Expanding the ‘Career Academy’ Concept Into a ‘Short-Term Work Force Program’ Career Academies are the only HS reformed initiative proven success with minority males Jacksonville must explore the potential for creating a ‘short-term program’ for adults To train potential workers for its infrastructure jobs and for disadvantaged businesses Established more than 30 years ago, Career Academies have become a widely used high school reform initiative that aims to keep students engaged in school and prepare them for successful transitions to postsecondary education and employment. Typically serving between 150 and 200 students from grades 9 or 10 through grade 12, Career Academies are organized as small learning communities, combine academic and technical curricula around a career theme, and establish partnerships with local employers to provide work-based learning opportunities. There are estimated to be more than 2,500 Career Academies operating around the country. Since 1993, MDRC has been conducting a uniquely rigorous evaluation of the Career Academy approach that uses a random assignment research design in a diverse group of nine high schools across the United States. Located in medium- and large-sized school districts, the schools confront many of the educational challenges found in low- income urban settings. The participating Career Academies were able to implement and sustain the core features of the approach, and they served a cross-section of the student populations in their host schools. This report describes how Career Academies influenced students’ labor market prospects and postsecondary educational attainment in the eight years following their expected graduation. The results are based on the experiences of more than 1,400 young people, approximately 85 percent of whom are Hispanic or African-American. Key Findings 1) The Career Academies produced sustained earnings gains that averaged 11 percent (or $2,088) more per year for Academy group members than for individuals in the non-Academy group — a $16,704 boost in total earnings over the eight years of follow-up (in 2006 dollars). 2) These labor market impacts were concentrated among young men, a group that has experienced a severe decline in real earnings in recent years. Through a combination of increased wages, hours worked, and employment stability, real earnings for young men in the Academy group increased by $3,731 (17 percent) per year — or nearly $30,000 over eight years. 3) Overall, the Career Academies served as viable pathways to a range of postsecondary education opportunities, but they do not appear to have been more effective than options available to the non- Academy group. More than 90 percent of both groups graduated from high school or received a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, and half completed a postsecondary credential. 4) The Career Academies produced an increase in the percentage of young people living independently with children and a spouse or partner. Young men also experienced positive impacts on marriage and being custodial parents. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of improving labor market preparation and successful school-to-work transitions without compromising academic goals and preparation for college. Investments in career-related experiences during high school can produce substantial and sustained improvements in the labor market prospects and transitions to adulthood of youth. In fact, Career Academies are one of the few youth-focused interventions that have been found to improve the labor market prospects of young men. At the same time, Career Academies have proven to be challenging to implement on a large scale with high levels of fidelity, and the evidence from this evaluation may not apply to programs that are partially implemented or that use only selected features of the Academy approach. Further research should be conducted to determine the effects of key Academy components. What Are the Most Important Findings of the MDRC Study? 1 1) Career Academies produced sustained earnings gains that averaged 11 percent (or $2,088) more per year for program participants than for individuals in the control group — a $16,704 boost in total earnings over the eight years of follow-up. 2) These impacts on earnings are concentrated among young men and students at risk of academic failure. Young men saw an annual earnings gain of 17 percent (or $3,731) — or nearly $30,000 over eight years. 3) This study shows that career development in high schools does not have to come at the expense of academic preparation. More than 90 percent of the students graduated from high school or received a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, and half earned a postsecondary degree or credential. 4) Participants in Career Academies were more likely to be living independently with children and a spouse or a partner. Young men were more likely to be married. What Do Career Academies Look Like? Typically serving 150-200 students in grades 9 or 10 through grade 12, Career Academies have three distinguishing features: (1) they are organized as small learning communities to create a supportive, personalized learning environment, (2) they combine academic and career and technical curricula around a career theme (such as business, computers, or health care), and (3) they establish partnerships with local employers to provide career awareness and work- based learning opportunities for students. The Jacksonville Career Academies Jacksonville currently has 27 Career Academies but only one of their ‘programs’ focuses on Construction. Efforts must be made, for example at expanding the programs to cover ‘welding,’ ‘carpentry’ and ‘machining.’ The Career Academy field is using its findings to build better supports for schools to implement the career development components of the model, while bolstering the academic offerings to meet today’s demand for even better postsecondary education outcomes. 1 MDRC Study - http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/academies/MDRC%20Study.pdf