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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211
Disadvantaged youth, struggling to succeed in the face of poverty,
geographic barriers, ethnic isolation and the problems associated with
America's inner cities, will reap the benefits of more than $15,894,000 in
School-to-Work grants announced today by Vice President Gore, U.S. Secretary of
Labor Alexis M. Herman and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley.
These Urban/Rural, Out-of-School Youth and Indian grants are made to
School-to-Work partnerships that are locally designed to provide every young
person in their community with the academic skills, work-based learning
opportunities and exposure to career possibilities he or she will need to
pursue the high-skill, high-wage jobs of the future.
Vice President Gore said, "This administration's School-to-Work
Opportunities Act provides the framework to broaden educational and career
opportunities for all students by encouraging partnerships between business and
educational institutions. It combines classroom instruction with work-based
training. We want to help all students make the connection between what they
learn in school and what they earn after school so they can look forward to
promising futures."
"These funds will enable disadvantaged youths to have the tools
necessary to ensure their success in the 21st century workforce," said
Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman. "We are working hard to ensure that every
future and present American worker has access to lifelong learning and the
development of job skills."
"We're extending a helping hand to thousands of young people who face
difficult odds," said Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. "We want to give
them a boost that will help expand their access to the education, career
exploration and work skills experiences they'll need to make the transition
from the classroom to careers."
The Urban/Rural Opportunity Grants(UROG)will fund local School-to-Work
partnerships that focus on the needs of youth who live or go to school in
high-poverty areas. Those communities have particular challenges in
implementing School-to-Work programs due to a lack of large public and private
employers, students who may be unaware of post-secondary opportunities,
students with strong negative peer pressure and dropout rates that may exceed
50 percent.
The following communities will receive awards in this third round of
UROG funding:
- Pike County Board of Education, Troy, Alabama -- $388,142
- Anchorage School District, Anchorage, Alaska -- $225,380
- Hamilton Union High, Hamilton City, California --
$224,971
- Ignacio School District 11JT, Ignacio, Colorado --
$83,725
- Valencia Community College, Orlando, Florida -- $500,000
- Tattnall County School-to-Work System, Reidsville, Georgia --
$438,365
- Morton Regional Delivery System, Cicero, Illinois --
$502,000
- Kaskaskia Area Partnership, Salem, Illinois -- $374,279
- Community College District 510, South Holland, Illinois --
$271,700
- Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative, LaGrange, Kentucky --
$571,000
- University of Kentucky Research Fund, Lexington, Kentucky --
$378,285
- Middlesex Community College, Lowell, Massachusetts --
$511,469
- Springfield School-to-Work Local Partnership, Inc., Springfield,
Massachusetts -- $121,000
- Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis, Minnesota --
$502,602
- East Missouri Action Agency, Inc., Park Hills, Missouri --
$276,216
- Little Big Horn/Dull Knife Memorial College, Crow Agency, Montana
-- $932,960
- Applied Information Management Institute, Omaha, Nebraska --
$492,180
- Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Nebraska --
$511,154
- Buffalo City School District, Buffalo, New York --
$500,370
- Manhattan High Schools' Superintendent's Office, New York, N.Y. --
$737,666
- Greater New York Hospital Foundation, Inc., New York, N.Y. --
$391,940
- Rochester City School District, Rochester, New York --
$512,000
- Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Cleveland, Ohio --
$512,000
- School Study Council of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio -- $478,828
- Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, Ohio -- $510,101
- Gallia-Jackson-Vinton Joint Vocational School (JVS) District, Rio
Grande, Ohio -- $511,982
- Cornerstones Career Learning Center, Inc., Huron, South Dakota --
$494,672
- Paris Junior College, Paris, Texas -- $511,692
- Kane County School District, Kenab, Utah -- $500,617
- Salt Lake City School District, Salt Lake City, Utah --
$488,000
- Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, Burlington, Vermont
-- $487,850
- Gilmer County Schools, Glenville, West Virginia --
$298,000
Serving dropouts and inadequately prepared high school graduates through
School-to-Work is exceedingly difficult precisely because youth are no longer
in the school building where most of the activities take place. Recognizing
that paradox, Out-of-School Youth grants fund partnerships designed to
reconnect with those students and promote high academic achievement and
employment training.
The following communities will receive funds in this third round of
Out-of-School Youth grants:
- City of Phoenix Human Services Department, Phoenix, Arizona --
$140,000
- Office of Employment Development, Baltimore, Maryland --
$140,000
- Just A Start Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts --
$131,957
- Federation Employment and Guidance Services, New York, New York --
$139,424
- School Study Council of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio -- $140,000
- Lancaster County Academy, Lancaster, Pennsylvania --
$100,000
- Chamber Education Foundation, Warwick, Rhode Island --
$134,029
- City of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee -- $139,930
- American Institute for Learning, Austin, Texas --
$139,987
- Yakima Valley Opportunities Industrialization Center, Yakima,
Washington -- $140,000
- Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin --
$139,998
School-to-Work Indian Grants are awarded to combat particular problems
within those communities: high unemployment, relatively few
high-skill/high-wage jobs, unequal access to education and remote locales that
can limit career awareness. The awards fund partnerships that provide creative
opportunities for students to gain work-based learning, employers to influence
curriculum and teachers to get worksite experience.
Under this year's competition, six partnerships involving tribal
organizations, local and tribal employers and schools assisted by the U.S.
Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs have won competitive
School-to-Work grants. Four are "implementation" grants to support
School-to-Work systems already in place. The remaining two are "development"
grants that provide funds for partnership planning, curriculum development and
teacher training.
The following partnerships have been funded in this third round of
Indian Grants:
- Implementation:
Rough Rock Community School, Chinle, Arizona
-- $80,000
- Many Farms High School, Many Farms, Arizona -- $100,000
- Canoncito Community School Board, Inc., Canoncito, New Mexico --
$100,000
- Milwaukee Area American Indian Manpower Council, Inc., Milwaukee,
Wisconsin -- $100,000
- Development: Shoshone-Bannock School District 512, Fort Hall,
Idaho -- $30,000
- Cherokee Central Schools, Cherokee, North Carolina --
$29,998
All of the newly funded partnerships will complement and become part of
statewide School-to-Work systems. The National School-to-Work Opportunities Act
passed with strong bipartisan support in 1994. Jointly administered by the
Departments of Labor and Education, the National School-to-Work Office provides
venture capital to local and state partnerships involving parents, students,
educators, business, community leaders and organized labor. Those partnerships
provide students with both classroom and work-based learning, career
exploration and activities that connect high academic standards with success in
the workplace.
All 50 states, seven U.S. territories, Puerto Rico and the District of
Columbia have received development grants. Currently, 37 states have received
implementation grants and 61 local grants have been awarded. Eighty-six UROGs,
24 Indian grants and 18 Out-of-School Youth grants have been funded.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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