The systemic change that Iowa officials desire can only be achieved through the interactive collaboration of community organizations, business, labor, government agencies, and all levels of education. Iowa officials are utilizing the following strategies and vehicles to ensure initial and ongoing involvement of stakeholders.

School-to-Work (STW) Grant Process to Regional and Local Partners

The roll-out grant process to regional and local STW partnerships requires the partnerships to indicate how they will provide professional development to all partners. For the Consolidated Grant Application, explained in Chapter 5, all local STW partners had to sign the application for funds to ensure that all required partners are participating in the STW efforts. The regional and local partnerships' action plans are periodically reviewed to ensure professional development activities are occurring.

Iowa Communications Network (ICN)

The ICN is a statewide, fiber optic communications infrastructure providing interactive video, voice, and data services. The ICN was planned in the early 1980's by Iowa educators and policy makers who recognized the potential of distance learning to expand and equalize students' access to educational opportunities. The first interactive classrooms located in each of Iowa's 99 counties, three public universities, and Iowa Public Television became operational in 1993. Per Iowa officials, approximately 500 ICN "classrooms" are currently in operation. By the year 2000, all accredited K-12 school districts, intermediate service agencies, and higher education institutions will have the opportunity to install distance learning classrooms.

The ICN can be used to assist local STW partnerships with the following:

• professional development,
• continued education and training,
• shared programs between high schools and community colleges,
• collaborative learning and work experiences, and
• on-going communication between business and education.

The President and STW Project Coordinator of this group are actively involved in the STW initiative and serve as liaisons between the various central Iowa labor councils and the regional and local STW partnerships. For 18 years, South Central Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO's President has built a good rapport with organized labor representatives across Iowa ranging from local union halls up to the Governor. This individual not only requests that labor organizations get "on-board" in the local STW systems but also initiates actions for educators to observe the various work locations so that they can observe what actually happens in the workplace.

Technical Assistance Center (TAC)

A consortium of three STW Partnerships in northeastern Iowa and the Iowa STW Office have established a statewide TAC which provides on-line support to regional and local STW partnerships. The goal of the TAC is to provide answers to STW-related questions in an efficient manner. The TAC also provides assistance with total quality management, career development, and the integration of academic and vocational education. It maintains an Internet presence at www.stw-tac.k12.ia.us. The purpose of the website is to provide technical assistance and capacity building support to local partnerships.

Business and Industry Involvement

Iowa officials know that the STW system's success is dependent on the willingness of employers to invest in changing the system, including the provision of work-based learning opportunities. Consequently, these officials encouraged the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) Foundation to undertake the responsibility for identifying necessary skills within Career Pathways. ABI has verified a set of 13 competencies which blend academic and technical proficiencies and has performed surveys concerning the level of knowledge and interest of employers in Iowa regarding the STW initiative.

The State's largest employers that are members of the Iowa Business Council participated in profiling 25 jobs which employ many of Iowa's citizens and offer good pay and aligned them with American College Testing's Work Keys. Several high schools are now using Work Keys to measure basic employability skills.

Business Horizons

Business Horizons is a one-week residential camp for high school sophomores and juniors. In July 1997, over 150 students from across Iowa came to Drake University for a week to learn about the free enterprise system, the world of work, and how to be successful in the career choices they make. Throughout the week, individuals from Iowa businesses tell the students about their companies. The students learn about why companies choose to do business in Iowa.

Making Connections

In September 1994, the Central Iowa Regional Planning Board (representing education, labor, business, and government) began exploring the idea of creating an electronic database of businesses that would be willing to have students and teachers experience career opportunities at work sites. After several months, Making Connections was adopted jointly by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) and the Iowa STW office. Making Connections is a system for linking students and educators with work experience opportunities and involves an automated database of businesses that are willing to provide Iowa students with work-based learning activities ranging from job shadowing to company tours. Making Connections maintains a web presence at www.state.ia.us/iwd/connections.

