Using a School-to-Work Framework To Implement Education Reform
Policy Rationale and Goals: Beginning in the late 1980s, West Virginia embarked on a series of reforms that set the stage for connecting improved quality in the education system to a better prepared workforce. The state's school-to-work system began to take form under policy initiatives such as mandating higher standards for all students, involvement in SREB's High Schools That Work network, and expanding Registered Youth Apprenticeships and Cooperative Education opportunities. Other initiatives, including a system of site-based management, local school improvement councils, and performance based accreditation, combined to add a local drive for education reform. In 1990, West Virginia adopted in statute the following six Goals for Education:
- All students will have equal opportunities and will be ready for the 1st grade.
- Student performance on national measure will equal or exceed national averages with an emphasis on science and mathematics achievement. Performance measures for students in the lowest quartile will improve by 50%.
- The best personnel will be recruited, retained, provided professional development to improve their skills, and compensated with competitive salaries and benefits.
- Ninety percent of 9th grade students will graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills necessary for college, other postsecondary education, or gainful employment. The number of high school graduates entering postsecondary education will increase by 50%.
- All school facilities will provide a safe, disciplined environment and meet the educational needs of all students.
- All working-age adults will be functionally and technically literate. We will use schools, colleges, and universities as centers for life long learning.
A series of town meetings held in 1990 served to validate the state's educational goals and gave local communities the opportunity to articulate strategies for meeting them. The strategies identified locally included emphasizing early childhood development, helping at-risk students, improving the quality of teaching, strengthening workforce preparation, and increasing educational accountability.
In 1996, initial school-to-work system building efforts were brought together under West Virginia's principal K-12 reform initiative, Senate Bill 300 The Jobs Through Education Act. The legislation set new high school graduation requirements, mandated career and educational planning to begin in the 8th grade, required students to choose state career clusters and pathways, and established a high school diploma warrantee system for students and their employers.
In 1997, the legislature passed complementary legislation, House Bill 4306, which established the School Performance and Audit Agency, an agency separate from the Department of Education that reports directly to the State Board of Education. The intent of establishing a separate agency was to ensure that school accreditation policies are aligned to other reforms yet are independently evaluated.
Implementation Strategy: Subsequent to passing reform legislation, a separate School-to-Work (STW) office was established that reports to the state's STW Coordinating Council, an interagency team that includes education and all other relevant state agencies as well as representatives from organized labor and business. While the West Virginia Department of Education is the fiscal agent for STW, a three-person staff provides the primary direction for system building. To coordinate its activities with the STW office, the Department of Education created a unit of five individuals to act as liaisons in the implementation of STW with local partnerships and educators.
Most of the liaisons to the STW office originate from the state's High Schools That Work (HSTW) network and provide a direct link to reform efforts that have been underway for many years. To build on the success and local support of the state's HSTW network, West Virginia is beginning to implement a modified version of HSTW for elementary and middle schools. West Virginia further leverages local support for STW concepts by requiring that schools submit a unified school improvement plan that is based on the HSTW Ten Key Practices to receive STW funding.
According to Ron Grimes, Director of the West Virginia Office of School-to-Work, the state "has chosen to be strategic about how it develops its system--all efforts are evaluated against the state's focus on systemic change." From this perspective, building a system means that all students "may not have had work-based learning at higher levels [i.e. internships, mentoring at the high school level] but comprehensive career exploration has been concentrated [statewide] in the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades."
To implement various components of the state's STW system, the Jobs Through Education Act mandates a number of requirements that aim to bring about widespread change in the education system. These include the following:
- Raising Graduation Requirements and Including Work-Based Learning Experiences
-- New state graduation requirements spell out more clearly what the higher
expectations for students are in West Virginia. To graduate from high schools,
students must take four years of English, three years of math (two must be
algebra 1 or higher), three science courses (two of which must be college
prep), three years of social studies, three years of fine arts, and a physical
education/wellness health class. Students are also required to take four
electives that count toward a career major. In effect, the number of graduation
requirements has been raised to 24 and will go into effect for all freshmen
entering high school in 1999. The legislation also requires a work-based
learning experience to count toward the four career major credits required to
graduate.
- Career Exploration and Educational Planning --
Career awareness, exploration, and planning is another key component of the STW
system in West Virginia. Through The Jobs Through Education Act, West Virginia
students will develop the first component of a five-year educational plan in
the 8th grade. This will be further refined in the 10th grade.
- Career Clusters (grades 9 and 10) and Career Majors (grades 11 and 12)
-- Students select a broad career cluster when they enter high school. In 1999,
freshmen will be required to sign up for a career cluster, followed by a more
focused career major in grades eleven and twelve. The state has required that
within each career major, students must have the option of an entry level,
skilled or technical, or professional career. To graduate, students are
required to take four core courses to complete their career major. This
requirement can be fulfilled either through academic or technical courses
within the career major area. These requirements will help to bolster the
state's efforts to build a seamless curriculum from secondary to postsecondary
education or training. High schools are required to offer students three
options for transition to the workforce: entry level (those seeking a job after
high school), Tech Prep or skill pathway, or college prep. Entry-level students
must be offered the option of a skill certificate (i.e., ASE or a welding
exam). Technical programs (Tech Prep or 2 + 2) will be aligned with national or
state standards. In addition, the state's 11 two-year colleges have aligned
curriculum and course offerings under the state's six career clusters for high
school students.
- Diploma and Warrantees --While
a traditional high school diploma will be available, West Virginia is also in
the process of phasing in a "warrantee" of student skills and proficiencies
based on their scores on the state's assessment. Students who score at least in
the 50th percentile will have a warrantee of their "basic skills." If a student
or employer is dissatisfied with their education, then the county must provide
training or education at no cost. A warrantee will also be offered for college
prep students scoring at the 70th percentile or higher.
- Work Keys Assessment -- The state provides all 12th graders with the Work Keys assessment of "Reading for Comprehension," "Teamwork," and "Reading for Information."
Evolution of Strategy: According to Grimes, the strategy for implementing education reform under a school-to-work framework began under the direction of a Democratic governor and has continued "largely unchanged" under the new Republican governor. "He is very committed," and under his administration, the school accreditation law (HB4306) was passed establishing the School Performance and Audit Agency, which will continue to support alignment of programs and funding at the state level. While the "massive changes have not come without criticism" at the local level, "these are a minority." Already 28 out of 55 county school districts have implemented the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade requirements of the legislation. "Next year, all 55 counties will have to implement," stated Grimes.
Outcomes/Lessons Learned: The state has begun to evaluate its efforts and has conducted a financial evaluation of STW grants. In addition, unannounced financial reviews and program visitations to each partnership are also conducted by the STW office. To streamline the review and evaluation process, the STW office has incorporated the HSTW three-year technical review process into its funding mechanism. In addition, the office is in the process of making recommendations regarding the type of data that should be added to the Student Performance Information State Data Collection System that collects financial and program information.
While local concerns regarding the sustainability of the STW system under construction in West Virginia continue, Grimes reports that the state works under the proposition that if "school-to-work principles are integrated with and supportive of general education reform and you have built strong local partnerships committed to the reform effort, you have the power of all general education dollars going toward building capacity, going to scale, and the $64,000 question of sustainability is answered."
Information based on "West Virginia's answer to the $64,000 School-to-Work question", written by Tracy Schmidt, National Conference of States Legislatures, May 1998. Further information provided by Ron Grimes, Director of the West Virginia Office of School-to-Work.
