Case Study: Program Helps At-Risk Students Succeed

November 2006

The Organization:
Aims Community College, Greeley, CO

The Challenge:
A high school diploma program that enables would-be dropouts to graduate

The Solution:
Using WorkKeys to gauge student abilities and measure progress

The Results:
A program that has prepared 1,600 at-risk students for the workplace

Challenge
In the mid-1990s, Greeley employers couldn't find the qualified workers they needed. At the same time, Greeley dropouts and at-risk students had no way to qualify for skilled, well-paying jobs. Instead, many were caught in a cycle of low-wage, entry-level work.

Solution
In 1994, to connect education with the needs of businesses, Aims Community College became the nation's first ACT WorkKeys Value-Added Reseller. (There are now more than 400 resellers.) In 1998, Aims joined with the Centennial Board of Cooperative Educational Services to start the Weld County High School Diploma Program, a self-paced, competency-based chance for students to earn a high school diploma.

Students entering the program take WorkKeys tests in eight areas: Applied Mathematics, Applied Technology, Locating Information, Listening, Observation, Reading for Information, Teamwork, and Writing. Their goal is to meet the level on each test required for graduation.

Aims staff base graduation score levels on those skills needed for most jobs in the workplace. In addition, students participate in career-planning activities, train in computers, and create and defend portfolios before a committee of community members. Training is customized for each student.

Some students take up to two years to meet graduation requirements. Others, who join the program to accelerate their education, often complete the program in three months. All students must earn the required WorkKeys test scores and complete the other requirements to graduate.

Local companies have sent employees through the program. When Agilent Technologies was downsizing, it gave several employees the opportunity to earn a diploma. "Instead of just kicking them out the door, they provided them with the diploma training and WorkKeys skills," said Marsha Harmon, director of the diploma program.

Harmon thinks WorkKeys is a great tool for keeping young people in the community when they graduate. "A lot of people like the community where they're born and raised and would stay here given the opportunity. Providing those students with employability skills allows them to stay."

Results
The diploma program grew from one student at its start to more than 1,600 graduates since 1999. The number of at-risk students entering the program has continued to grow and the program has expanded to two counties, five towns, and 14 school districts. An advisory board was established in 2001 to oversee and review the content areas of the program in order to ensure the quality of the diploma at all sites.

Some successes:

Emily entered the program as a 16-year-old single mother-to-be who had dropped out of school at age 15. She had a difficult pregnancy but steadily progressed toward her goal of a high school diploma. After the baby was born, Emily had to go to work to support herself and the baby. Still, she completed the self-paced program and attended classes at Aims, graduating in May 2001 with a CNA (certified nurses aide) certificate. She hopes to become a registered nurse.
Matt, a gifted young man, had given up on school and life. He stopped attending school and stayed in bed most of the day. He became angry, refusing to get a job or participate in any activities. After a friend convinced Matt to start the diploma program, he joined the world again, exploring his love of flying. Since graduation, Matt has enrolled in the aviation program at Aims and is among the top in his class.
Katie was in trouble with the law when she enrolled, but she soon embraced the program and even helped other students. She graduated and joined the Navy, where she works as a mechanic on an aircraft carrier. Her goal is to become a Navy pilot.
Cassie and Carrie, twin girls, joined the program after being home-schooled. They received their high school diplomas and graduated from Aims Community College with Flight School Certification and their Associate of Science degrees.

Most Greeley-area high schools have integrated WorkKeys-based skills training into their curricula.

"Schools have traditionally done a lot of theoretical teaching rather than applied education. WorkKeys has made them stop and think that it's fine to know Newton's Law, but you have to know how it works every day in real life and be able to apply it," Harmon said.

Quotes
"With a regular alternative education program, time is the constant, and learning is the variable. In a true alternative program, learning is the constant and time is the variable. Aims Community College's program fits the second category."

Thomas N. Applegate, executive dean

Austin Community College, Austin, TX, and president-elect of the Association for Career and Technical Education

"WorkKeys works all across the board. It works for schools, it works for businesses, it works for all education levels, and it makes sense. It works for everything. It doesn't matter whether you're an engineer or a ninth grader who's struggling. It's relevant."

Marsha Harmon, director

Weld County High School Diploma Program