BaySCAN Financial Services Network -- News #12

As previously announced, BaySCAN has launched a television media partnership with KPIX (CBS) Channel 5. One component of the station's commitment is to run weekly news stories about School-to-Career throughout the Bay Area. These stories will be primarily hosted by one of KPIX's lead anchors, Kate Kelly. Over the coming weeks and months, BaySCAN will work with local STC partnerships and other stakeholders to begin to identify good stories on an on-going basis.

The main campaign, and the stories, will really kick off in January. However, we have developed a unique opportunity to run a short segment on primetime, during a national CBS special called Class of 2000.

The story, featuring Antioch High School's "Kindergarten High" program, will be shown THIS THURSDAY, December 16 from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM during the normal slot for 48 Hours. It is hard to predict at what time our segment will be shown during the hour.

Tune in and enjoy the show.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Ken Sorey at or (415) 507-6290.

2 ISSUES & BEST PRACTICES:

__2.1 SCANS Assessment

Every year CCSF evaluates the effect of their SCANS Project. This project is designed to infuse SCANS in to the curriculum and across disciplines. CCSF's findings indicate that students are getting it! Students are better able to relate classroom content and skills to the work place, feel more effective in the work place, and are experiencing greater retention.

One instructor has experienced a higher percentage of students receiving a "C" or better grade in the class since implementing an emphasis on SCANS (from 73% to 85%). This instructor has focused on developing teamwork and has developed an interesting twist on group work. At a certain point in a project, teams are allowed to fire a member. This displaced student must convince another group to take him/her or loose out on project points. This twist provides an extra measure of motivation and realism for students.

One of the key findings from the program evaluation is the importance of explicitly identifying the skills and making the connection to application in the working world. CCSF's research implies that for two classes that require similar levels of SCANS in their classes, the instructor that explicitly cites the skills and application in industry will have students that develop a higher level of academic and SCANS competency.

__2.2 Current Interview Practices

My oldest son is a college senior and has been interviewing for various management training programs. One national company has developed a process to evaluate candidates' ability to solve problems, communicate, and work in a team.

Seven company evaluators observed a group of four candidates. The candidates were given a case problem and initially worked on solutions individually. Next, the candidates were instructed to come up with a prioritized list of recommendations as a group. The group then presented their recommendations and answered questions posed by the evaluators. My son's observation were that this process uncovered each candidates abilities...there was no way to fake it, you had to effectively express yourself and your ideas, and personalities and cooperative tendencies were revealed.

I share this information for a couple of reasons. When students want to know why they are required to work in groups, this story is further proof that industry is looking for the skills that the students learn when working on projects in teams. In addition, I think this is an interesting model for authentic assessment in the classroom. It is also a great way to get business partner and community involvement in your class. You could involve students in designing a rubric that defines an appropriate case study. Then you could have teams design case studies. Finally, you could assign the case studies to the class and invite business partners and the community to participate as evaluators.

If you would like a design template, please .

3 RESOURCES:

__3.1 Useful links

The Consumer Credit Counseling Service has a web site with useful links at http://www.cccssf.org/. Select "Resources" for links to information about credit, credit reporting, consumer issues, saving money, personal finance, housing, taxes, investing, and financing an education. They also have a recommended reading list of books on similar topics.

__3.2 "Using Money Wisely"

The ReliaStar Financial Corporation has developed a 19-chapter workbook and teacher's guide on the basics of money management called "Using Money Wisely." It covers everything from balancing a checkbook, to creating a budget, to helping students with money. This free resource is very comprehensive and can be used as a stand-alone text or to supplement existing materials. You can order a set by calling the community relations group at 612-372-5627.

If you order this material, let us know what you think, what chapters are particularly useful, how your students responded to the material, etc.