to questions that businesses and youth face, such as how to address high levels of youth unemployment and a shortage of people with critical job skills, and how the country can successfully move young people from education to employment.

At Communities In Schools, site coordinators work with students to provide them with information that will guide them in their career choices. Programs such as job shadowing and internships provide touch points to the real-world of work.

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What We’re Reading

Filed Under: What We're Reading by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
December 7, 2012
Cupcake Diaries cover

"The Cupcake Diaries" is one series The New York Times highlights for its inclusion of a Hispanic character.

New York Times: While Hispanic children make up nearly a quarter of the United States’ public school population, they’re having trouble finding likenesses of themselves in reading materials in classrooms and libraries. Many of today’s popular book titles feature main characters who are white. And according to numerous education experts, this results in Hispanic students feeling unable to connect with and get invested in the stories they’re reading.

“Kids do have a different kind of connection when they see a character who looks like them or they experience a plot or a theme that relates to something they’ve experienced in their lives,” said Jane Fleming, an assistant professor at the Erikson Institute, a graduate school in early childhood development in Chicago.

In response, publishers are beginning to promote titles that more accurately reflect today’s classroom demographics. For instance, Simon & Schuster is rolling out a series for girls with a Hispanic protagonist. And Houghton Mifflin allocates a specific percentage of its published content to feature Hispanic characters.

UNICEF: Making education accessible to all, regardless of economic status, is truly an international issue. In 2010, the global population of those between the ages of 15 and 24 reached one billion, and according to Pauline Rose, director of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report, many of these young people are not learning the skills necessary to succeed as adults. In an enlightening podcast with UNICEF, Rose discusses what needs to be done by both local communities and national governments to help children get the education they need to attain viable careers.

Across the United States, Communities In Schools focuses on preparing young people  for life after high school graduation. Our site coordinators take students on college visits, help students with college and financial aid applications, and provide career-building opportunities such as visits to professional offices, internships, and job shadowing experiences.

Huffington Post: A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation revealed that nearly 6.5 million teenagers and young adults in the United States are neither in school nor working. According to the “Kids Count” report, the number of unemployed youth in the country has reached its highest level since World War II.  And these young people are not only having trouble finding viable careers — they’re   having trouble finding entry-level jobs in places such as restaurants and grocery stores, where they can learn ground-level professional skills necessary to succeed in the adult workforce.

As these young people continue to face barriers due to economic status and lack of education, the nation is at risk of facing a huge boom in chronic unemployment.

“All young people need opportunities to gain work experience and build the skills that are essential to being successful as an adult,” Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said in a statement. “Ensuring youth are prepared for the high-skilled jobs available in today’s economy must be a national priority, for the sake of their future roles as citizens and parents, the future of our workforce and the strength of our nation as a whole.”

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What We’re Reading

Filed Under: What We're Reading by Briana Kerensky — 1 Comment
August 3, 2012

common application logoWashington Post: Last night, high school juniors and seniors officially began their foray into the college application process with the unveiling of the 2012-2013 Common Application. Used by 450 colleges and universities across the country, the Common Application was developed as a way to cut down on the number of separate applications a student applying to various colleges would have to complete.

Within 30 minutes of the Common Application becoming available online, 300 individuals had registered for an account. Talk about trying to get ahead of the competition!

As we discussed in yesterday’s blog post, Communities In Schools is there every step of the way to help students through the college application process. Across our network, affiliates organize campus visits, offer SAT and ACT prep, provide assistance in applying for financial aid and so much more. Applying to college can be a confusing and stressful process, but no student should let the process itself hold them back from achieving his or her dreams.

Huffington Post: To help fill the skills gap many industrial employers across the nation are currently facing, community colleges are beginning to offer a “career pathways” model of education. In addition to offering courses in business and management, career pathways give students the knowledge needed to perform highly technical industrial jobs, such as agricultural mechanics. Doing this helps employers fill job openings, and helps fight back against the nation’s rising unemployment rates by teaching students marketable skills that fill an immediate need.

Communities In Schools is dedicated to making sure that every student we serve has a marketable skill upon graduating from high school. Whether it’s auto mechanics, office management, or even how to make an excellent cup of coffee, our site coordinators provide a foundation of skills that can help students gain future employment and become independent, successful adults.

Huffington Post: Communities In Schools President Dan Cardinali had a blog post featured on The Huffington Post this week about helping students overcome trauma in order to succeed in the classroom. Every day, students face extraordinary challenges: hunger, neighborhood violence and family issues, to name but a few. These barriers often prevent students from achieving their best in the classroom, setting them up for a lifetime of struggle. The best way to overcome these barriers, Cardinali suggested in the blog post, is for schools to approach education with more holistic criteria.

“With 22 percent of the nation’s children now living in poverty and a persistently high unemployment rate, public education must reframe how it educates students to realize its purpose,” said Cardinali.

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A “Cool” Solution to Career Readiness

Filed Under: Programs by Tracey Savell Reavis — Leave a comment
July 19, 2012
students at fire department

Students from Communities In Schools of Randolph County had the chance to participate in a job shadowing event at a local fire department. Photo courtesy Communities In Schools of Randolph County.

Middle and high school students involved with Communities In Schools can often find a respite from the sweltering heat of the summer months—one that actually helps them gain valuable life skills. That’s because many Communities In Schools local affiliates provide summer career readiness programs. For students, that translates into experiencing the business world by taking on summer internships, jobs or job shadowing opportunities.

