Career Development System

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Career Prep Report Card



1. Overall System Trends
  • Enrollment and Participation Trends
  • Graduate and Completion Trends
  • Resource Trends



K-12 enrollment represents district averages and includes alternative and special education pupils, but does not include adult education participants.   Enrollment has decreased slightly in both Wayne County RESA and Monroe County ISD school districts between 1996 and 1999 as shown above.


*Dropout rate is an estimate of the percentage of students who left school and did not return during the following school year.  The number applies to grades 9-12 only.  Graduation rate is an estimate of the percentage of 9th grade students who will complete their senior year of school and graduate.

The four-year completion/graduation rate decreased slightly in Monroe County while increasing dramatically in Wayne County (excluding the city of Detroit). 

Resource Trends
Financial resources continue to increase somewhat in Wayne and Monroe counties. Operating expenditures per pupil have increased as well, but remain close to those of Michigan as a whole.


Financial Data*
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
Wayne County Foundation Allowance Per Pupil
6,151
6,301
6,298
Wayne County Current Operating Expenditures Per Pupil
6,860
7,086
N/A
Wayne County Total Revenue Per Pupil
7,353
7,853
N/A
Monroe County Foundation Allowance Per Pupil
5,802
6,013
6,011
Monroe County Current Operating Expenditures Per Pupil
5,773
6,029
N/A
Monroe County Total Revenue Per Pupil
6,534
7,170
N/A
Michigan Foundation Allowance Per Pupil
5,878
6,063
6,065
Michigan Current Operating Expenditures Per Pupil
6,395
6,551
N/A
Michigan Total Revenue Per Pupil
6,930
7,372
N/A

*Foundation Allowance is the combination of state and local monies that each school district is allocated per pupil as calculated under Section 20 of the State School Aid Act.  Current Operating Expenditures (COE) includes adult education participants because costs for those participants are included in the COE.

2. Career Preparation System Performance

K-12
A Career Preparation Gap Analysis commissioned by SEMCA for the 1999-2000 school year illustrates the status of students in the areas of academics, career guidance and workforce readiness, and technical and occupational education.

All buildings in both Monroe and Wayne Counties (except Detroit) were included in the study.  In addition to the degree of implementation for each component, respondents also were asked to indicate: 



Table 1 below shows a summary of responses for all buildings in the SEMCA service area including elementary, middle schools, and high schools.

Table 1

Table 2 shows a summary of responses to additional components applicable to the middle schools and high schools only.

Table 2

Table 3 shows a summary of responses to additional components applicable to the high schools only.

Table 3


Table 4 shows the percent of students who achieved satisfactory MEAP scores as compared to the state as a whole, supporting the data gathered in the survey.

Table 4
MEAP Testing Wayne County
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
Math - 4th Grade
55.1%
66.7%
63.4%
Math - 7th Grade
39.8%
43.0%
49.4%
Reading - 4th Grade
48.2%
53.2%
50.4%
Reading - 7th Grade
34.8%
37.5%
43.1%
Science - 5th Grade
34.2%
35.8%
32.4%
Science - 8th Grade
13.6%
15.6%
16.9%
Writing - 5th Grade
65.8%
55.9%
45.3%
Writing - 8th Grade
70.7%
61.9%
56.9%
Math - 11th Grade
n/c
39.7%
n/a
Reading - 11th Grade
n/c
43.4%
n/a
Science - 11th Grade
n/c
32.2%
n/a
Writing - 11th Grade
n/c
43.4%
n/a
MEAP Testing Monroe County
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
Math - 4th Grade
60.1%
74.3%
69.4%
Math - 7th Grade
54.6%
61.5%
65.6%
Reading - 4th Grade
47.1%
55.1%
50.1%
Reading - 7th Grade
46.6%
49.1%
53.7%
Science - 5th Grade
35.8%
38.8%
37.5%
Science - 8th Grade
15.6%
22.0%
20.1%
Writing - 5th Grade
75.3%
71.7%
56.7%
Writing - 8th Grade
78.7%
72.0%
61.4%
Math - 11th Grade
n/c
54.6%
n/a
Reading - 11th Grade
n/c
53.4%
n/a
Science - 11th Grade
n/c
50.8%
n/a
Writing - 11th Grade
n/c
50.8%
n/a
MEAP Testing State of Michigan
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
Math - 4th Grade
60.5%
74.1%
71.7%
Math - 7th Grade
51.4%
61.4%
63.2%
Reading - 4th Grade
49.0%
58.6%
59.4%
Reading - 7th Grade
40.4%
48.8%
53.0%
Science - 5th Grade
36.8%
40.4%
37.5%
Science - 8th Grade
17.5%
22.0%
23.0%
Writing - 5th Grade
73.4%
64.3%
54.8%
Writing - 8th Grade
77.0%
69.0%
63.5%
Math - 11th Grade
n/c
60.5%
n/a
Reading - 11th Grade
n/c
58.9%
n/a
Science - 11th Grade
n/c
51.7%
n/a
Writing - 11th Grade
n/c
56.6%
n/a