Teachers' Union

The Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) is the primary teachers' union in Iowa. The ISEA represents over 30,000 members including Iowa's K-12 system educators, community college faculty, and the University of Northern Iowa faculty. Per one ISEA official, Iowa has a strong collaboration between the ISEA, school administrators, and the Iowa Association of School Boards.

The ISEA supports STW but is more concerned about other educational issues such as class size and teacher's salaries. The ISEA official indicated that Iowa was already performing STW activities prior to Federal STW funding. The Federal funding has allowed Iowa to accelerate the STW process.

Community Involvement

Chambers of Commerce in many communities are facilitating or co-chairing the STW partnerships.

We believe that Iowa has generally taken actions necessary to ensure the initial and ongoing involvement of stakeholders, such as students, employers, schools, parents, trade associations, unions, and professional associations in the statewide STW system.
 

Iowa is divided into 15 regions for purposes of delivering educational support services to K-12 districts through Area Education Agencies (AEAs). The AEA boundary lines coincide with Iowa's Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Service Delivery Areas and community college districts. Consequently, these 15 regional areas serve as Iowa's regional STW partnerships. Iowa STW officials are aware that state-level staff are very limited in the amount of technical assistance they can provide to local partners considering Iowa has over 375 school districts. By using established support structures, Iowa's capacity to build local partnerships is increased and the technical assistance provided to these regional levels will greatly increase Iowa's capacity for expanding the STW system through the local levels. Iowa's STW system roll-out is initially performed at the state-level, then at the regional-level, and finally at the local-level.

State-level

Iowa's roll-out strategy is based on:

• a non-competitive basis in allocating STW funding to the 15 regional STW partnerships based on the number of school districts and the number of students in each area; and

 
• a competitive two-part grant process for local STW partnerships consisting of a consolidated grant application and an on-site visit by STW personnel.

Four state-level Local Partnership Coordinators (LPCs) are assigned to specific geographical areas of Iowa and provide policy guidance and technical assistance to funded local STW partnerships. The LPCs are assigned to the Iowa STW office and report directly to the Iowa STW Co-Directors. The STW Administrative Team is engaged in all aspects of the local STW partnership's two-part grant process and approves the local STW partnerships' plans for funding.

Regional-level

At the regional-level, Iowa's STW system is organized around the 15 regional STW partnerships that coincide with the Area Education Agencies (AEAs), JTPA's Service
 
 

The regional STW partnerships are required to submit a detailed work plan to the Iowa STW Office in order to apply for funding. The regional STW partnerships are funded non-competitively in 1 year increments (maximum of 5 years) using an allocation formula based on the number of school districts and the number of students in each regional AEA. The regional community college or AEA is usually the fiscal agent for the regional partnership. All regional partnerships received initial funding in January 1996.

The regional partnerships are to provide technical assistance to both unfunded local partnerships as well as local STW partnerships in the developmental stage of funding. In assisting in the development of local partnerships, regional partners are responsible for assisting with and/or disseminating labor market information; curriculum development; work-based learning experiences; and regional professional development coordination for educators, employers, and other partners. The eventual goal is to have regional STW partnerships providing technical assistance to ALL local partnerships after Federal STW funding expires.

All regional STW partnerships were provided orientation through the Iowa Communications Network (see Chapter 6 for more information) shortly after being funded. Iowa STW officials monitor and evaluate the regional STW partnerships' progress by reviewing the partnerships' required quarterly progress reports as well as conducting on-site visits.

Onsite visits to regional STW partnerships occur approximately every 6 months. Monitoring and evaluation is gauged against the regional STW partnership's work plan which is updated through applications for additional funding. After an onsite visit, a monitoring report is prepared which includes commendations and recommendations as the region moves forward with its regional work plan.

Two of the Iowa's regional STW partnerships (Des Moines and Council Bluffs areas) and six local STW partnerships were previously involved in the Direct Federally funded local partnership grant awarded to the Marshalltown School District. This Federal STW grant was awarded in September 1994. The total award for this grant including one modification was over $1.1 million.

At the local-level, the 15 regional STW partnerships provide leadership and technical assistance to unfunded local partnerships and local partnerships funded with STW developmental dollars.

To receive funding, Iowa officials require the school districts to apply for local STW partnership funding as their own entity or as part of a larger consortium. The local STW partnerships must be comprised of business representatives, a labor official, a community college representative, an AEA representative, parents, teachers, guidance counselors, a local IWD liaison, an alternative education provider, a community economic development representative, and a Transition Advisory Board. These officials must be active participants. Moreover, Iowa officials require the local STW partnerships to make local-level strategies, curricula, and tools available for replication so that unfunded sites can easily obtain the information, thereby maximizing Iowa's use of STW resources.

Local partnerships can receive STW funding for the following types of activities:

System Design (Development Grants):

System design grants are for planning and developing local STW partnerships and were last awarded in April 1997. System design grants are no longer available. These grants included a one year period of performance with funding up to $10,000 for each high school feeder system in the district or consortium.

System Building (1^st year Implementation Grants)

System building grants are intended to support local partnerships in revising curricula, developing integrated school-based and work-based learning, and expanding the career development system. These grants include a one year period of performance with funding up to $65,000 for each high school feeder system in the district or consortium.

Grant criteria require the local partnership to:

• complete the design of their STW system,
• complete a plan for integrating a career development system in all grades,
• complete a public awareness campaign,
• demonstrate strong commitment from key partners (letters of support),
• identify significant financial funding from specific resources,
• commit to working with Iowa on career pathways and skill standards,
• have a plan for the development and revision of integrated curriculum,
• include their plans for students to obtain work experience, and

• demonstrate a planned program linking worksite learning (including workplace mentoring) and school-based learning, including instruction in workplace competencies and all aspects of the industry.

System Expansion (2^nd year Implementation Grants)

System expansion grants are intended for local partnerships that are more advanced in the implementation of their local STW system. These grants include a one year period of performance with funding up to $45,000 for each high school feeder system in the district or consortium.

Grant criteria require the local partnership to:

• demonstrate that discussions have occurred for linking secondary and post- secondary education,
• commit to working with the State on college entry requirement issues,
• demonstrate that systemic career development is being provided to
• all grades (pre-K through 12^th grade),
• have designed work site learning models for each of the career pathways to be implemented in the local area,
• have identified work sites for student learning experiences,
• have conducted STW public awareness activities,
• have identified strategies and resources to assure the participation of all students,
• have demonstrated that integrated curricula have been designed and will continue to be designed by academic educators, vocational educators, and employers,
• include their plans for students to obtain work experience, and
• demonstrate a planned program linking worksite learning (including workplace mentoring) and school-based learning, including instruction in workplace competencies and all aspects of the industry.

The four state-level LPCs provide leadership and technical assistance to all STW-funded local partnerships. Moreover, they are responsible for monitoring and evaluating the local STW partnerships' progress by reviewing the partnerships' quarterly progress reports and conducting onsite visits. Monitoring and evaluation is gauged against the
 

According to the Iowa STW Co-Director, over 200 of approximately 375 Iowa school districts have received STW funding.

The Iowa Implementation Grant's Statement of Work (pages 1 and 2) states that the following five local-level outcomes are expected at the end of the Federal STW funding:

• The academic achievement of substantial numbers of students will increase through contextual learning.
• Communities will have established clear visions for their local STW systems.
• Business, community, and education partners will be involved at all levels in designing and offering contextual learning opportunities for all students.
• All students at all ages will have increased opportunities for experiencing the realities of the workplace.
• Local partnerships across Iowa will have identified steps for moving the system to serving all students over the long term.

We believe that Iowa has taken initial actions necessary to integrate regional and local partnerships into the statewide STW system which should enhance the probability of STW initiative continuing after the cessation of Federal funding.
 

