A future president of the United States is in a classroom today. Seated next to her may be a future salesperson, a manager of a manufacturing plant, a journalist, a doctor, a steelworker, and a scientist. These children need to learn vital skills now so they are prepared for whatever profession they choose later in life.

Years ago, non-academic, vocational classes were only for those not planning on college. However, today's high-skill job market demands that all high school graduates have both advanced academic knowledge and workplace skills and training acquired through work-oriented education. Just as professional careers now demand technical skills and an ability to work in teams, technical careers require an ability to diagnose and analyze problems.

The School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994 focuses on improving the way students are prepared for careers, college and citizenship.

"We are now learning a lot more about learning and we know that a lot of people with very high intelligence levels learn better in practical settings. We also know that practical skills now require a higher order of thinking. So the old dividing line between vocational and academic is fast becoming blurred and will become more and more meaningless as time goes on."

- President Clinton

School-to-work programs restructure education so students improve their academic performance and get "turned on" to learning. This is a way of equipping all students with the knowledge and skills necessary for economic success in the real world -- not a new program for the "non-college-bound."

• Children learn better when they see a purpose to their studies. And cognitive research shows that people learn best by doing, when they apply their academic lessons to real-world activities and situations. By linking schools and workplaces, school-to-work programs improve student motivation and academic performance, and prepare students to choose and follow careers. For example:
• Future business leaders and workers learn about the history of Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan in American industry, as well as the mathematical and managerial skills they will need in business.
• Future nurses learn about genes and atoms, as well as how great authors' illnesses and mental conditions shaped their own pictures of the world.
• Future artists study not only the art of the past but also learn anatomy and the mathematics behind perspective and distance.
• Programs build on the best school restructuring efforts already underway in schools across the country:
• Teachers plan and teach together in interdisciplinary teams to show the connections between subjects and to integrate academic lessons with lessons learned in the workplace.
• Teachers guide and coach students to learn on their own through project- and problem-based curricula.
• Workplace personnel help teach courses in school and assist teachers in planning relevant lessons and courses.
• Traditional separation of students based on ability is replaced by schools-within-schools with different career themes and organization of schools along "career pathways."
• Student progress is evaluated both by what students know and what they are able to do. Assessments used to measure students' academic and skill development include portfolios and exhibitions of mastery.

Guidance personnel inform all students of their full range of options -- in both higher education and the workplace. Students graduate from high school with a full range of options, including four-year college, two-year college, technical training programs, registered apprenticeship programs and skilled entry-level work on career paths.

The focus on students own interests and their connections to and relationships with adult mentors provides students with internal motivation to learn and a support structure for doing so. Students study and complete lessons, not to please the teacher or to avoid failing, but because they understand how the material will help them later in life. They see the connection between classroom lessons and careers.

All of the courses and programs of study are designed to enable every student to meet the highest academic standards. At the end of high school, students can choose to enter the workplace or college, confident that they have the skills to succeed.

"Many students just drift through school. Suddenly, when they graduate, they realize they have no idea in the world of how to get a job....We never make the basic connection between learning, a paycheck, and some basic career goals. We need to reinvent the American high school to find a way to catch the attention of these young people and help them get a focus in their lives a little earlier."

- Richard Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education

In the workplace, there are no textbooks with questions to be answered at the back of each chapter. Instead, workers learn by doing, acquiring knowledge as necessary to complete projects and improving their skills through daily use. If we were to align schools with modern high-performance workplaces, teaching arrangements would consist of flexible teams of teachers guiding student workers who were empowered to find solutions, not several independent "bosses" shuffling passive learners according to 45-minute periods. Evaluations would focus on developing students' critical-thinking, problem-solving, communications, and interpersonal skills, rather than on their ability to memorize and regurgitate information.

School-to-work systems provide the missing link between children's school years and their lifetimes as adult workers. Students in school-to-work programs:

• Learn about their job possibilities by "shadowing" existing workers in different departments and discussing work and life with adult mentors;
• Experience the workplace environment first-hand through volunteer work, internships, and paid work experiences;
• Apply academics to real tasks performed in the workplace and participate as productive employees;
• Acquire the skills necessary for successful careers; and
• Formulate goals and plans for a future previously unimagined.

"Partnerships between business and education build vital and successful school-to-work programs that fit the needs of local communities and have the flexibility to respond to changes in the local labor market and economy."

- Robert Reich U.S. Secretary of Labor

As students see the connections between their school work and what is required by good careers, they understand the importance of learning and can make better decisions about their futures.

At the workplace, students work closely with mentors who impart the skills and knowledge necessary for students to prosper in the field. Adult worker-mentors and worksite supervisors collaborate with classroom teachers to guide and challenge students to perform well. Through these experiences, students learn the knowledge and skills appropriate to a specific career and the general work expectations of promptness, commitment, and persistence that can serve them in all careers.

