Search

In support of its strategic objective of a quality basic education provided to a larger percentage of Guinean children with an emphasis on girls and rural children, the United States Agency for International Development established the following intermediate results: (1) Improved sectoral strategic planning, management, and decision-making in basic education; (2) Improved instruction in basic education; (3) Improved community participation in basic education; and (4) Improved gender and rural/urban equity in basic education. USAID/Guinea has invested 57 million dollars for the implementation of its strategy for the current planning cycle (1997-2006). At the beginning of this period, access to primary education had already begun to rapidly increase, but instruction was marked by low quality levels and a weak capacity for system-wide planning. USAID's interventions since 1997 have been of two major types. The first involved collaboration with ministry counterparts for improving planning and instruction. The second has been the reinforcement of communities' capacity to participate in the life of the school. These interventions have all had a positive and promising impact, albeit a fragile one. Detailed evaluations of the interventions and the lessons learned from them are presented. The following are appended: (1) Summary Tables; (2) Statement of Work; (3) Documents Reviewed; and (4) List of Persons Met. (Contains 3 tables and 63 endnotes.)

This report presents findings regarding design and implementation of school-to-work (STW) efforts in Job Corps Model Centers. Following an introduction, Chapter two argues that Jobs Corps constitutes a natural context for implementing STW systems because its traditional practices to some degree provide a solid foundation on which to lay STW principles. Chapter three addresses these two keys to implementing STW in the Job Corps context: need for a clearly articulated vision and consistency with the vision in the larger STW context. Chapter four examines the model centers' efforts to build the organizational structure necessary to implement STW reforms. Chapter five discusses how school-based learning (SBL) evolved and examines STW's effect on structure and content of classroom training and the model centers' success in integrating classroom training to replicate STW best practice methods. Chapter six addresses the model centers' implementation of work-based learning principles and practices, implementation challenges, and effective practices and implementation strategies. Chapter seven discusses areas related to connecting activities: strategies to connect worksite and SBL; staff development and training; linkages for the post-program period; and STW stakeholders and their roles. Chapter eight explores evolution and sustainability of STW efforts at the model centers. Chapter nine highlights challenges model centers faced in sustaining a dynamic, evolving STW initiative. Appendixes contain 30 project profiles and 21-item bibliography. (YLB)

This appendix includes individual case study profiles of the One-Stop Career Center implementation experiences of the 9 states and 14 local sites included in the study of initial implementation experiences. The 12 state and local profiles are State of Connecticut (CT); CT Works Career Center, New London, CT; CT Works Career Center, Willimantic, CT; State of Indiana (IN); Eastside Center, Indianapolis Network for Employment and Training, Indianapolis, IN; Workforce Development Center, Lawrenceburg, IN; State of Iowa (IA); Workforce Development Center, Creston, IA; Workforce Development Center, Des Moines, IA; State of Maryland (MD); Eastside Career Center, Baltimore, MD; and Columbia Employment and Training Center, Columbia, MD. State profiles typically include state context; evolution of the One-Stop Career Center design; organization and governance; communication and coordination; funding arrangements, budgeting, and fiscal issues; and implementation of state support mechanisms. Local site profiles cover local context; organization and governance; communication and coordination; funding arrangements, budgeting, and fiscal issues; design of the local One-Stop Career Center initiative; implementation of local support mechanisms; delivery of One-Stop Career Center services to customers; customer response; and assessment and lessons learned. (YLB)

This report analyzes progress states and local sites have made in implementing the One-Stop Career Center systems. An executive summary is followed by Section A, Introduction, which provides an overview of the One-Stop initiative and describes evaluation objectives and methods. The main portion of the report is organized into three major sections. Section B, on state and local organization and governance, has two chapters that address overall system development and the creation of the One-Stop systems. Section C, on development of the infrastructure to support the One-Stop systems, includes six chapters that examine the ways that states and local sites have developed sub-systems to support their One-Stop centers, such as physical facilities, information systems, staff capacity-building systems, financing agreements, marketing strategies, and performance measurement systems. Section D, on service design and delivery, is comprised of two chapters on services designed for individual and employer customers. Each chapter in Sections A-C consists of an introduction and description of different approaches the states used to further the 3-7 goals listed in each chapter. Section E reviews progress-to-date in meeting the objectives of the initiative, including the progress in meeting these four federal themes: universal access, customer choice, integrated services, and system accountability driven by customer outcomes and continuous improvement efforts. (YLB)