An Iowa School-to-Work (STW) Co-Director stated that the stakeholders involved with the State officials and at the local/regional levels are "at the table" concerning STW because of their future. Iowa needs to provide the stakeholders with results in order to keep the stakeholders' investment in the system per the Co-Director. These results include improved readiness of the future workforce and students who are able to make effective choices instead of wandering aimlessly for several years in an "under employed" status. The Iowa STW Co-Director and a regional STW partnership representative provided us with the following examples of incentives/rewards for each of the various stakeholder groups involved in the STW initiative (students, employers, parents, teachers/guidance counselors, employer unions, trade/business associations, and school administrators).

Students

Iowa provides students with better employment opportunities, increased chances for college entry, higher academic achievement, career plans, portfolios, full-time employment, and making learning fun through interesting and innovative learning methods. This is accomplished by enabling the students to see greater relevance in their studies (both school and career). They have increased motivation to learn when the whole community backs the students' efforts and offers them hands-on experience.

Employers

Iowa provides employers the opportunity to contribute input into the school system's curricula that will facilitate the building of a quality work-based learning component that will result in students being more motivated, responsible, and goal oriented toward careers and life-long learning. Also, employers will receive recognition by Iowa officials and their localities in working with the educational community.

Parents

Iowa provides parents the opportunity to contribute in establishing local level educational policy and assisting in their children's school and career planning. By providing parents with greater knowledge about future jobs and careers, they can motivate their children to be more engaged in education and be more willing to pursue employment and further studies.

Teachers/Guidance Counselors

Educators will be more gratified in observing their students being further engaged in their education. Educators will have more satisfied students, fewer disciplinary problems, and more excitement in the classroom. Educators can receive earnings for internships at
 

Employer unions

Skills of union employees are brought into the classroom. Unions want future members and increased membership. Union members know what the work is; not what the work is about. Only those individuals who actually do the work fully understand the skills embedded in the work. STW is about teaching future workers these necessary "worksite" skills.

Trade/Business Associations

Iowa officials commented on Senate File 361 (see Chapter 1) and the need for skilled workers as incentives/rewards for trade/business associations. Further, the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) is a key state-level partner in the initiative and two of the ABI's key officials are members of the Iowa STW Administrative Team.

School Administrators

The Iowa STW Co-Director stated that STW is tied to school improvement, one of the few Iowa educational mandates. In support of their best interests, school administrators need to take a leadership role and give direction to school staff concerning STW and school improvement. If administrators are to operate a quality school system, then they must produce a quality output including employable graduates and/or college-ready graduates. STW provides the administrators with new avenues in assisting educators with providing a quality education for students. School administrators also have a monetary incentive because other funding is available to support their school district operations including Goals 2000, Career Pathways, and school improvement.

Iowa has generally developed a system of incentives and rewards for each of the various groups of stakeholders which should ensure the initial and continued involvement of these various groups. However, students are not required to participate in the STW initiative as a graduation prerequisite, even where STW has been ingrained in the school system.

The Executive Summary of the Iowa STW Implementation Grant's Statement of Work states that Iowa's STW ". . . vision for this system is to prepare all students to enter and succeed in a changing workplace." Iowa officials further state on pages 23 and 24 of the

• career development activities for all students;
• a career and education plan at the end of the 7^th grade for all students;
• the establishment of career pathways so that all students can gain contextual learning and workplace readiness skills while in high school; and
• an array of opportunities for work-based learning for all students at both middle school and high school.

We believe the Iowa State Board of Education should establish student participation in all STW components (school-based learning, work-based learning, and connecting activities) as a high school graduation prerequisite for every student. However, the available options that constitute the STW components in each local school can be determined by the local school district. (See Finding No. 1 in Section I, Chapter 2.)

Iowa officials believe educators are receiving sufficient STW training through the Area Education Agencies (AEA). However, we found no uniform requirements in place to ensure that teachers and guidance counselors receive STW training as part of the State's certification process of teachers and guidance counselors. Therefore, educators may not always elect STW training.