"Here, you have to be professional. In high school, you're just a plain and simple kid."

- Nehal, student

In effective school-to-work programs, employers, workers, and teachers outline the skills necessary for each job and work together to help students acquire them. Curricula at school and work are designed to reinforce each other.

Employers in quality school-to-work programs:

• Ensure that students learn as they work, creating a structured learning program closely connected to the academic content they learn in school;
• Work together with supervisors, teachers, and students to develop training plans that structure skill development and ensure success at school and work.

Other attributes of quality school-to-work programs:

• Students learn problem-solving, communication, and other general workplace skills that can help them in any future career. Given the expectation that young people will change jobs at least five times and careers at least four times in their lifetimes, school-to-work programs emphasize broad, transferable skills that can serve students no matter what career they choose.
• Students learn "all aspects of an industry" from labor, health and safety issues, and underlying principles of technology, to planning, management, and finance. One method used to teach all aspects of the industry is to have students rotate through different departments to gain exposure to specific elements unique to an industry and to the general day-to-day details of running an entire business.
• Worker-mentors, supervisors, and school personnel receive orientation, training, and on-going support.
• Students receive certificates for the work skills they acquire though work-based learning programs. Ideally, this certification would be recognized by other employers in the industry nationwide.
• Teachers, administrators, and counselors stay in contact with the businesses and other organizations throughout the year to find better ways to incorporate workplace concepts and technologies into their curriculum and to ensure that students learn as much as they can from their workplace experiences. Some teachers may even take on short-term employment opportunities (summer internships, for example) in their field to expand their skills and develop a better understanding of the industry.

"School-to-work opportunities make it possible for young people to gain skills, competence, commitment to teamwork, problem solving, and lifelong learning. They will be better citizens of a democracy, as well as better workers."

-Steve Hamilton, Cornell Youth and Work Program

The worlds of school and work are largely alien to each other. Any school-to-work effort must under-stand the different cultures, norms, and methods of educators and employers. Many employers want to find solutions, complete projects, and satisfy customers. Many teachers want students to learn how to find answers and master the "basics." Successful school-to-work programs reconcile the needs of schools and employers and overcome the barriers to their collaboration in ways that do not put students in the middle.

Successful school-to-work partnerships require strong bridges that connect schools and workplaces. These "connecting activities" include:

• Coordinating classroom instruction and workplace experience so that the instructional program in school reinforces student work experiences and vice-versa.
• Providing regular communication, planning, and consultation between the students employer and school.
• Forming permanent two-way links with the business and the school, communicating their expectations of what students should learn and be able to do, and then working as partners to help students achieve.
• Creating links to the full range of post-secondary options including college, since most jobs today and in the future will require postsecondary education.

"Schools are better if businesspeople are in the schools because they see the good things that go on in the schools. Businesses are better if school people are there and see what goes on in industry. It has to be a living, breathing organism. It should not be a stagnant kind of partnership."

- John Tobin, Siemens Corporation

Many programs have found that an intermediary organization -- a local chamber of commerce, private industry council, or community-based organization such as the Upper Rio Grande Tech-Prep School-to-Careers Consortium -- can provide the glue to hold this partnership together. A trusted intermediary can administer a program and keep everyone communicating. It can help make the initial contact with businesses, coordinate the matching of students with employers, and help resolve any problems or miscommunications that develop.

This organization or consortium of employment, education and training providers can enable schools and employers to focus on providing students the best educational experiences possible.

"I have found that the student who is challenged, both with respect and more education, comes back at you stronger than anything you've seen. These kids come in, they get turned on."

- George Kaye, Brigham and Women's Hospital

A school-to-work partnership can be successful only when there is agreement on what students will be expected to do and what each partner is responsible for providing.

Other roles and responsibilities of intermediary organizations include:

• Establishing a program coordinator to act as the "glue" linking all program partners, including students, employers, workers, teachers, administrators, and parents, and attending to participating students needs.
• Carefully matching students with employers work-based learning opportunities and making decisions based on students interests and future career plans.
• Arranging for technical assistance to help design work-based learning, counseling, and case management services, and to train teachers and workplace mentors and counselors.
• Using all available forms of student support, such as counseling and mentoring, to ensure the successful integration of school- and work-based leaning.
• Working with existing apprenticeship agencies, job training programs, and local colleges and universities to develop strong and integrated programs.
• Providing students who have completed the school-to-work program with assistance in finding an appropriate job on their career path, continuing their education, or accessing further training.
• Urging participating companies to encourage workers to become involved in youth development activities.
• Monitoring, documenting, and evaluating the school-to-work program.

"Many of those industries have not only taken our kids and worked with them, but they've developed our kids into citizens. Students see more meaning in everything they do, and without the business partnership we can't do it ourselves."

- John Davidson, Fayetteville Area Vocational Center