Kellogg Grant Supports Research on Unique Web-Based Student Credentialing Initiatives
January 3, 2007 (Trenton, NJ) – The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce will study the impact of its student-focused “Learn More, Do More, Earn More” (LDE) Student Credentialing System on urban teens in after-school and classroom settings, under a four year $1.2 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
The Learn Do Earn System targets students in middle and high school years and encourages completion of rigorous high school course work, especially in mathematics and science with State Scholars NJ/World Class Students; teaches professional work ethic with School Counts; improves computer proficiencies with the Technology Challenge; builds financial literacy with Work the Money; and ensures that students know critical math content with the Math Challenge. This powerful suite of programs is available online at www.learndoearn.org.
Through a partnership with the New Jersey GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) State Project, housed at the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, students using Learn Do Earn programs in Newark, Paterson, Jersey City, Trenton, and Camden will participate in this study. GEAR UP is a Federal program that helps youth from low-income communities attain a postsecondary degree. This partnership will expose students in urban classrooms and after-school programs to a series of messages delivered by in person and virtual business people via the Internet.
“We are exceptionally grateful to the Kellogg Foundation for this grant. This research will help us hone our message for the urban student, and will hopefully motivate them to become part of tomorrow’s quality workforce,” said Dana Egreczky, president, BCEE and vice president, Workforce Development at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
Leading this study is Dr. Deborah E. Ward, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Development at Seton Hall University. She is also a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, at Columbia University. Dr. Ward received her Ph.D. in Political Science, M. Phil, and an MPA in Urban Policy from Columbia University. She is a member of the Teaching and Learning Committee and the Task Force on Internationalizing the Political Science discipline of the American Political Science Association.
“This partnership with the BCEE will help ensure that NJ GEAR UP students understand how important challenging courses are to their success in college and the workforce,” said Jane Oates, executive director of the Commission on Higher Education, which administers NJ GEAR UP. “Research demonstrates that a specific sequence of rigorous high school courses is key, and we anticipate that the State Scholars NJ/World Class Student program will drive that point home to GEAR UP students and their parents.”
Learn Do Earn’s unique Web-based delivery system includes presentations that help students and parents make the best possible academic, behavioral, and financial decisions in middle and high school. Learn Do Earn also features virtual field trips to companies and virtual job shadowing Webinars.
“All in all, the combination of approaches in Learn Do Earn are designed to make students more aware of the demands they will face in college and in the world of work,” said Dana Egreczky, president, BCEE and vice president, Workforce Development at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “It’s what employers would tell students if they could be in their classrooms every day – work hard, be on time, become computer and financially literate, and take advantage of the educational opportunities tax payers are providing you.”
Teachers working with NJ GEAR UP attended Learn Do Earn training designed to give them the critical information they need to help students understand what and why they need to prepare for their futures. Each program in the Learn Do Earn initiative produces a credential that documents students’ achievement toward meeting benchmark criteria, which they may take to potential employers or attach to college applications. In addition to NJ GEAR UP, the BCEE will also be working with Communities in Schools and other community groups.
The cornerstone of the Learn Do Earn is State Scholars NJ/World Class Students, which defines a menu of rigorous courses that students should take in school. Comprehensive research shows a direct relationship between demanding high school courses, especially in mathematics, college completion rates, and success in the workplace, whether or not students choose to attend college. The research also shows taking rigorous mathematics and the attainment of a bachelor’s degree are directly correlated.
State Scholars NJ/World Class Students has expanded to 35 high schools and their sending middle schools since being adopted by the BCEE in 2003. The program launched with support from the U.S. Department of Education, but is currently supported by contributions from local companies that ‘adopt’ their local schools. Preliminary results show that students are responding to the message, with some high schools showing increases in enrollment in key courses such as Physics up 250% and in Economics up 220%.
The programs on the Learn Do Earn Website were created in direct response to employer and college identified deficiencies found in many young workers, whether they enter the job market directly from high school or college. Thinking and problem-solving, professional-level work
ethic, computer literacy, math proficiency, and financial literacy are all essential for success in life and college. As students meet program benchmarks, they can earn credentials in key program components.
The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce is committed to ensuring that all students achieve at high levels, become productive citizens, and are well prepared to succeed in the workplace. The BCEE serves as the voice of business in the education policy debate, and supports programs that address the business agenda in education reform. The BCEE is guided by its accountability to the business community. BCEE programs are supported by tax-deductible contributions made to the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. For more information please visit www.bcee.org.
GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federally supported grant program designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. GEAR UP provides six-year grants to states and partnerships to provide services at high-poverty middle and high schools. GEAR UP programs serve an entire cohort of students beginning no later than the seventh grade and follow the cohort through high school. GEAR UP funds are also used to provide college scholarships to low-income students.
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