The AEAs were created by the DE to provide programs and services which facilitate professional growth of instructional, administrative, and support personnel. These AEA programs and services develop skills, techniques, knowledge, and understanding of education research and best practices, and model best practices in professional and organizational development. The programs and services support school improvement processes and practices, provide for the development of leadership in education, and address professional development activities as required by Iowa law. The AEAs also provide programs and services supporting and facilitating curriculum development, instruction, and assessment. Training and assistance are provided in the application and effective instructional practices for reading, language arts, mathematics and science, including the integration and application of knowledge and skills in applied learning.

Attachment 5 of the Iowa Implementation Grant's Statement of Work states that Iowa's STW evaluation system will include state standards for educator preparation that will reflect STW-related skills. The need for educator preparation is also documented in the following strategic plans:

• "Enterprise Strategic Planning" (as described in detail in Chapter 3) discloses that preparation programs have not prepared educators to understand and teach skills needed for the workplace. Iowa officials must increase the knowledge of educational practitioners about workforce skills.

 
• The DE Strategic Plan, December 1997 revision, includes two strategies that encourage DE to help schools and communities obtain the necessary skills, competencies, and resources to meet the learning needs of their children and adults. One strategy is to improve the teaching and instructional practices at the classroom level so that the achievement of all students continuously improves. The other strategy is to support educator preparation and professional development programs designed to give educators the skills they need to improve teaching and learning.

 
• The November 1997 Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) Strategic Plan documents that higher education has the responsibility to ensure that its professional education programs remain current in a rapidly changing world. As work-based learning gains greater acceptance, teacher education programs must expand this approach in their curricula.

 

• The January 1997 Iowa Department of Economic Development (DED) Strategic Plan provides that all levels of education must teach in a manner which will provide students with the competencies to perform on the job, to participate in family and community life, and to be prepared for lifelong learning.

The DE does not require STW-related training as a prerequisite to certification or renewed certification to teach in Iowa. Instead, Iowa officials are comfortable that Iowa educators are electing to receive sufficient STW training through the AEAs.

However, the Iowa STW Co-Director stated that STW training in support of initial educator certification is weak.

We believe that in order for STW and school improvement efforts to be successful, professional growth opportunities must be provided to all educators to ensure that they enhance their skills to provide for student needs and raise student achievement. Educators entering the teaching profession familiar with and committed to these efforts will contribute immeasurably to the process and success of STW and school improvement. Therefore, we believe it is necessary for educator preparation to be linked to STW and school improvement reform. We also believe incorporating specific STW-related requirements as a prerequisite to certification and renewed certification to teach is an effective way to ensure that all educators are properly trained. (See Finding No. 2 in Section I, Chapter 2.)

Iowa's plan for establishing skill standards and assessing competencies includes a framework of identifying and establishing career pathways, identifying three levels of skill standards, and developing student attainment guidelines of competencies for the first two skill standard levels for local partnerships.

Career Pathways

Iowa's career pathways system serves as the organizing framework for integrating
school-based learning and work-based learning. Iowa's approach to career pathways established a structure for engaging business and labor in the assessment and identification of necessary employability skills for preparing Iowa students for the workplace. A career pathway does not serve as a narrow path leading to a specific occupation, but rather it ensures that students gain an understanding of all aspects of a broad career area, including available options and the necessary preparation for the career.

Originally, 10 pathways were identified by surveying the business community but were reduced to the six through "back and forth" discussions between the State and regional planning boards. The following six pathways, whose clusters of specific occupations share similar interests and skills, were adopted by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) in 1996:

• Health Sciences
• Engineering, Industrial, and Technological Sciences
• Business, Information Management, and Marketing
• Agriscience and Natural Resources
• Family and Human Services
• Arts and Humanities

Skill Standards

Iowa has established three levels of skill standard attainment for students.

