Work-based learning is an integral part of the educational system in some states and in others, communities and school systems are struggling to fit school-to-work principles into the educational process. Bottom-line commitment of employers and school districts is essential. (JOW)

Evaluations of the effectiveness of government programs may serve both to improve program implementation and to convey to policymakers information on the effectiveness of these programs. However, the evidence generated from programs and their providers--perhaps especially when these programs are decentralized and implemented and run locally--may…

Discusses the success of the school-to-work program and looks how various states have implemented the program. Suggests that school-to-work is very important and should remain a top priority at federal and state levels. (JOW)

The 1994 federal School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) provided more than $1.5 billion over 5 years to support increased career preparation activities in the country's public schools. A new longitudinal data source with rich information on school-to-career (STC) programs--the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97)--provides…

This report summarizes changes to existing federal education programs contained in the Improving America's Schools Act, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. The publication looks at various programs that serve the broad educational priorities set forth in the Department of Education's Strategic Plan. The…

The School-to-Work Opportunities Act, which was designed to improve student learning, in-school retention, and transition to the workplace, requires the restructuring of secondary education and the extensive involvement of business in preparing youth for the workplace. School-to-work initiatives reflect the conditions of the settings and contexts…

This report examines local school-to-work partnerships in Pennsylvania and summarizes the lessons that can be learned from them. It includes information on how local partnerships work, functions of local school-to-work partnerships, and partnership activities such as establishing educator in the workplace opportunities, making business…

The 1990 Perkins Amendments and the 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Act encouraged high schools and community colleges to combine academic with vocational curriculum in a program that includes work-related applications and creates clearer pathways from secondary to postsecondary education. To ensure the readiness of educators, institutions that…

The School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) of 1994 provides flexible funding and technical assistance to the education reform strategy known as the school-to-work movement, which offers a broad range of students work-based learning opportunities. In 1994, just before passage of the STWOA, the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year project that conducted research on the effectiveness of an intervention that complies with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, and Massachusetts state standards. The project, conducted at two urban high schools,…

California has numerous niche programs stressing both academic rigor and career connections. These occur most successfully where business and elected officials support K-12 partnerships and provide job-shadowing opportunities, internships, and classroom instruction offered by business partners. A sidebar outlines school-to-work principles. (MLH)

The simplicity and "common-sense" quality of school-to-work's (STW) basic concepts are the greatest threats to the full implementation of STW. Implementation requires a fundamental restructuring of secondary education and far greater involvement of employers in the preparation of young people for work. A synthesis of findings from eight…

Since the School-to-Work Opportunities Act was passed in 1994, there has been debate over whether sufficient numbers of employers can be recruited, in order to create a national school-to-work system with the substantial work-based learning component the legislation calls for. Recent research on the question has had mixed results. In order to…

The purpose of this study was to profile the internship component of the Health Careers 2000 program, a School-to-Work (STW) grantee. The direction, extent, and focus of program implementation was studied to determine the degree of any substantive effect the internship program has had for its high school and community. Concerns and issues…

After their 1969 inception as an electrical academy in a Philadelphia high school, the number of career academies grew steadily for two decades; since 1990, their growth has accelerated. Until the mid-1990s, they existed only as smaller units within high schools, but numerous high schools have since converted themselves entirely into career…