FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                       November 4, 1999

California STC Policy Network Releases Memorandum
on State Role in Supporting School-to-Career Initiatives

A Call to Action to Build & Sustain School-to-Career Opportunities For California Students & Teachers

SAN RAFAEL, California -- A significant coalition of California leaders and their organizations have joined together to promote an appropriate role for the State of California in supporting school-to career activities, particularly those that connect employers and educators and provide technical assistance and staff development to K-18 educators and schools. The coalition includes the Association of California School Administrators/ California County Superintendents Education Service Association (ACSA/CCSESA) School-to-Career Task Force, the State Center Consortium, California State University/Hayward, Unite LA, Bay Area School-to-Career Action Network (BaySCAN), New Ways to Work, Bay Area Partnership, LEED Sacramento, Verdugo STC Partnership, EASTBAY Learns, Workforce Silicon Valley, and the Tri-Valley ROP.

School-to-Career initiatives have led to new learning opportunities for thousands of California students and teachers and built a groundswell of activities and infrastructure at the local level to increase student achievement and teacher quality. However, this emergent activity is threatened unless the state of California assumes leadership and acts to (1) modify existing legislation and the Education Code to both enable and catalyze an expansion of School-to-Career opportunities for all students and (2) sustain funding to these initiatives.

California School-to-Career Policy Network calls upon Local STC Partnerships, students, parents, teachers, business, labor, higher education institutions, community-based organizations, and workforce development boards during the next two months (November and December) to visit your assemblyperson and state senator to:

1. Tell them the success stories (students, businesses, schools, etc.) about what is happening with STC in their region.
2. Provide them information and hard data supporting the success of STC.
3. Invite them to visit schools, businesses, and other community sites engaged in STC programs.
4. Share with them the policy statement of the California STC Policy Network and a copy of School-to-Work: A Guide for State Legislators from the National Conference of State Legislatures (http://www.stw.ed.gov/Database/Subject2.cfm?RECNO=4496).
5. Ask legislators to host job shadows and internships for students and teachers through Groundhog Job Shadow Day and California Intern Summer 2000.
6. Invite legislators to join students in photo opportunities and interviews for newspaper and television stories about successful STC programs.

Additionally, we ask your organization (Local STC Partnerships, students, parents, teachers, business, labor, higher education institutions, community-based organizations, and workforce development boards) to:

1. Work with your local print, radio, and TV media to publish STC student success stories.
2. Identify in every Local STC Regional Partnership a Policy Coordinator for that region who will coordinate activities locally as part of the statewide effort.
3. Communicate to the California STC Policy Network which legislators you have visited and what is their interest in supporting legislation to build and sustain School-to-Career.
4. Endorse the policy statement of the California STC Policy Network.

For more information:
Contact Sharon Oldham of BaySCAN at (415) 507-6841 or .

Download the complete Memorandum & Call to Action at http://bayscan.org/download.html#pol.

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