More than 300 pathways are now participating in Linked Learning Certification, and 

4  h ave achieved Linked Learning Silver status. The certification process allows districts, schools, and pathways to measure progress along a continuum of quality practices and student outcomes.

Interested in a customized training on the Certification process? The Linked Learning Alliance staff is happy to host a training for districts. Norwalk La-Mirada Unified School District recently registered 14 pathways during a customized training for the district's pathway leads, support staff and administrators.

To schedule a Certification training, plese email Sara Pietrowski at Sara@linkedlearning.org.   

LaunchPath has disproven the myth that work-based learning is not scalable by successfully matching 2,000 internships! LaunchPath is a work-based learning management tool that connects students, schools, and employers for hands-on learning experiences. Communities in San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Sacramento, West Sacramento, Sonoma, East Cascade, OR are using a locally branded version of LaunchPath to give students experience in the professional world through internships.

 

A new feature on LaunchPath allows intermediary users, like chambers of commerce, workforce investment boards, and non-profits, to connect employers and students and co-manage work-based learning experiences for employer partners. Students using LaunchPath can also benefit from the recent addition of the New World of Work's 21st-century skills badges. 

 

For information on how LaunchPath can support your partnership network, contact Natalie Lenhart at  Natalie@linkedlearning.org. 

The 2018 Linked Learning Convention theme is Scaling Strategies for Success. SAVE THE DATE and don't miss out on this unique opportunity for networking, strategic, and professional learning from peers. The convention brings together more than 900 leaders in K-12 and postsecondary education, business, work force, research, policy and nonprofit for thoughtful discussion and learning aimed at ensuring all students are well prepared for college, career, and life. 

Attendees will be able to:

• Hear from dynamic speakers
• Participate in interactive breakout sessions
• Learn through experiential site visits
• Interact with Linked Learning students

Convention registration opens next week!

For more information, go to linkedlearning.org/en/convention-2018.

The Linked Learning Alliance hosted a policymaker site visit at the STEM Academy of Hollywood, a certified Linked Learning pathway.  Legislative staff learned firsthand about the school's integrated program of study, work-based learning opportunities, and student support systems.  STEM Academy students and an employer partner from Kaiser Permanente discussed with legislative staff how their Linked Learning pathway is more engaging and rigorous than traditional high school. This site visit was coordinated by STEM Academy Principal Paul Hirsch staff and Instructional Coach Esther Dabagyan, and made possible with support from The California Endowment.

What Works Clearinghouse, an investment of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) within the U.S. Department of Education, has released a new practice guide to provide educators and administrators with evidence-based recommendations for reducing dropout rates in middle and high schools and improving high school graduation rates. The practice guide, " Preventing Dropout in Secondary Schools" cites Linked Learning as a strategy to prevent drop outs. The practice guide provides school and district administrators, as well as members of student-support teams including school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and teachers with the best available evidence and expertise on current challenges in education, and how the recommendations can be implemented in their schools and districts. 

Read full practice guide >>

SRI International, a research institution that has conducted a multi-year evaluation of Linked Learning, has expanded its library of reports documenting how high quality Linked Learning is effective in improving student outcomes. The SRI Linked Learning research library includes:

View other Linked Learning Reports and Research here.

The Work-Based Learning System Development Guide is organized in two parts: Part I documents the Work-Based Learning Demonstration Project, and offers key themes and lessons about the hurdles to advancing work-based learning systems and potential ways to overcome them. It uses brief case studies on the three districts to illustrate these themes, summarizing the results of JFF's reports on each site's assets and challenges.