By Emily Kirkwood
February 26, 2018
Making sure that students graduate prepared to enter the workforce is a high priority for many states, including in the Midwest. At Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest, we’re tackling this issue through the Midwest Career Readiness Research Alliance (MCRRA). Check out these career-readiness resources recommended by MCRRA staff members.
The College and Career Readiness and Success Center recently published a suite of resources that analyzes and compares three federal laws that govern the education-to-workforce pipeline—the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins), and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). States often implement these programs across different state agencies or different offices within a state agency, leading to missed opportunities to connect, align, and leverage policies, programs, and funding across initiatives. The Developing a College- and Career-Ready Workforce: An Analysis of ESSA, Perkins, and WIOA project resulted in three resources that seek to help states address this issue:
- A brief to help state and local agencies identify opportunities to align and leverage policies, programs, and funding across the three laws to support the education-to-workforce pipeline
- A workbook to facilitate cross-agency conversations to identify and plan for alignment opportunities across ESSA, Perkins, and WIOA
- An interactive tool that identifies specific language in the laws that addresses college and career readiness topics and helps state and local education agencies find new or greater alignment opportunities in their plans
These resources can help policymakers better align labor market efforts with the education pipeline in their states.
And—in case you missed it—REL Midwest published materials from the August 2017 webinar “Preparing American Indian Students for College and Careers.” This webinar featured insights from research and practice on culturally responsive strategies to promote college and career readiness for American Indian students. Visit the link to watch the recording and access the event slides.
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