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Marketing Insights
Newsletter
Special Issue: Education
Database Helps Chicago Schools' Summer Job Program
Make
The Grade
Source: 1to1 Magazine.
Ah,
summertime, and the living is...easier. Well, not
exactly, if you ask plenty of kids in the Chicago Public
School System's Education-to-Careers (ETC) program. Just
as the school year was winding down this past spring,
thousands of windy-city area students between the ages
of 14 and 21 were crossing their fingers in the hopes
that something more rewarding than flipping burgers or
manning the local pool's lifeguard chair was in store
for them over the next three months. But with the help
of a newly implemented database system, as summer-job
applications started coming in and things began heating
up in the ETC office, program administrators knew they
were better prepared this year than ever before.
A
brief history lesson
Education-to-Careers is designed to prepare students for
life beyond the classroom, combining academic learning
with experience in the working world. The summer jobs
program was established to provide a "win-win situation
for businesses and for young people," explains Jaison
Morgan, senior policy analyst with the Office of Budget
and Management. Originally conducted in conjunction with
city agencies such as Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the
Chicago Public Library, Chicago Park District and other
separately incorporated city agencies, and beginning no
later than seventh grade, students in the program are
required to keep career portfolios, where they record
their interests, skills, career-exploration experiences
and individual career plans. By the 11th grade, each
student chooses a career path that fits her skills and
interests.
Chicago
has had its summer-youth employment program almost as
long as Mayor Richard M. Daley has been in office: 13
years. But in 2000, changes in federal legislation
pretty much precluded about $10 million in federal funds
that the city had been counting on for its seasonal
programs the following summer. To compensate, private
businesses' participation was more actively sought, and
by summer 2001, a total of 120 companies had helped
contribute to 800 internships or jobs that ETC kids were
eligible for.
Good
news, but given sheer volume—30,000 applications needed
to be processed—data entry was overwhelming, says Dr.
Creg Williams, chief officer of ETC. The organization
developed a spreadsheet to track applicant information,
but errors resulting from repeated manual data entry —
for instance, in students' social security numbers,
addresses and home schools — often presented a stumbling
block in efforts to match and track students' job
applications and placements.
The
solution...
The idea for a centralized database was born. Because
ETC is geared toward kids learning about the world of
work, it was a natural that online job applications
would figure prominently. Online applications from both
hiring corporations and job-seekers fuel the database.
Students enter their data through a password-protected
site.
When
entering the system, CPS students enter their school ID
numbers, so application data can be linked with academic
data already on file. The information that's collected
includes job experience, personal needs and skills (as
indicated by responses to questions such as, "How many
languages are spoken in your house?"). "There's a broad
array of questions specific to what a young person does
at school or home so we can find out where their needs
are," says Morgan.
Private
employers indicate specific skills they're seeking using
the same checklist that appears on the student
application to facilitate the matching that will
ultimately be done by program liaisons. Individual
agencies can tag records of prospects they'd like to
hire.
A+
results
The database has yielded early and valuable insights.
For instance, corporations were committing to an average
of 10 to 15 jobs. This prompted increased outreach,
including a media campaign, to larger companies that
might have more opportunities. From targeting such
businesses, several hundred more job opportunities were
uncovered. ETC's goal was to double last year's
offerings from the private sector. As of May, 1,400 jobs
were offered through dozens of businesses.
As a
benefit to hiring agencies, the system will facilitate
future grant funding, as the populations being served
can now be more quickly and accurately identified. (To
get grants, nonprofits have to provide concise data on
who has applied for services from their organization and
who's received services.) The database, and an annual
report which the youth employment program will issue,
will provide those agencies with the requisite detailed
information.
Tomorrow's assignment
ETC's database is still the new kid on the block, but
eventually, it will house information such as where
hired students were placed and feedback from both
employers and employees, while allowing for more
sophisticated job matching based on academic criteria,
geography, skills and work experience. Coupled with data
such as gender, ethnicity, CPS region and aldermanic
district, says Williams, it will be possible to monitor
how the program affects academic performance.
"We've built a system that's flexible enough that it can
be used as a platform and applied to other programs,"
adds Morgan. But the real test hasn't been taken yet.
"The real test will come in July and when we follow up
with a survey in the fall—when the kids are working and
we find out how well they were matched."
Reprinted with permission from Peppers & Rogers Group, a
Carlson Marketing Group company. Copyright (c) Carlson
Marketing Group. All Rights Reserved.
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