This summer, 21 students from Communities In Schools of the Heart of Texas are being placed in local businesses as part of a program founded by a local workforce development board. Student employees will work approximately 200 hours over nine weeks in nonprofits, schools and government agencies. This marks the fourth year the affiliate has helped find students work and skills-improvement opportunities.

For Imani Lewis, a Communities In Schools of Atlanta alumnus who has completed a number of internships, the experiences have proven invaluable. She is currently interning at New Leaders, a national nonprofit focused on developing effective leadership to ensure the best education for minority and impoverished students. Her internship also reinforces one of Communities In Schools’ basic tenets—providing students with an opportunity to give back to their community.

“As an intern, whether for a semester or a summer, you will gain innumerable skills, make countless connections, expand your network and learn what type of workplace suits you best,” said Lewis. “And you get a taste of the real world outside of high school and college.”

Career training can take place during the school year as well, providing a foundation of skills that can help students gain future summer employment. There is community involvement in career guidance at Communities In Schools of Randolph County, N.C., as well. They work with the Arcade-Trinity Chamber of Commerce to give middle school students opportunities to learn what skills are needed for various jobs. The program typically takes place in February, on Groundhog Day, and involves students “shadowing” employees to gain an insider’s perspective. Some of the companies that participate include banks, real estate agencies and nonprofit organizations. This past year, the 65 students who participated in the half-day program went to approximately 35 businesses to see up close what kind of education is required to work at companies such as the Guil-Rand Fire Department and  Archdale Drug, a local pharmacy. Some students even got to watch a veterinarian perform surgery.

Randolph County Wet Whistle Coffee Shop

A student learns barista skills at a local coffee shop. Photo courtesy Communities In Schools of Randolph County.

While students participating in the job shadowing program get to experience short-term exposure to the business world, Randolph County Executive Director Sandi Norman said the local affiliate has been talking about developing an internship program to give students a more in-depth career readiness experience.

During the past school year, 39 juniors and seniors from Communities In Schools of Marietta/Cobb County, Ga., got a taste of their possible futures by participating in job shadowing and internship programs. Working with the Marietta Rotary Club and the Cobb Chamber’s Partners in Education program, students received Dress for Success clothing vouchers and worked “mini” (three- to five-day) internships on job sites such as courthouses and utility companies. The program, now in its fifth year, not only speaks to the value of involvement with local civic organizations and businesses, said Communities In Schools of Marietta/Cobb County Executive Director Carol Fey, it also offers students the opportunity to develop their career goals.

“Internships and job shadowing give students a true idea of what specific careers entail,” she added. “They get to have a real-life work experience, with the emphasis on what education they need.”

Placing students in summer jobs and internship programs is just one example of the commitment Communities In Schools has to empowering students to stay in school and achieve in life.

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What We’re Reading

Filed Under: What We're Reading by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
June 15, 2012

Heydi Mejia has lived in the United States since she was four-years-old. But after she graduates from high school, she will be deported to Guatemala. Photo courtesy Katherine Frey / The Washington Post.

Chronicle of Philanthropy: Earlier this month, a study by Net Impact revealed that the majority of this year’s crop of college graduates would take a pay cut in order to work for an organization that makes a positive societal or environmental difference. Now, another study shows that young people are willing to give even more. A new survey of more than 6,500 people ages 20 to 35 showed they are inclined to make a donation—and are more than willing to ask their friends and relatives to do the same—when they feel passionately about a cause. About 75 percent of survey participants said they gave money to a nonprofit in 2011.

Communities In Schools Founder and Vice Chairman Bill Milliken once said at a Congressional hearing, “The children I have seen succeed are the children we allowed to succeed. We allowed them to give something to us. We need to listen to them, and get them involved in feeding people, tutoring other children—that’s how they feel like part of a community.” Our dedicated staff and volunteers instill in a passion for giving back to the community, encouraging students to contribute in countless ways, including participating in walk-a-thons, planting community gardens and serving senior citizens holiday meals.

Education Week: While huge milestones have been made in promoting STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math) in schools, progress still needs to be made in the outreach of these subjects to young women in the classroom. In Education Week’s “Curriculum Matters” blog, Erik Robelen wrote about the STEM achievement gap between males and females in the United States. Citing data from the Advanced Placement program, he said the average scores of females lag behind males in every single STEM subject and more must be done to encourage young women to pursue these subjects. While the American job market seems to be stalled, companies are still looking to fill positions with workers who have competencies in these areas.

Washington Post: Heydi Mejia is graduating from high school in Virginia with honors. She wants to attend a small college and study to become a nurse. But instead of buying stuff for her dorm and meeting fellow college freshmen on Facebook, a few days after graduation Heydi is to be deported from the United States to Guatemala. She left Guatemala when she was four years old and has no memories of the nation. Now, she has no choice but to forge a new life there.

What should the United States do about undocumented immigrants who come to the country as children, grow up and attend school here, break no laws and want to remain? While lawmakers debate the issue and propose various solutions, Communities In Schools continues to work with public school children regardless of their citizen status. Communities In Schools ensures students receive the resources they need, including food, health care and clothing. Many of our affiliates also offer courses in English as a Second Language so that parents are better able to communicate and help their children in school.

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