Tier I Skills (13 Necessary Skills)

Iowa's Tier I skills form the foundation of Iowa's STW system. Tier I skills represent the academic and employability skills that all students should know and be able to perform upon entering the workforce. These skills also require that students have a thorough understanding of studied subjects and the capacity to apply the skills in real world settings. These skills are as follows:

• Communicate and understand ideas and information
• Collect, analyze, and organize information
• Identify and solve problems
• Understand and work with complex systems
• Apply mathematical reasoning to work-related problems
• Use technology
• Initiate and complete entire activities
• Act professionally
• Interact with others
• Learn and teach on an on-going basis
• Take responsibility for career and life choices
• Read and understand work-related materials
• Participate in teamwork

 
In 1995, ABI and the Iowa STW office surveyed Iowa employers to learn what these employers believed was necessary for students to know prior to entering and succeeding in a changing workplace. The surveyed employers represented Iowa's top three percent of growth industries. As a result, Iowa's Tier I skills were developed and closely parallel the SCANS [Secretary's (of Labor) Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills] skills and American College Testing's (ACT) Work Keys.
 
ACT's Work Keys

Work Keys is a national system for documenting and improving workplace skills and is designed to serve business, industry, labor, and educational entities. ACT's Work Keys system brings common language and a level of mastery for jobs as well as employability skills to employers and educators. The system also provides a high school level assessment tool to determine mastery. Some Iowa high schools are using the Work Keys assessment to measure student's basic employability skills.

Tier I skill standards will be infused into the core academic curricula of Math, Science, English, and Language Arts. This infusion process into Iowa's K-12 curriculum is being performed by the DE with assistance from the Mid-Continent Regional Education Laboratory. Iowa is developing curriculum and benchmarks for the 4^th, 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th grades.

Every 3 years, IWD, DED, DE, and ABI will revisit the identified Tier I skills. Tier I skills also are the foundation on which Tier II skills are based.

Tier II Skills (Career Employability Skills or Tier II Core)

Tier II skills represent general entry-level skill standards for career pathways. Because Tier II skills are based on the Tier I skills, 80 percent of these skills are transferable both within and between the six career pathways. However, Tier II skills are different because they feature occupational pathway contexts for skill applications and enhancements.

For example, a student engaged in the "Health Sciences" pathway and another student engaged in the "Business, Information Management, and Marketing Occupations" pathway will both learn communication skills. The first student will apply the communication skills to simulations or activities with patients while the latter student will apply communication skills to business clients. The skill acquisition will be the same but the context of application will be different in the various pathways.

Through consultation with regional STW partnerships, local STW partnerships can select the pathway and Tier II skills that are most representative of the local area job market. Further, the local partnership has the authority to "customize" the Tier II skill standards to accommodate local industry needs. Tier II skills represent the commonly required entry-level skills necessary for employment in the industries represented within each pathway.

Tier II skill standards are being subjected to an extensive validation process. This process began with ABI and the Iowa STW Office gathering data that had already been produced by others (e.g., National Skill Standards) and has been expanded by requesting data from workers, supervisors, and executives of various Iowa companies. The data was validated and refined by a subcontractor and resulted in the developmeent of 15 to 20 skills for each pathway.

However, Iowa has not yet determined how Tier II skills will be incorporated into the school curricula.

Tier III Skills

Tier III skills are occupation-specific standards and are built upon the foundation of Tier II skills. Several existing apprenticeship programs, Tech Prep programs, and certain other degree programs have been identified as representing Tier III skill standards. However, Iowa has no current plans for developing Tier III skills on a statewide basis.

Iowa has no mandates for students' skills attainment and does not plan on issuing portable credential certificates to students notwithstanding Iowa's grant commitment to establish a process for issuing portable skill certificates. Instead, as indicated on page 17 of the Iowa Implementation Grant's Statement of Work, Iowa officials will recommend models for local partnerships to use in identifying student competency through demonstration. These models will be made available to local partnerships and will interface with the Tier I and Tier II skill standards. As indicated on pages 17 and 18 of the Grant's Statement of Work, each local partnership will be required to use a common reporting instrument designed by state officials. This requires that, regardless of the assessment used, local partnerships are assessing for skills required for the specific skills in Tier I and/or Tier II. The common reporting instrument, designed around Tier I and Tier II skill standards, will provide portability of the attained skills. The Co-Director added that student attainment of Tier I and Tier II skills will be portable because the process of identifying the skills was standardized and involved all areas of Iowa.

