Statistics concerning educational attainment and participation in the workforce tell us that students will be better prepared for the demands of a technological society if they are able to connect their educational experiences to the world of work. The skills needed to be an effective worker, family member, and lifelong learner are becoming more sophisticated and require more than the basics. In today's environment, employers are seeking increased productivity and response to customer needs. Technology continues to transform the workplace, eliminating less skilled jobs and demanding higher levels of communication, mathematics, and analytical skills.
Career information and labor market data play a critical role in career decision making. Translating this information through guidance and counseling programs is sometimes a daunting task. Counselors must be knowledgeable about the variety of options and opportunities available to students, and they play a vital role in explaining this information to students and parents. One purpose of career guidance programs is to provide a sequence of activities and experiences designed to help students plan and develop their career options.
The National Center for Research in Vocational Education (NCRVE) summer institutes were designed to provide technical assistance to urban school districts and community colleges in planning and integrating academics and vocational education and creating a seamless transition pathway for students via a two plus two program of Tech Prep. Each district and community college was asked to identify teams of ten to twelve persons, including vocational and academic teachers, a counselor, a local administrator, and a state administrator to develop a strategic plan for initiating or continuing the development of integrated programs and Tech Prep sequences in their district or program delivery area.
NCRVE envisioned that participants at the institutes would develop model strategic plans and return home to share their models with other educators. The utilization of a core group of schools and colleges connected in a network was seen as a strategy that would allow members to exchange information and solutions to issues surrounding the implementation of integrating academics, vocational education and Tech Prep. An important component of each strategic plan was guidance and counseling.
THE COUNSELING COMPONENT 
Teams
attending NCRVE summer institutes received information and technical assistance
about the role of guidance in integration and Tech Prep delivery systems. The
regional meetings held during the first years of the Network also provided
opportunities for the sites to share their efforts through cross-site
collaboration workshops and focus group sessions. NCRVE staff followed up with
Network member schools via telephone and site visits, and shared information
through mailings and the Urban Update newsletter.
During the focus group interviews in July 1997, several sites indicated that when they first started out in the 1992 and 1993 Summer Institutes, there were great plans to develop comprehensive guidance and counseling programs. This included developing strategies to help students address specific career goals, cross-visitation of counselors among secondary and postsecondary institutions, secondary student visits to technical career areas of business and industry, mentors, development and purchase of career development videos, and individual student portfolios. When teams returned to their sites in the fall after the initial summer institutes, some of their well-developed plans ran into difficulty. The schedule for the school year had been set and it was not possible to meet objectives for enrolling students in career courses or to assign common planning time to address development of student portfolios. In other situations plans moved forward without major obstacles.
Representatives
from several sites said that providing staff development to guidance counselors
was critical to the success of their program. They indicated that many
counselors have not had the opportunity to work in business and industry and
therefore see the four-year university as the only viable post-high school path
for students. The extent to which people have the opportunity to share
actual work experience brings a lot of strength to the program. The team worked
to have all teachers and counselors involved in a work shadow experience that
would broaden the perspective of the counselor. This chapter will highlight
some of the strategies initiated by Urban Schools Network sites to provide
career information to students and parents.
IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN
AKRON, OHIO 
Akron, Ohio, Public Schools has implemented a Career Prep program utilizing the expertise of three teachers in three middle schools by rotating the teachers every twelve weeks. One teacher introduces basic computer communication skills used in business and industry (word processing, spreadsheets, and data management). A second teacher introduces students to technology of the workplace such as computer-assisted design (CAD), electricity and electronics, automotive technologies, computer numerical control (CNC), and other manufacturing processes. The third teacher is responsible for developing student career plans with a focus on assessment, exploration, job shadowing, and the development of mentors from business and industry. The city of Akron has invested $200,000 through an Enterprise Community grant in the three schools to break the cycle of poverty in their communities by introducing students and parents to career areas that are important to the community and in short supply. Learning activities used in all program segments are encouraging the development of skills in communication, math, science, social interaction, reasoning, and problem solving. Some projects have helped students recognize the important role cultural diversity has played in the development of local businesses.
Career Prep students are involved in career activities with representatives of city government and other key partners in the business community. The project is articulated with the East High School Technology Education Program. At the ninth grade students work in teams exploring the technology of business and industry. This program is the foundation course in the technology area for Tech Prep. Students work in teams exploring the use of technology in business and industry. At higher grade levels, the students can choose to specialize in and expand on different technologies. The program stresses competencies in core subjects by integrated instruction in science and math. Local businesses have identified a Tech Prep Competency Profile that provides insight to occupational interest areas. School-to-work initiatives are enhanced through the Tech Prep curriculum by business/industry internships and apprenticeships.
The Career Prep activities have enabled Akron Public Schools to collaborate with parents, students, the Ohio Department of Education, the University of Akron Community and Technical College, Akron City Government, the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), and many local business and industry leaders.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
South Division High School is located on the south side of urban Milwaukee. It serves a diverse community and student population. Many of the students come from low income, unstable households and in many homes English is not spoken fluently. The cultural, language, and economic diversity of the student population poses challenges to educators. Statistics indicated that the school's academic achievement levels were declining.
The school decided to reorganize the student body into five focus groups: Cyber Academy, Engineering, Allied Health and Human Services, Urban Planning/Business, and Multicultural Arts. Each focus group has an assigned group of teachers as well as an administrator and a counselor. There are three bilingual families within the focus areas. Focus groups at the high school are articulated with the Tech Prep program at the Milwaukee Area Technical College.
