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| What is a Best Practice |
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Perhaps the most satisfying recognition that an individual in any profession can achieve is peer recognition of accomplishments. This type of recognition is not only gratifying but frequently is the spur to even greater accomplishment, with the result being a benefit for the customer, your partners, employers, and the general public.
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| Submit Your Best Practice |
| Please share any best practice that is working in your Workforce Development Area by filling out this simple Submission Form. Your Best Practice is then highlighted with a Purple Star on the home page of Inside WorkSource. By submitting your effective practice, you are giving recognition to your organization and the partners involved in making your practice successful. |
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| Best Practices | ||
| Drop Out Prevention Intervention |
Drop Out
Prevention/Intervention Grant Students from Sedro-Woolley High School are taking part in an innovative program designed to help improve the odds against dropping out of school and ensure passing all the WASL tests required for graduation. Members of the Class of 2008, many have been participating since their freshmen year when they contracted to pass all their classes every semester and to do their best on all the WASL tests. Today, these students are the recipients of incentive awards for their success. |
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Southwest Washington Dropout Prevention & Intervention Program Status Report |
Program Overview
Results Read the full Dropout Prevention and Intervention Program Status Report (pdf) |
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The Governor’s Award for Best Practices in Workforce Development Kitsap Peninsula Reducing the Dropout Rate |
Reducing the Dropout Rate How do you reduce the high school dropout rate in five school districts which were not meeting the 73 percent rate required under the No Child Left Behind Act? That was the challenge facing Kitsap, Clallam, and Jefferson County educators and workforce professionals. For their solution –an Academic Intervention project–they today received a Governor’s Award for Best Practices in Workforce Development. Governor Christine Gregoire presented the award at a leadership conference sponsored by the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (Workforce Board). "Innovation is the catalyst for economic development. If we cannot provide the talent that our growing industries need, we know that our competitors will. We need to honor and recognize those best practices that build our economy and our future workforce. Today, our competition comes not only from the company across the street, but also from the company across the ocean. Strength and diversity in the workforce are paramount to our success. That success is built on best practices," said Governor Gregoire. Acting as a liaison between school staff, the student and his/her family or guardian, and the Workforce Investment Act youth counselors in the area, trained Academic Intervention Specialists established relationships with the students. They assisted students in reconnecting with school, the Governor explained, in either the traditional setting, an alternative school, or the local community college. Working closely with students and the school, the Specialist assessed the students’ current academic standing, the number of credits needed to graduate, and the options available to help them do so. The Specialist then assisted the youth in making the necessary contacts to accomplish this goal and maintained contact on a regular basis with all those concerned to monitor progress. The partners expected the close collaboration between students, Specialist, and school staff to work. They didn’t anticipate these results! Between October 2004 and June 2005, the project retrieved 15 dropouts, 5 more than expected. Students earned 92 credits exceeding the 20 projected. Twenty-three students earned diplomas exceeding the five projected. A total of 47 students were on track to receive their diplomas on time (3 times the target)!
“Those who resolved their challenge with resolve, entrepreneurial spirit, and
innovation,” said Ellen O’Brien Saunders, Executive Director, Workforce Board,
“are the leaders in our communities–the ones Governor Gregoire has honored with
a Best Practice Award. Their initiative can be the impetus for others to build a
workforce system that works, not only in their area and for their citizens, but
for the entire state.”
Partners in the project were:
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Agriculture |
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Workforce Partnerships Honored |
Health Care The awards recognize leadership, innovation, and excellence in workforce development. The Business Connection was honored for providing a single place for businesses to receive employment services. WorkSource Columbia Basin was recognized for improving services to create a more business-friendly environment. The Northwest Workforce Development Council and partners won for organizing career camps that introduced more than 200 students to health care professions. "Promising Practice Awards" were given to the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council’s Passport to Success program that provides employment opportunities for high-school graduates with disabilities in Bellevue, and to a partnership between Whatcom and Bellingham community colleges to train new workers to replace the refinery industry’s shrinking workforce. A Tacoma Community College program to recruit men into the school’s nursing program received a "Good Idea Award." |
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Superior
results in performance