10 States to Get $58 Million in Grants for Education Projects

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley on Thursday visited a pioneering San Diego high school--whose students prepare for careers in business, design and health-related fields--to announce $58 million in grants to 10 states for projects that help ease students’ transition from the classroom to the workplace.

California’s share of the money, $21.9 million, is the largest allocation and will be used to train teachers, give employers incentives to create on-the-job learning opportunities and raise community awareness.

The school-to-career program was launched by the Clinton administration two years ago. Unlike traditional vocational programs, school-to-career efforts are designed to give a jump-start to students headed to college and professional schools as well as to those who will be looking for a job after graduation.

“Having seen some of the programs here at Hoover, and others like it across the nation, I believe we are succeeding with school-to-work on a number of levels,” Riley said after touring the school’s health academy and computer animation design studio.

Hoover is part of a regional consortium of schools that received one of the first “school-to-career” grants in 1994. Under its program, students choose a career path before their sophomore year in high school then take classes aimed at their chosen specialty.

“Efforts have gone into making academic courses more relevant to the workplace while teaching the content and the workplace skills,” said Robert Atterberry, who heads the program for the San Diego Unified School District. “Our hope is to open up three different avenues: to prepare them for an entry-level job, a two-year or technical school, and the third option of a four-year college and a professional-level job.”

Schools, businesses and community groups can bid for a share of the California grant by applying to the state Employment Development Department.

Nationwide, 500,000 students, 135,000 employers and 1,800 schools are involved in the program. Other states that received grants were Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas.