EDUCATION NEWSLETTER - December 2001

• WIA Incentive Grants for Involving Employers in Innovative and Expanded Youth Programing
• 2002 Education Program
• New Education Web Site
• Data Fast Facts from the 2000 U.S. Census

WIA Incentive Grants for Involving Employers in Innovative and Expanded Youth Programing

The Emerging Worker Committee (committee dealing with youth) of the New York State Workforce Investment Board is seeking to ensure that all New York's youth are better prepared for employment. They are working on ways to expose youth to the full array of potential career opportunities, especially current demand occupations.

With that goal in mind, the New York State Department of Labor has issued a Request for Proposal that would provide incentive grants to a consortium of business and or a business association (such as chambers of commerce) in conjunction with the Local Workforce Investment Board Youth Council and a local educational agency (school and/or BOCES).

Approximately $2.5 million will be made available to business-led groups to establish or expand innovative programs with local educational institutions and local Workforce Investment Boards. The Emerging Worker Committee is looking for programs to fund that will excite youth about the opportunities there are for them in high skilled demand occupations in New York State.

If your business organization is interested in working with youth to help them understand how important what they learn in school is to their future job opportunities you can get a copy of the full RFP at http://www.workforcenewyork.org/

To find out who your local workforce investment board is log on to: http://www.workforcenewyork.org/

If you have any questions about this incentive grant for employers, please don't hesitate to contact Margarita Mayo. I would be glad to provide you with the information you need to develop a proposal.

The proposals must be sent to the New York State Department of Labor by January 16,2002. DOL tentatively hopes to be able to announce grant recipients on or about February 27, 2002.

2002 Education Legislative Program

We are in the process of updating our education and job training legislative program for 2002.

You can view the 2001 legislative program at:
www.bcnys.org/inside/01egprog.htm

New Education Web Site

The Council on Competitiveness recently announced the launch of a new web site that offers free self-assessment and career and education tools for elementary, middle school and high school students.

Smarterkids.org features:

• The Real Challenge – a test similar to that administered to students in over 40 countries for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Visitors receive the results of their test and how they rate compared to students around the world instantly and confidentially.
• Educational Games – tutorials that help to improve math and science skills of all site visitors. Math Safari takes the elementary level user on a geometric adventure while the middle school Mastery Science Theater asks: what is the Wizard of Osmosis?
• MSTV– short for Math and Science Television, is the high school section of the site that offers real world examples of math and science in action. Many different modules allow students to continue to dig deeper to find as little or as much information as they desire.
• Student's Page – links to many other informative math and science web sites.

Data Fast Facts from the 2000 US Census

• The national average for public school teacher salaries in the 1998-99 school year was $40,600. The highest average salary of $51,600 was in Connecticut; the lowest in South Dakota at $28,600. New York State has the third highest average salary of $49,300.
• The nation's 110,000 elementary and secondary schools classrooms had 10.5 million computers available for use during the 1999-2000 school year; that is a ratio of 1 computer for every 5 students.
• 95% of public schools had Internet access in fall 1999. That is a ratio of 1 computer connected to the Internet for every 9 students.
• 72 million US residents were enrolled in school-from nursery school to college –in October 2000. More than 1 in 4 Americans age 3 and over are students.
• 52% of 3 and 4-year olds were enrolled in school in October 2000, up from 21% in 1970.
• 59% of kindergartners attended school all day in 1999, up from 11% in 1969.
• 20% of elementary and high school students reported having at least one foreign-born parent in October 2000.
• 53.1 million school-age children (ages 5 to 17) were counted nationwide in Census 2000, about 600,000 more than the total counted in the 1970 census.
• 48.5 million students were enrolled in the nation's elementary and high schools in October 2000, similar to the all-time high of 48.7 million students first reached on 1970 when "baby-boomers" went to school.

More information is available from the US Census Office, on-line at http://www.census.gov.