After 7 months of intensive discussions, a plan to align Northwest Indiana high school outcomes with the needs of economic development has been realized. The Regional Education/Employer Alliance for Development Youth of Northwest Indiana (ReadyNWI) has announced phase one of the Ready to Work-Ready to Hire: College & Career Readiness Plan for Northwest Indiana.
Since job growth and prosperity in Northwest Indiana is highly contingent on having an educated and skilled workforce and as workforce challenges continue to grow, it is predicted that jobs being created will require workers with some postsecondary education, whether it be a credential, certificate, license or a degree beyond the high school diploma. This signals that knowledge and skills are the focus.
The Ready to Work-Ready to Hire plan includes recommendations to strengthen the assessment system for grades seven to 12. It will make real-time adjustments in students' thinking and actions based on results and will ensure rigor in awarding college credits while students are still in high school to guarantee they are ready for college-level work. Another objective will be to accelerate attaining degrees and industry certifications along with further developing and maintaining relationships between K-12, the postsecondary workforce, and economic development and business, making certain systems and real-time responsiveness needed in changing systems align.
On June 20 and 21st the College & Career Acceleration Summer Institute comes to Hobart High School, where high school leadership teams will hear about the movement to personalize the American comprehensive high school to ensure every student in Northwest Indiana is college and career ready, as outlined in the ReadyNWI plan. This event is hosted by the College Acceleration Network (CAN) and the Center of Workforce Innovations and will include focused experiences and activities that will be of high value to any high school leadership team, such as:
- Showcasing high schools that have produced dramatic results in college readiness growth from five different Midwest states.
- Keynotes on the latest high school growth modeling research, innovations in college credit in high school, common interstate high school transcripts, and regional economic development strategies.
- Small group sessions on using college readiness and behavioral monitoring scale data to effectively transition freshman into high school, developing 6-12 college and workforce assessment maps, and using longitudinal college readiness data to plan for instructional improvement.
- Technical Support from ACT research and field support resources to understand metrics, learn about new online reporting tools, and understand the latest research on college readiness growth modeling
- Planning stronger college and career acceleration vision, assessment strategies, and instruction using proven processes and templates for high school teams.
ReadyNWI is composed of leaders across seven counties and they are working on a plan to transform our high school systems to ensure youths are prepared for college and careers, which are no longer mutually exclusive. This alliance of educators, employers, economic developers and local elected officials is committed to making sure each young person in Northwest Indiana has the best chance and opportunity for success.
The planning initiative for the ReadyNWI Ready to Work-Ready to Hire plan was funded through the Lumina Foundation.
For further information about ReadyNWI or for a copy of the plan, visit www.readynwi.com or call the Center of Workforce Innovations at 219-462-2940.
To register for the summer institute, go to http://www.collegeacceleration.com/institute2012/