News/Press Releases

American Reinvestment and Recovery Act Funds at Work in Marin County

Provided by Ken Lippi, Director of the Marin County Office of Education, School-to-Career Partnership

Katherine L. is 18 years old and a recent student at Madrone High School, an alternative education high school in the San Rafael High School District.  Katherine was at Madrone High School due to past issues with truancy and a lack of school credits.  Through her hard work and determination and with support from her school, Katherine was able to graduate in the spring of 2009.

Uncertain about her next steps, Katherine took part in a Summer Youth Employment and Training Program made possible through Workforce Investment Act (WIA) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding.  The program was a collaboration of the Marin County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and four youth-serving agencies in Marin County, including the Marin County School to Career Partnership, a program of the Marin County Office of Education.

Supported by ARRA funding provided by the Workforce Investment Board (WIB), staff of the Marin County School to Career Partnership worked with Katherine to explore her career interests and enroll her in a Summer Internship Program that would place her in an internship/job in the community.  Katherine had recently been considering a possible career working with young children and decided to further explore that possibility through a paid internship.  Katherine was placed in an internship with the Canal Child Care Center in San Rafael, California, working with a traditionally underserved population of young children.

Katherine spent the summer working with children in their classes, at-play and in a day care setting.  In conjunction with her work experience and as part of the program, Katherine enrolled in a Career Management Class with the Marin County Regional Occupational Program (ROP).  The class covered areas such as career exploration, workforce preparedness skills (résumé, interview techniques, job search), proper workplace etiquette, and technology skills such as internet research, blobs, and PowerPoint.  Several industry professionals worked with the students in informational interviews and in guest speaker presentations. 

Through her experiences, Katherine has awakened a passion to work with children.  With support from the Marin County Workforce Development Board, her School to Career Liaison, her workplace supervisor, and her ROP teacher, Katherine excelled in her job and successfully completed her class.  With her School to Career Liaison, she explored future career and employment options.  As a result, today she is enrolled at the College of Marin, studying for certification in Early Childhood Education classes.  Katherine’s goal is to complete her degree at the College of Marin and then transfer to a four-year school to continue her studies and prepare for a career working with children.