The MetroVision School-to-Work Council began teacher training in 1995 with 80 teachers from 16 schools in seven parishes and established the Banking Consortium due to a declared need for employees and the strength of the financial industry in Greater New Orleans.
Students were added to the process in 1996 with establishment of Financial Services academies in high schools and introduction of the National Academy Foundation Financial Services curriculum.
State and Foundation funding was secured for five years in 1997, school-to-career offices were established in all seven school districts in the service area, and four more consortia were established based on market research: Architecture, Design, Engineering & Construction: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism (including Culinary Arts); Law and Justice; and Petrochemical. A middle school component of career exploration activities was established in support of Louisiana Act 1124, and a marketing and public awareness effort was initiated.
In 1998, the organization’s name was changed to the MetroVision School-to-Career partnership (MV/STC), and an executive director was hired. The Students: PRIORITY #1 Initiative for whole-school change was launched under the direction of a project manager. Teachers and students participated in increasing numbers in professional development and career connections activities facilitated by the partnership.
Nine high schools competed for and were selected as Students: PRIORITY #1 sites in 1999. Culinary Arts was spun off of the Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Consortium to form the Food Service Management Consortium: coordination of the Law and Justice Consortium was transferred to the LA Center for Law and Civic Education as an affiliate; and the ADEC and Petrochemical consortia merged to form the Architecture, Design, Engineering, Construction & Chemical (ADECC) Consortium. The partnership also hosted a regional Career Connections workshop to provide instruction and guidance on implementing Louisiana’s Career Majors Act 1124.
The MetroVision School-to-Career Partnership was named to the National Intermediary Project in 2000 by the National School-to-Work Office. Building on the Students: PRIORITY #1 Initiative, MV/STC secured a $2.5 million U. S. Department of Education Small Learning Communities grant for high school redesign, thus increasing the number of sites engaged in whole school redesign to 13. With the support of MV/STC, a new Hotel/Motel Management curriculum was approved by the Louisiana Department of Education and coordination of the Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Consortium was transferred to the Hospitality Education Foundation as an affiliate. Likewise, coordination of the Food Service Management Consortium was transferred to the Louisiana Restaurant Association as an affiliate. A four district application to launch academies of Information Technology was accepted by the National Academy Foundation in New York, and the IT Consortium was established.
The MetroVision School-to-Career Partnership was incorporated as an independent 501 (c) (3) in 2001. The partnership broadened its funding base to include corporate partners and foundation grantors. MV/STC, Inc. began implementation of the full model and components of Johns Hopkins University’s Talent Development High School in seven school region-wide funded by the federal Small Learning Communities Grant and significantly increased the number of teachers participating in professional development activities and students participating in shadowing and internships.
MV/STC, Inc. secured funding fro continued operations from a local foundation in 2002. A Healthcare Consortium, was formed in partnership with the Metropolitan Hospital Council of New Orleans. STC, Inc. also helped launch the National Intermediary Network, a self-funded, self-governed outgrowth of the National Intermediary Project. East St. John High School was recognized as a national Talent Development High School model by Johns Hopkins University, and implementation of the components of that model continued in six other schools in the region.
In 2003, the MetroVision School-to-Career Partnership, Inc. received its first funding from the Louisiana Department of Economic Development and began operations as an independent 501 (c) (3). A new Board of Directors, a Regional Governing Council and a National Advisory Council were named. The organization hosted the first regional student leadership forum and piloted the project-based learning pedagogy in Students: PRIORITY #1 schools. The industry consortia continued to facilitate teacher professional development activities and career connection programs for students.
The MetroVision School-to-Career Partnership, Inc. officially changed its name to School-to-Career, Inc. (STC, Inc.) in 2004. A partnership with the New Technology Foundation in Napa, CA, was formed, and STC, Inc. launched its Small Schools Initiative as the third reinvention of Students: PRIORITY #1. The first annual 3-day School-to-Career Conference for educators was hosted in June. The first statewide High School Redesign Symposium with presentations by nationally acclaimed school reform leaders was held in August. Presentations by The New Technology Foundation representatives about establishing a cluster of New Technology High Schools were facilitated for six parish superintendents. The first NTHS was opened in New Orleans Public Schools in August. STC, Inc. facilitated site visits to Napa, CA, for Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Charles, St. James, and St. Tammany school districts. Formal Memoranda of Understanding were signed with both the New Technology Foundation and the Big Picture Company of Providence, R.I. to provide facilitation and oversight of their model replication in Greater New Orleans and beyond. All high school redesign models being explored have earned recognition and replication funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
2005 was yet another year of major change for School-to-Career, Inc. The organization moved to a new home in the United Way building in March. During the spring semester and summer months, STC, Inc. facilitated career fairs/days, employment workshops, classroom speakers, workplace tours, and job shadowing for 3145 students. 246 business partners were presenters at the events and hosted both teachers and students. 212 teachers attended professional development workshops, paid internships coupled with college level credit classes were secured for 64 students in their chosen career fields and 375 parents and community leaders participated in awards ceremonies recognizing the students and business partners.
AND THEN HURRICANE KATRINA HIT!
The STC, Inc. staff was decimated. The office was closed. The executive director, office manager and senior accountant worked to shut down operations during the autumn months.
But like the Phoenix, School to Career survived to rise again in 2006. During the fall of 2005, the executive director continued to nurture relationships with the New Technology Foundation in Napa, CA, and the Carrollton United Neighborhood Association in New Orleans. That work resulted in the assurance of the survival of a New Tech High School replication in Orleans Parish schedule for the fall of 2007 and the chartering of the Priestly School of Architecture and Construction. A new relationship was also negotiated with the United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area that absorbed School to Career as an official initiative of the Community Impact Division’s Successful Children Supported by Strong Families goal area.
With the power of the United way now supporting the School to Career Initiative and its history of significant success, we are poised to play a prominent role in reshaping the educational landscape of post-Katrina New Orleans region we serve!
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