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SCHOOL TO
CAREER HISTORY
In 1997,
leaders from education, business, government and the
non-profit community created the Marin County School to
Career Partnership. The Partnership, a project of the Marin
County Office of Education, focuses on providing career
exploration and awareness programs for students. It was
founded with ambitious and far-reaching goals:
- First, to
develop career exploration opportunities for students
that take learning beyond the walls of their classrooms
and into the greater community helping them to see the
relevance of what they are learning in school and how it
relates to their future studies and careers;
- Second,
to serve as the "bridge" between businesses and
organizations and our schools, linking teachers and
professionals to create projects that enhance classroom
learning; and
- Third, to
create a program that is appealing to and useful for
students of all academic, social and economic
backgrounds.
The
Partnership has made great strides toward achieving these
goals. A School to
Career system has been established throughout Marin
County. Our programs, which include internships, job
shadows, guest speaker programs, field trips and
professional development opportunities for teachers, involve
over 3,000 students each year.
The
Partnership has enjoyed strong community-wide support and
has been successful in building effective working
relationships among schools, businesses and organizations,
and civic and community groups. More than 800 Marin County
businesses and organizations support School to Career
programs by providing internships and job shadows for
students, professional development opportunities for
educators and by participation on advisory boards and
curriculum development committees. Through their
involvement, employers are taking an active role in
preparing their workforce of tomorrow while providing
meaningful learning opportunities to the students of
today.
We are proud
of the support the Marin County School to Career Partnership
has received from the community. Our school districts have
been strong supporters since the start of the program. In
November of 2000, the Partnership was awarded the Marin
County Economic Commission Award for Excellence in Workforce
Preparedness. In 2001, the Partnership received a three-year,
$1.2 million grant from the Marin Community Foundation
allowing us to continue our work and to help us establish
funding sources to sustain our program into the future. In
2002, the Partnership won a Golden Bell Award presented to
outstanding educational programs in Marin County.
With strong
support from the Marin County Office of Education, the
school districts of Marin, and a dynamic and diverse group
of over 200 businesses, organizations, and community groups,
the School to Career Partnership is helping to ensure that
students are better prepared for college, careers and
life.
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