However, since we were not provided any copies of the common reporting instrument, we were unable to determine if employers and post-secondary institutions are recognizing the Iowa STW system or if this system is producing quality new hires and/or college students.

We believe the Iowa State Board of Education can further strengthen the sustainability of Iowa's STW initiative by establishing student attainment in all STW components as an Iowa high school graduation prerequisite. This will allow businesses, 2-year colleges, and 4-year colleges to recognize the students' successful achievement of the STW components. However, the available options that constitute the STW components in each local school can be determined by the local school district (see Finding No. 1 in
Section I, Chapter 2).

Iowa's School-to-Work (STW) public message/outreach is being performed through a variety of modes, including a marketing contractor, a statewide STW Institute, a
CD-ROM, the Internet, newspaper, magazine, newsletters, a public outreach packet, a resource guide, organized labor, and future planned activities. Examples of these public outreach activities are included below and on the following pages.

Marketing Contractor

During Iowa's first 2-year implementation period, the Iowa STW Office contracted with a marketing group to survey the various stakeholder groups. Per the contractor's recommendations, it was determined that the STW message would be better received by individual stakeholders if the message were delivered by the individual state players [Iowa Department of Education (DE), Iowa Workforce Development (IWD), etc.] versus directly from the Iowa STW office. Consequently, each state player has included STW public outreach messages within its normal publications. We were informed that these public outreach messages were not paid by the Iowa STW office, which shows ownership qualities for the STW initiative by the individual state players.

The marketing contractor also developed a public outreach plan which is modified by Iowa STW officials as conditions warrant. This plan states that no STW communications plan can be universally effective without focusing on those audiences which are in a school's community. STW information, its goals, and available student options must reach the community members (parents, community leaders, community members, and business representatives) for the effective implementation of STW. For each target audience, the plan identifies goals, objectives, and tasks designed to fully involve the stakeholder groups in the STW initiative.

STW Institute

Iowa held the first-in-the-nation State STW Institute from February 2 through
February 4, 1997, in Des Moines, Iowa. The Institute's purpose was to provide intensive "hands-on" training for over 300 officials from Iowa's regional and local STW partnerships. The purpose of this training was to help the regional and local STW partners with in-depth learning of the system building elements that must be addressed to achieve a comprehensive STW system. Iowa officials believe that the Institute provided the participants the technical assistance and necessary strategic planning skills to achieve systemic implementation of STW in Iowa. The Institute's speakers included the National School-to-Work Opportunities Office Director, Iowa's Lieutenant Governor, the IWD Director, the DE Director, the Iowa Department of Economic Development (DED) Director, and the Iowa STW Co-Directors.

The Iowa STW Office and the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) have jointly developed an interactive CD-ROM that introduces STW to four primary audiences: students, parents, educators, and employers. The CD-ROM provides an opportunity for each audience to explore the STW benefits and explains why and how each target audience can get involved from the perspective of their peers. The CD-ROM became available in December 1997 and will be disseminated to 2,000 ABI members, local Chambers of Commerce, the 15 regional STW partnerships, community colleges, school districts, workforce development centers, all educators and businesses that participated in the development of career employability Tier II skills (see Chapter 10), and rehabilitation transition locations.

Internet

ABI maintains an Internet presence at www.iowaabi.org. One purpose of this website is to provide the following STW data: partnerships, business involvement, education involvement, a calendar of events, and grants currently available.

Newspaper

Several newspapers across Iowa have published articles concerning STW efforts in their local areas.

Magazine

Iowa Commerce, the official publication of ABI, is disseminated monthly to 10,000 subscribers of which 2,000 are ABI member organizations. This publication routinely contains STW articles. In the initial stages of STW implementation, the publication was provided to all Iowa school districts, which were given the option of subscribing.

