1 Reinventing High School: Six Journeys of Change

2 Community Partnerships for Workforce Development

3 Intermediary Guidebook: Connecting Schools and Communities

4 Low-Wage Workers in the Maryland Economy

5 Welfare Reform: Bringing the U.S. Experience to the U.K.

6 Building for the Future at JFF: Pennington Returns as CEO and Vice-Chair; Seltzer Advances to President

1 Reinventing High School: Six Journeys of Change

Reinventing High School takes an in-depth look at schools that are transforming thinking about secondary schooling. To understand what reinventing-or inventing-a school involves, this new book looks at the improvement "journeys" of six U.S. high schools over several years- and it looks beyond the walls of each school to the local and state context for reform. "Reinventing High School" is a collaboration of JFF and the Coalition of Essential Schools, with support from the New American High Schools Initiative of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education.

 

Download Reinventing High School. 

 

2 Community Partnerships for Workforce Development

From Stakeholders to Partners: Organizing Community Partnerships for Workforce Development offers practical guidance for developing and maintaining workforce development alliances that respond directly to the need to build the skills required by the knowledge economy. It is designed to be used by employer and worker associations and other practitioners. From Stakeholders to Partners is JFF's third Issue Brief for WINs—Workforce Innovation Networks. WINs is a partnership of Jobs for the Future with the National Association of Manufacturers' Center for Workforce Success and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Center for Workforce Preparation, with funding from the Ford Foundation.

 

Click here to download From Stakeholders to Partners and learn more about WINs

 

3 Intermediary Guidebook: Connecting Schools and Communities
Organizations that connect schools to the community and local economy have a valuable new resource at their disposal. The Intermediary Guidebook: Making and Managing Community Connections provides practical, insightful information for these organizations, which are burgeoning across America. The 108-page guidebook, complete with a CD-ROM containing almost 100 case studies, tools, and issue briefs, was produced by JFF and its partner, New Ways to Work, for the School-to-Work Intermediary Project. Funded by the National School-to-Work Office, this national effort is strengthening organizations that connect educational institutions, workplaces, and other community resources.

 

To download The Intermediary Guidebook go to the School-to-Work Intermediary Project Web site: www.intermediarynetwork.org.

 

4 Low-Wage Workers in the Maryland Economy

According to a survey sponsored by JFF, Maryland residents believe the strong economy has left people behind, and they wonder whether welfare reform has fulfilled its promise. Moreover, Marylanders say, if many new workers are not earning enough to rise out of poverty, the state should make a concerted effort to help them become economically self-sufficient. Such state action would yield broad benefits: for people working toward family-sustaining incomes, for employers needing qualified workers, and for a state seeking to sustain prosperity. In December 2000, JFF coordinated a conference focused on innovative policy and practices, from Maryland and other states, that would yield those benefits. The Open Society Institute and the Annie E. Casey Foundation provided funding for the meeting.

 

Download Strategies to Advance Low-Wage Workers in Maryland

 

5 Welfare Reform: Bringing the U.S. Experience to the U.K.

Three new JFF papers summarize the key ways in which government can improve the performance of the workforce development delivery system at the local level. The papers explore ways that government can promote higher quality workforce systems through carefully designed performance measurement systems, and investments in the capacity of local providers. The papers recommend strategies that can help move public workforce systems toward more flexible approaches that are responsive to labor market trends and able to serve local employers effectively. They were prepared for JFF's U.K./U.S. Welfare-to-Work Project, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. This initiative draws on U.S. experiences with welfare reform to help the British government consider steps for improving the performance of the U.K.'s workforce development and welfare systems.

 

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6 Building for the Future at JFF: Pennington Returns as CEO and Vice-Chair; Seltzer Advances to President

On January 2, Hilary Pennington assumed the new position of CEO and Vice-Chair of JFF, one of the nation's leading organizations conducting research and crafting policies on innovative learning strategies and workforce solutions. The JFF Board of Directors appointed Marlene B. Seltzer as the new President. Over the last 25 years, Ms. Seltzer has earned a reputation as a leader in the field of workforce development. In 2000, Ms. Seltzer served as JFF's Interim President. During that time, Ms. Pennington was on sabbatical as a Fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Also, President Clinton appointed Ms. Pennington to co-chair the Presidential Advisory Committee on Expanding Training Opportunities.

 

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