Coren Peacock
Director
THE SCHOOL TO CAREERS PARTNERSHIP is a business-education coalition working to improve opportunities for young people. It merges school, community and work experiences to help students gain the skills and information they need to be successful once they leave school and pursue their careers. The partnership works on both the regional and local levels, coordinating school outreach to the business community, linking high school and college classrooms, and brining teachers, students and employers together, both in and out of school.
WHO RUNS THE PARTNERSHIP? The Partnership, which operates on Massachusetts Department of Education, Connecting Activities Grant dollars, awarded by the State, is housed at Cape Cod Community College, which also serves as its fiscal administrator. The Leadership Committee includes the President of the College; administrators from eight local school districts; representatives from Infinium Software, Inc., Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, Hearth 'n Kettle Restaurants, Cape Cod Healthcare, Inc. and Senator Robert O'Leary.
WHERE CAN THE PARTNERSHIP'S WORK BE SEEN? At this date, there are eight active school partners: Barnstable, Chatham and Nantucket High Schools; Cape Cod and Upper Cape Regional Technical High School; and Nauset, Martha's Vineyard and Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High Schools. Other schools participate in select activities.
WHAT ARE THE GENERAL GUIDELINES OF THE PARTNERSHIPS' ACTIVITIES? The Partnership's linking of schools and businesses reflects the employability strategies of the Workforce Investment board, and focuses on important sectors of the Cape and Islands: health care services, hospitality & tourism, the arts, the environment and technology. These sectors represent both entrepreneurial opportunities as well as engaging medium to larger sized companies with increased use of technology.
HOW DOES THE PARTNERSHIP RELATE TO LOCAL INITIATIVES?
- Tech Prep - Begun in 1992, Tech Prep allows students to earn college credit for their high school work. It enables students to learn to apply and expand on their classroom learning by "shadowing" business people in the community. The Partnership is supporting the expansion of this activity.
- CS2 - With the support of the Partnership, the town of Barnstable has undertaken an exciting initiative to encourage business skills and community spirit among middle and high school students. Funded by the town, Bay State Skills Corporation and Citizens Bank CS2 brings "entrepreneurs" from local companies and human service organizations into the schools to link academic education, career preparation and social service supports. This is a local, in-depth activity within the regional Partnership.
The Partnership helps individual school districts develop effective initiatives. At the same time, the Partnership brings communities in the region together, helping towns learn about successful initiatives from their neighbors and encouraging a consensus throughout the Cape and Islands on important ways to link education and work experiences for young people.
For more information on the School to Careers Partnership contact Coren Peacock at 508-362-2131 ext. 4485. |