Departmental and Organizational Newsletter Publications

The following Iowa Departments' publications contain STW information:

• the Iowa Department of Education's Dispatch,
• the Iowa Department of Economic Development's Shining Star,
• the Iowa Department of Economic Development's Digest,and
• the Iowa Workforce Development's Workforce Wednesday

• MII Publications
• Iowa School Public Relations Association's monthly series
• Iowa Association of School Boards' Compass

• America Media Incorporated's AMI Media Works

The Iowa STW Office created a public outreach packet of information and disseminated the packets to all regional and local STW partnerships in November 1997. Some of the contents were previously disseminated in 1996 while other contents are relatively new. The goal of this dissemination tactic was for the regional and local STW partnerships to customize the packet's contents for regional and local level public outreach purposes.

STW Resource Guide

A STW Resource Guide has been developed by the Iowa STW Office and disseminated to all regional and local STW partnerships in Iowa. Within this guide, resources are available for school-based learning, work-based learning, systems change, career development, effective practices, parental involvement, and marketing.

Union Marketing of the STW initiative

The South Central Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO has developed a marketing folder of STW materials that is disseminated to organized labor groups.

Planned Activities for Further Outreach to Employers

ABI has started holding STW summits in each of Iowa's 15 regional STW areas. Regional STW partnerships are to mail out notices to individual employers in advance of these summits. In each regional area, ABI wants one STW employer that has been involved in various STW activities to be the primary contact for these regional summits.

At Iowa's April 1998 Tech Prep Conference, this designated primary employer was requested to provide a presentation on their STW activities. ABI's position is that other employers will "buy-in" to the STW initiative more readily if the STW summit activities are being led by a regional entity. The summit activities will include a basic presentation on how to get involved in the regional and local STW initiatives. In addition, STW tools and resources will be available for distribution.

The ABI President stated that these planned summits are to provide STW information to employers, to show the employers that STW is a good idea, and to have the local employers grasp and take ownership of their local STW systems.

Other Communications and Marketing Initiatives

The following communications and marketing initiatives activities occurred during the
1^st year STW implementation grant period (Fall 1995 -- Fall 1996):

• A team from the DE and the DED completed a computerized presentation on the key elements of STW to all audiences.

 
• The STW Office developed a publication entitled New Partnerships on Behalf of Iowa's Students for the joint Iowa legislative committees on workforce development and education.

 
• The Iowa STW office in partnership with the Iowa State Education Association and the community college boards of trustees developed a "Ready for Work" video.

 
• STW was presented during the "Business Report" weekly program telecast on a cable channel.

• The STW Office developed the Will Our Children Be Ready for Life After High School? brochure to be used as a template for local STW partnerships to highlight their efforts and insert quotes from their local community members. The brochure was included in the Public Outreach Packet described on page 68.

 
• The Iowa STW Office's Communications Task Force included public relations representatives from the DE, DED, ABI and the Regional STW Coordinators. The Task Force meets once a month.

 
• The Iowa STW Office developed a showcase display for use at conferences and other exhibits to highlight Iowa's STW efforts.

 
• The marketing contractor will provide assistance to the 15 regional STW partnerships in developing a regional outreach plan similar to the State plan. Once the regions have a plan, they will assist the local areas in developing a local-level outreach plan.

• In July 1994, the Iowa STW Stakeholders Conference was held to introduce the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 and to begin the dialogue for developing Iowa's STW system. Over 150 individuals representing youth organizations, government, education, parents, legislators, business, labor, and other groups attended this conference.
• The 1997 Excellence in Teaching Institute engaged over 50 Iowa educators from high schools and community colleges and representatives from 30 businesses to

participate in an intensive one-week program dedicated to developing STW transition skills.

• On February 4, 1998, approximately 30 students (two from each Area Education Agency) as well as some teachers and parents met at the State Capitol building and participated in the Iowa Groundhog Job Shadow Day. The purpose of this event was for the students to job shadow their respective Iowa legislators for the afternoon.

Iowa has taken actions necessary to ensure that the initial and on-going public message/ outreach efforts promote the STW message to the various stakeholder groups.

[ Return to Audit Reports    ]                [  Return to Audit Reports (Text Only)  ]