Ninth and tenth grade students receive weekly career development and guidance within their family focus group. Each family group is assigned a guidance counselor who attends planning sessions with teachers twice a week. The group works to coordinate their instruction and to establish the connections that exist between subjects. Curriculum development resources have been designated for incorporation of career development and guidance activities within the curriculum.
The students attend activities at the downtown Milwaukee Career Counseling Center where they participate in career exploration activities and utilize resource materials. Students can also use the career guidance program available on their library computers. Selection of a career major, development of a career plan, and initial work on a career portfolio was achieved by one hundred percent of the ninth and tenth graders. The goal is for students to maintain these portfolios through their senior year.
Counselors have specific responsibilities to help plan and implement classroom based developmental career guidance activities so that educators and business, industry, and labor representatives become actively involved in the delivery. They must ensure that all students have interest and aptitude testing, labor market information, and information about postsecondary options.
South Division is proud of its tradition of parent involvement. The South Division Family Academy was established in 1995 in response to a needs survey of parents. The Academy has been instrumental in facilitating communications between the school and the parents via home visits, telephone calls, and a monthly newsletter that goes to families in four languages. Educational opportunities in the form of classes in English, citizenship, and technology, along with entrepreneurial field trips have been open to parents. A family service center open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. has been funded in collaboration with the governor's office.
Parents have played a key role in the career implementation activities at the high school. They are asked to help select focus programs for their children and are invited to participate in the common planning hour of each weekly focus group. They are also partners in providing academic and social support, work experience, and community activities for students. The school has a monthly parent newsletter and plans to expand educational programs and activities for parents. The school ensures the inclusion of parents at meetings and special events by making translators and members of various ethnic groups available to interpret and inform parents.
OKLAHOMA CITY--CREATE CONSORTIUM
The Consortium to Restructure Education through Academic and Technological Excellence (CREATE) consists of the Deer Creek, Crescent, Edmond, Millwood, Putnam City, and Western Heights school districts, the Francis Tuttle Vocational Center, and Oklahoma City Community College. The consortium has been very successful in establishing career cluster teams that include counselors, teachers, administrators, and parents. Using the ACT assessment scores and interest inventories, every eighth grade and tenth grade student is scheduled into a thirty-minute counseling session with their parents. Fifty to fifty-five percent of the parents show up. Representatives of the school districts, vocational center, district office, state agency, and community college assist in the counseling effort, which has raised the credibility and importance of this strategy for students and parents.
The
basic strategy is putting together a counseling team comprised of people from
across the consortium, which may include a dean of nursing, a math teacher at
the college, a representative of business and industry, or the high school
principal. With all these areas of expertise in the room, nobody has to be an
expert on everything. If questions arise, whether it's a parent asking about
college
entrance, or students inquiring about job requirements, there is
someone in the room who can answer the question.The consortium has resources to
enable students to switch career objectives if the labor market data shows
there are no jobs in the state in their chosen area. If a student has low
assessment scores in math and wants to be an engineer, the counseling team can
discuss how much math is needed for that career and how to raise the math
scores. These sessions are so powerful because students' interests are
identified and career pathways and plans of study for every student are
reviewed in a short period of time. Once students have developed their plans,
they can enroll and interview for the career center and have graduation checks
and community college objectives reviewed as well.
The area vocational center in Oklahoma City, Francis Tuttle Vocational Technical Center, does not have the capacity to enroll all of the students in the consortium that choose career majors. On-site exploration courses are currently being developed at some high schools in some of the districts to provide job shadowing, mentoring, and other experiences that will keep the student career focused.
BALTIMORE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Baltimore City Public Schools has a central office education specialist who works with high school guidance counselors and also works closely with the staff from the Office of Career and Technology Education. She has done several things to bring the counseling staff on board. She brought a focus group of counselors from across the district together to assist in the development of student portfolios. While these counselors did not know a lot about career and technical education, they were able to provide a good perspective on what should be in the portfolio. This focus group of counselors also recommended schools for pilot testing the portfolios.
This same counselor has also taken curriculum course sequences to meetings and trained counselors so that they would understand the sequence of courses students would follow in Career and Technology Education and Tech Prep programs such as business technology, graphic arts, child care, health, or automotive programs. Counselors were asked to review the sequence of courses with students enrolled in the programs to make sure they completed all classes in the sequence. It is a slow process, but progress has been made.
Counselors are sometimes overwhelmed by the number of students in their counseling load and the multitude of school improvement activities, testing, and administrative priorities that make up their daily schedules. Clearly the goals of the Urban Schools Network teams cannot be fully achieved without a true partnership with guidance counselors. It is essential that educationprofessionals respond to the developmental needs of all students by providing career development and life management skills that they will need to succeed in the work force and in continuing education.
CHALLENGES TO
GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING
Many Urban Schools Network sites started their guidance and counseling practices with a great deal of enthusiasm. Upon returning to their sites, however, they found themselves struggling to keep the team focused. The counselor's role in terms of vocational education, Tech Prep, and school reform continues to evolve. It has been a challenge for counselors to bring experiences from the world of work to students without having some of those experiences themselves. Many Network sites have worked very hard with staff development activities to ensure that counselors are included. Counselors have had the opportunity shadow individuals in business and industry and can now speak from experience about certain careers. It was important for counselors to be aware not only of four-year university programs for students but also of careers that require a two-year associate degree or those career paths that culminate with a certificate from the community college.