Although many employers are dissatisfied with the level of basic skill performance in students generally, work experience programs such as those under the sponsorship of work-education councils created by the Work Education Consortium are praised. (IRT)

School-to-work legislation calls for local partnerships to develop curriculum that integrates academic and vocational courses and links school-based and work-based learning. In at least 37 states, individualized state and local partnership systems exist. Contains 11 references and cites a program that brings teachers into the workplace. (MLF)

At Davis Vocational Technical High School in Lincoln (Rhode Island) students in such areas as carpentry, culinary arts, and cosmetology provide free services to the community and gain valuable experience. (Author/JM)

Washoe High School in Reno, Nevada, is reaching out into the community by establishing literacy classes in the workplace. The high school furnishes tutors and textbooks; employers contribute classroom space, inexpensive work materials, and students. (MLF)

Describes the Swedish "Practical Work Introduction" program that involves all mid-teenagers in sampling the working world and exposes them to a variety of work situations. (Author)

An Oklahoma school system gives construction-trades students on-the-job training in building school facilities. The district has saved in construction costs; many students have gone on to employment in the field; and local contractors are supportive of the program. (MLF)

The Storefront School for mentally disabled youth in Ottawa (Ontario) serves as both a classroom and a headquarters for students who are assigned work in the shopping mall. Visibility of the program makes the public more aware of the potential of the mentally handicapped. (MLF)

A number of successful school-business partnerships are highlighted. These include "Adopt-A-School" programs (designed to meet specific goals), comprehensive partnerships, and other institutions such as the US government, the New York Alliance for the Public Schools, and the Trilateral Council for Quality Education in Boston. (TE)

Over the past 5 years, 6 states and an estimated 100 local communities have established youth apprenticeship systems; 8 other states have passed legislation that could include apprenticeship programs; proposed federal legislation would fund state and local programs. Critics cite costs, the fear of diverting resources from existing school programs,…

A collaborative effort between the St. Louis Public Schools (Missouri) and the private sector gives junior and senior high school students an orientation to the world of work, plus stipends to work in professional settings for eight weeks during the summer. Although all the students in the program come from low-income families, 95% of those who…