News

The North Central Educational Service District has been awarded funding from Career Connect Washington to support a regional network  to expand regional Career Connected Learning (CCL) opportunities as part of an initiative to connect young people with high-demand, high-wage careers in Washington.

The local North Central CCL Network will collaboratively work to expand CCL in Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan Counties. The work in North Central Washington will be led by the Apple STEM Network in collaboration with SkillSource and will be governed by a leadership board with representation form industry, community-based organizations, Big Bend Community College, Wenatchee Valley College, local government agencies and K-12 educators. Local committees will focus efforts in three sub-regions including: Chelan/Douglas, Okanogan, and Grant Counties.

A total of nine regional networks were funded by the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Regional Networks are the key to scaling CCL statewide and will play an integral role in convening and managing regional, cross-industry partnerships that will lead to expansion of opportunities for Washington youth. This work will benefit students who face greater barriers to opportunity as well as the business community looking to recruit a new generation of workers. Each regional network was awarded the funding to serve as a point of contact for local education and industry partners.

“We are encouraging community stakeholders to reach out if you are interested in joining this effort. We believe that all youth should have opportunities to learn about incredible career opportunities in our own backyard,” Explained Dr. Sue Kane, Director for STEM Initiatives and Strategic Partnerships for the North Central Education Service District.

The funding will be used to accomplish the following objectives:

·       Convene cross industry partners (including employers, labor, education, workforce council, community-based organizations) that lead to the expansion of Career Connected Learning opportunities

·       Develop regional plans to grow CCL opportunities that fit the unique needs of the North Central Washington

·       Allow the NCESD and the Work Force Development Council to serve as CCL navigators for the region (to industry, educators, counselors)

·       Work with educators and industry to develop and scale programs

·       Consolidate regional data and report key learnings to state

About Career Connect Washington

Career Connect Washington was created by Governor Jay Inslee, with support and funding provided by the Washington State Legislature, to provide our state’s young people with expanded opportunities to gain real-world experience through a fully integrated career connected learning system. Business, labor, educators, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and many others have come together to create a strategy for making these opportunities available in every part of our state to every student as part of their academic journey.

Career Connect Washington will provide students with early exploration and awareness in elementary and middle school, career preparation in high school, and “Career Launch” programs which can begin as early as 11th grade and bring paid, meaningful work-based learning together with an aligned classroom curriculum to create a competitive candidate for a real job and a post-high school credential and/or a year’s worth of college credit. Career Connect Washington builds from the good efforts already underway and facilitates scaling them and integrating them into a system of options with great appeal to students and their parents as they explore their futures.

For more information, go to www.careerconnectwa.org

About the Apple STEM Network

 The Apple STEM is an alliance of K-12, Higher Ed, and community partners.  We use research and community insights to determine STEM focus areas, those critical junctures where our work and our partners can create the most impact on student lives:  Career Pathways, Early STEM, STEM by the numbers, and Strengthening K- 12 STEM.

About the North Central Educational Service District

The North Central Educational Service District is a resource to the 29 districts within the four-county service area, providing professional and timely tools to meet the needs of individual schools and districts, and a reliable point of education-related information for the communities served. The NCESD is a respected resource to other ESDs throughout Washington State.

 

 

 

 

 

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