“Community colleges play a pivotal role in fueling the knowledge economy with qualified workers and, as such, are a critical link in the knowledge supply chain-the broad array of institutions, including preschools, K-12 schools, post-secondary colleges and universities, training companies, and corporate universities, that impart knowledge and skill to people.”

They provide dependable sources of new workers and effective training programs to keep existing workers productive.

While enrollment statistics like those shown above are accurate, they don't tell the entire story because they include only those students taking at least one course creditable towards a degree.  

The reality is that from 1980 to 1995, enrollments at two-year community colleges increased 21 percent--mostly due to part-time enrollments, which increased by 26 percent for community colleges. 

Nearly half of the students at community colleges participate in non-credit activities, often related to workforce training.  Competency-based skills certificates, rather than degrees, are becoming highly valued in the business world.  In fact, many community college students already possess a bachelor's or more advanced degree and want to learn specific skills or upgrade existing skills.

Area community colleges are working together with local businesses through strategic partnerships in which employers help define the skills and career ladders so that the colleges can better educate future and current workers.

In addition, all four of the local community colleges have Tech Prep Partnerships with local Intermediate School Districts and Technical Career Centers.  

Table 5 describes several recent Tech Prep Partnership grant projects.

Table 5
Comm. College
Participating ISDs and Vocational Centers
Grant Amount
Project
Henry Ford CC
Wayne-Westland W.D. Ford Career Tech. Center
Livonia Pub. Schools Career Technical Center
Wayne County Regional Educational Service Breithaupt Career Technical Center
Taylor Career Center
$189,859
Design a seamless articulated education experience that will assist students in reaching career goals. Develop 2+2+2 in GIS and Plant Mgt.
Wayne County CC
Wayne County Regional Educational Service
$40,645
Focus on program articulation within the major Tech Prep career clusters
Monroe County CC
Lenawee Vocational Technical Center
Monroe County Intermediate School District
$74,500
Provide counseling and curriculum cooperation for better-qualified graduates for the work force.
Schoolcraft College
Breithaupt Career and Technical Center
William D. Ford Career Technical Center
$36,034
Design, develop, and implement an integrated learning system

3. Workforce Development System

The SEMCA mission is to provide leadership to create a life-long workforce development system that is responsive to market demand.  SEMCA offers the communities of Monroe and Wayne Counties (excluding the city of Detroit) a variety of services to prepare youth and unskilled adults for entry into the labor force.  Programs offered by SEMCA include:




Services to jobseekers and employers have increased over the past two and a half years. 

*Please note that five months remain in the most recent reporting period.

4. Worker Enhancement System

More and more businesses in the SEMCA service area are providing some type of education and training for their employees at all levels.

Business and industry provide almost one-half of the work-related training and education courses taken by adults.

In a telephone survey commissioned by SEMCA and conducted by Wayne State University, the following information was gathered concerning the worker enhancement system in Monroe and Wayne Counties (excluding the city of Detroit).


  1. 45.6% said that their formal education did not prepare them for their current jobs.
  2. 28.4% thought that their current jobs were closely related to the skills they learned in school.
  3. 24% said that their jobs were not at all related to those skills.
  4. 58.5% stated that communication skills are more important in their jobs compared to last year.
  5. 52.6% said that they use a personal computer to perform their work functions more than they did last year.
  6. 88% felt that they were properly trained for their current jobs.
  7. 64.8% expect that they will require training to keep their jobs or to get another job in the future.
  8. 48.9% are attending more training or educational classes related to work than they did five years ago.
  9. 69% have employers who provide training.
  10. 57.1% attended training or educational classes related to the work they perform.


  1. 33.5% are attending employer-sponsored on-site training
  2. 55.4% are attending employer-sponsored off-site training.
  3. 95.6% are in a government program where they are receiving training or education related to work.
  4. 18.5% are receiving their training at a college or university.
  5. 15.4% are receiving training from a private vendor.
  6. 6.5% receive training at school.
  7. 3% receive their training from home.
  8. 3.5% are receiving their training over the Internet.
  9. 65% stated that they receive their training during regular work hours.





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