State Profile

Rhode Island

Putting Practice into Writing: Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

• School-to-Career (STC) language was in state education regulations before the STC implementation grant began.

• RI Skills Commission Report, High Skills or Low Wages, formed action steps for linking schools to workplace.

• Unified Resource Management forms the basis for one STC system for ALL students.

• Regional education collaboratives assist in facilitating school districts working together and sharing/consolidating resources.

• The Transition Planning Council is legislatively mandated and includes state departments that offer services for youth with disabilities.

• The accountability system for statewide school improvement involves STC initiatives.

• STC works with two groups at the state level, The Joint Staff Committee and Rhode Island’s Interagency Team, to look at policy and practice affecting statewide workforce development issues for ALL learners.

Winning Combinations: State and Local Leadership and Partnerships

• State leadership has focused on making Regional Transition Centers integral to STC partnerships.

• Career portfolio development is a joint effort by the Rhode Island Transition, Independence, and Employment Project (RITIE) (the Transition Systems Change Initiative), and STC.

• The Rhode Island STC director uses the influential Joint Staff Committee - economics, labor, & education departments - as a sounding board for STC policies for ALL students.

• Regional Transition Centers host Transition Fairs that include colleges, parents, students, and other agencies.

• The state STC Office, five regional STC partnerships, and interagency staff have developed and initiated implementation of a unified investment 2000 plan.

Connecting the Dots: Alignment of Resources and Programs

• STC and Transition Systems Change co-sponsor School-to-Career Institutes for professional development and curriculum building for general and special education teachers.

• Transition Systems Change and STC have blended resources to support professional development and to build awareness of how to integrate ALL students into school-to-career opportunities. Examples of this are the Resource Share Fair for all teachers demonstrated in one region, standards-based curriculum development, and Ground Hog Job Shadow Day activities.

• The STC Joint Staff Committee continues to explore the coordination of all workforce initiatives (Perkins, STC, Transition, WIA, Tech Prep, etc.).

• STC and Transition Systems Change jointly roll out money to schools and encourage them to practice unified resource management.

• Transition improvement grants to local schools attempt to build school-based teams for including ALL students.

Leading by Example: Activities From Individual Local Partnerships

• Real Life Fair, funded by Rhode Island STC, is a middle school activity for ALL students, based on a model from special education in South Dakota.

• Ground Hog Job Shadow Day includes students with severe disabilities.

• Ongoing STC staff training at all levels includes transition coordinators.

• Regional Transition Centers work closely with high schools and STC partnerships.

• The school-based coordinator uses Perkins and STC dollars to facilitate connections with employers for ALL students.

• Career guidance is ongoing from kindergarten to 12^th grade for ALL students.

• STC curriculum is aligned with SCANS and industry skills for ALL students.

• Working relationships exist among Transition Systems Change, STC, One Stop Centers, Division of Developmental Disabilities, and Office of Rehabilitative Services.

Successes and Challenges

• Success – One of the best investments of transition money was to hire parents to do technical assistance and training with the Regional Transition Resource Centers. This in turn created a network of parents in each region of Rhode Island that has been effective in pushing transition resources with STC.

• Success – Relationship building and collaboration are models for involving all stakeholders. Examples include (a) fostering various groups to serve on each others' committees and (b) reviewing policy versus practice with practitioners.

• Success – Business involvement is good throughout the state, e.g. involvement in industry cluster development.

• Success – Statewide database, "Employer Where" will list business partners, work-based opportunities, and will facilitate project-based learning activities for ALL students.

• Challenge – Communication from state agencies to families, parents, and students is a challenge.

• Challenge – Transportation of students to the workplace is a challenge.

• Challenge – Maintaining the State Transition Planning Council after grant is over is a challenge.

• Challenge – Developing linkages to postsecondary colleges is a challenge.

What’s Next?: Sustainability

• The Rhode Island State Youth Council Board has invited Transition Systems Change staff to become a member of the board.

• Attention to lessons learned from Transition Systems Change and STC and applying them to Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Perkins activities will help sustain efforts.

• RI Human Resources Investment Council advises Department of Labor and receives a payroll tax, thus providing resources for workforce development and commitment to STC for ALL students.

Contact Information

Rhode Island School-to-Career, Linda Soderberg, 610 Manton Avenue, 3rd Floor, Providence, RI 02909, 401-222-4922, lsoderberg@dlt.state.ri.us

Website: www.ristc.org

David Sienko, Rhode Island Transition, Independence, & Employment (RITIE), Alice Woods, Lizann Gibson, Joe Potenza, and Deb Hamel, Southern Rhode Island Collaborative and Southern Rhode Island STC Partnership

May, 2000