Empowering Indiana’s Future Workforce: Pilot Project Proposal Presentation to Conexus & Workforce Development November 2, 2007 Presenter: Carla Lundman Regional Sales Manager Bridges

Agenda Company overview Market share for Indiana Pilot Project Partners Choices Explorer and Choices Planner resources Indiana Pilot Project Overview Phase One Phase Two Pilot Project Implementation Schedule

About Bridges Transitions North America’s largest supplier of education and career planning solutions Over 25 years of experience Bridges Products are used by over 40% of public high schools in the country A record of innovation driven by … Listening to our customers Adapting our products to their changing needs Understanding the importance of implementation

What Else Do You Get From Bridges Transitions? Friendly live support Knowledgeable account management 24/7 product access Newsletters and updates Comprehensive product training and professional development Product tutorials Product webinars On-site professional development workshops Valuable online resources

Future Partnership Opportunity Bridges is excited for the chance to collaborate with the Conexus, Workforce Development and local businesses to engage and retain youth within the state. By customizing our existing education and career planning solution with Indiana-specific content and connections, Bridges will help to address the needs of Indiana youth, educators, parents, and local industry alike.

Market Share Currently 25% of Indiana senior high schools subscribe to Bridges’ Choices products High usage with over 17,000 new personal online portfolios created by students and professionals during the school year 2007 for Indiana Our strong market share and high usage provides Bridges with the distinct advantage to easily implement this initiative Success = less barriers 33% represents how many students – emailed Bill Spittle

Pilot Partners Bridges proposes to involve the Fort Wayne Community Schools who are currently subscribers of our Choices Explorer and Choices Planner resources. Indiana Career and Technical Education Area # 14 Six Public School Systems (15 High Schools; 22 Middle Schools) Five Private/Parochial Schools Three Social Service Agencies All Public Library Branches

Choices Explorer Benefits Captivates students’ attention with colourful graphics Entertaining magazine-style content written at a grade 6 reading level Helps students prepare for successful transition to high school and beyond Demonstrates the connection between academics and careers with ready-made lesson plans and real-life activities Career Clusters and Pathways An engaging online education and career exploration system that creates the motivational foundation for meaningful planning Real-life activities (math, communications and decision making)

Introduces students to non-traditional careers Interactive features that allow students to communicate with experts and request new career articles Regularly updated blogs written by students’ peers Helps students make a smooth transition from exploration to planning with a common platform shared with Choices Planner

Choices Planner Benefits Empowers students to make confident career choices with multiple validated assessments Increases effectiveness with self-directed Guideways Creates a seamless transition from exploration to planning with an integrated portfolio Career Clusters and Pathways Continued…. CP works with CE to help students build personalized plans.

Students can compare two careers or schools side-by-side Saves time with ready-made lesson plans and activities Enables greater accountability with powerful reporting Align with BluePrint for Life/Work Design curriculum

Indiana counselors have already been saying great things about Choices Planner Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance seems to be a given--yet many schools resist giving students the tools they need for planning, and then wonder why student performance is so poor. We have been very pleased with not only the Bridges products we use, but also with the relationship that has developed with the company itself around the very important theme of graduating students with meaningful future plans. As our use of Choices Planner and Choices Explorer expands, so do the number of our graduates who move on in life with post-secondary plans that have a high probability of success. Ron Flickinger Area Director of Career & Technical Education Anthis Career Center As every school counselor in training must take the Career Course, they get the opportunity to explore the Choices program.  My students comment every semester on the user-friendly aspects of the program and how comprehensive it is in regards to career exploration.  It is by far their favorite career tool to use with high school students.  From my perspective, Choices offers everything on one site to enable school counselors to be an effective career counselor. Dr. Thomas Keller, Ed.D., NCC, LMHC Associate Professor/Program Coordinator, Counselor Education, Butler University

Pilot Project Overview Expand career horizons for middle school students as they explore all the options available in their own back yard Empower high school students to effortlessly connect their personal interests, values and skills to relevant career and post-secondary opportunities offered in Indiana Involve more parents in the planning process with online access that extends the program beyond the classroom and into the home Continued….

Enable counsellors to track and report on students’ planning progress Message students about specific local opportunities offered by sponsoring industries Create greater exposure for Indiana businesses with tiered product sponsorship, and the ability to target and connect to their future workforce Develop a new revenue stream for the Indiana with profit-sharing of funds from ongoing tiered industry sponsorship Internships, apprenticeships, scholarships or employment openings

Phase One Indiana customization Accountability reporting Indiana employer and scholarship databases Implementation and professional development

Indiana Customization Develop a unique online portal where students, parents and educators can access Choices Explorer and Choices Planner anytime, from anywhere Enhance the program with employer information and scholarship data Work with Workforce Development and Conexus to determine how founding sponsors will be defined within the portal

Accountability Reporting Accountability Reporting tools will provide counselors with the flexibility to track and report on student’s planning progress Sponsors may contact schools about upcoming career fairs or internship openings Counselors can quickly identify students who may be interested in attending upcoming events and message them Benefits industries with the power to directly target and reach their future workforce

Indiana Employer Database Students will have access to a complete employer database Exposes students to career opportunities close to home This all-inclusive format will better serve students and the economy as a whole Paid sponsors will receive high exposure within Choices Explorer and Choices Planner

Employer Finder

Indiana Scholarship Database Integrate Indiana-specific scholarship data Alphabetical search or by using the new Scholarship Finder tool List of scholarships identified based on customized criteria

Scholarship Finder Scholarship database???

Pilot Subscription Implementation Introduce Pilot Partners to the Indiana version Six Public School Systems (15 High Schools; 22 Middle Schools) Five Private/Parochial Schools Three Social Service Agencies All Public Library Branches Launch to parents, community and industry partners Develop marking communication and support plans Promote to industries Deliver product training Monitor product usage

Implementation & Professional Development Each participating division will receive customized Choices Planner and Choices Explorer training through: Custom Webinars: allow counselors to conveniently learn from the comforts of their own office On-Site Workshops: full day of hands-on training for up to 25 members of a division's staff Possible train the trainer program with in the state

Phase Two Review pilot subscription with Partners Launch Choices Explorer and Choices Planner statewide Add to employer database Secure additional industry partners Report on usage State-wide roll-out to all Indiana students and adults in career transition Create a customized Indiana Guideway within Choices Explorer and Choices Planner

Sponsorship Founding sponsors in Phase One will provide funding for pilot project Phase Two – invite new industries to invests on an annual basis Define tired elements and pricing for Bronze, Silver and Gold Sponsorship Exposure will be based on investment Sponsored areas might include the Career Cluster profiles, occupation profiles, and program profiles Outline model for profit-sharing for on-going revenue stream

Reach Beyond the Classroom Extend access to post-secondary institutions and employment centres Clients section will be added to the online portal Access to Choices Planner CT (Career Transitions) – the adult version of Choices Planner Local industries are presented with a short-term solution to fill the labour gap Access to post-secondary students and adults empower industries to reach a new market of skilled workers immediately

Choices Planner CT

Create a Buzz about Indiana Bridges will create a series of engaging Indiana specific articles to be regularly updated in the online portal Users will be informed via email, keeping them up to date on all the latest news and trends Topics will included: Career Trends Indiana At Work Post-Secondary Programs Articles provided to MB and Ontario

Professional Tools Improve accountability and empower greater achievement Professional Tools Include: Resource Library Ready-made lesson plans Site Administration Customize course plans Reviewer Access student portfolios Reporter Show site usage Tracker Real-time activity tracking reports

Working together we can help Indiana’s future economy grow to its fullest potential.

Questions? Next Steps?