To promote and evaluate initiatives designed to address concerns over preparing American youths for employment, the U.S. Department of Labor sponsored the School-to Work/Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration, which began in 1990 with grants to six programs. In 1992, grants were extended for 5 of these programs and added for 10 other programs. This…

CHOICE (Career Help at Overbrook for Individuals Who Choose Employment) has been identified as an exemplary school-to-work program that includes students with disabilities. This program at Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia serves students with a primary disability of blindness or severe visual impairment. Many have additional…

This bulletin focuses on the requirement of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 that school-to-work initiatives engage representatives of organized labor in the development, implementation, and governance of a school-to-work system. The first section outlines what organized labor brings to the school-to-work initiative. The next section…

This bulletin describes practitioner-identified strategies that can help build effective school-to-work systems in rural areas. The first section highlights these strategies for rural school-to-work partnerships: start early; identify educational and economic opportunities in the community; entrepreneurial experiences; community service-learning;…

The Young Adults Employment Supports Project (YES) of Matrix Research Institute (MRI) has been identified as an exemplary school-to-work program that includes students with disabilities. The program serves young persons with serious emotional disorders between the ages of 17-22 throughout Philadelphia who are preparing to exit special education…

A study identified 16 programs that represented the range of innovative school-to-work approaches found in the United States and drew on their experiences to learn about the challenges they had confronted. Data were collected during two visits to each program in 1992 and 1993. Findings underscored the diversity of the school-to-work movement and…

Although the disappointing results of earlier ex-offender programs convinced many that "nothing works so let's just keep prisoners incarcerated longer," research in the 1980s and 1990s has shown that intensive pre-release employment training and post-release employment programs and support can cut the rate of recidivism. Current initiatives…

The Postsecondary Program School-to-Work Transition Activity in Carroll County Public Schools (Maryland) has been identified as an exemplary school-to-work program that includes students with disabilities. This program serves 25 students aged 17-21 with disabilities in a noncategorical setting with a large majority of students having significant…

This document includes materials from and about Skilled!, a national demonstration project that was implemented in 10 areas of England in partnership with local authority youth services and further education colleges to provide educational opportunities for disaffected and underachieving young people aged 16 and over. The first half of the…

The Transition Services program of the Onondaga-Dortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services (New York) has been identified as an exemplary school-to-work program that includes students with disabilities. The program serves students aged 13-21, most with disabilities; the majority have mental retardation, serious emotional…

Intended to help business-led coalitions master the seven principles of success in education and workforce development, this primer begins with a discussion of the problems stemming from the structural transition underway in the U.S. economy, an overview of the 21st century workforce system, and the potential role of business-led coalitions in…

The Continental Project is a school-to-work transition program for students with disabilities. The 6-year old program, which is located at a country club and golf course, serves more than 20 students per year and has successfully transitioned 45 young adults with moderate to severe handicaps into the workforce. The program is a cooperative effort…

This document summarizes the accomplishments of the first year of the Cornell Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration Project in Broome County, New York, a program in which six high schools and six employers in the Binghamton area have joined forces to prepare noncollege-bound young people for careers in manufacturing and engineering technology,…

A cross-case study approach was used to determine how school-to-work reform affects clients and participants and to identify elements critical to the success of school-to-work systems. Fourteen school-to-work reform initiatives in communities across the United States were examined by using a research protocol that included individual interviews,…

Workplace mentoring has been identified as an important aspect of work-based learning in projects conducted under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. By establishing relationships with caring and competent adults who can provide emotional support and facilitate skill development, less-experienced youths and adults are more likely to bridge the…