YCC Site Visit Protocols (Staff)

^Youth CareerConnect (YCC) Evaluation

Site Visit Protocol

2014-2015 School Year

January 20, 2015

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YCC Site Visit Protocol Roadmap
Protocol (and key topic areas)	Typical Respondents
Local Context and Alternative Services Respondent Local economic context School district context School context and climate Alternative, YCC-like services	Grant administrator/managers, YCC coordinator Note: Multiple people may need to be interviewed to answer all questions in this protocol
Organization and Administrative Structure Respondent Grantee characteristics Grant administration/leadership Budget and funding Program staffing Overview of partners Program design Overview of YCC service model Small learning community Planning process Grant management and reporting	Grant administrator/managers, YCC coordinator Note: Multiple people may need to be interviewed to answer all questions in this protocol
Recruitment and Enrollment Respondent Eligibility, recruitment, and application Random assignment and enrollment Youth characteristics	Counselors, YCC coordinators Note: Multiple people may need to be interviewed to answer all questions in this protocol
Partnerships Employers, institutions of higher education (IHEs), American Job Centers (AJCs), supportive service providers, and other partners Respondent Summary of partnership Role in YCC YCC services Data sharing (if applicable) Outcomes Sustainability	Employers, IHE staff, AJC staff, supportive service staff, and others Note: Multiple people may need to be interviewed to answer all questions in this protocol
Employer Engagement and Work-Based Learning Respondent Employer engagement Work readiness training Work-based learning/career exploration Outcomes Successes and challenges	Career counselors, WBL coordinator, YCC manager Note: Multiple people may need to be interviewed to answer all questions in this protocol
Integrated Academic and Career Learning Respondent Integrated YCC classes Summary of YCC curriculum Postsecondary services Assessments Professional development and small learning community	Grant administrator, academic instructors, career-based instructors, WBL coordinator, YCC manager Note: Multiple people may need to be interviewed to answer all questions in this protocol
Academic and Career Counseling Respondent Overview of counseling services Individual development plans (IDPs) Academic counseling Career counseling Small learning community Successes and challenges	Counselors, YCC coordinators, WBL coordinator, academic and career-based instructors Note: Multiple people may need to be interviewed to answer all questions in this protocol
Wraparound Services Respondent Summary of services Coordination of services Challenges and lessons learned	Counselors, YCC coordinators, WBL coordinator Note: Multiple people may need to be interviewed to answer all questions in this protocol
Sustainability Respondent Professional development Sustainability plans	Grant administrator/managers, YCC coordinator, professional development provider Note: Multiple people may need to be interviewed to answer all questions in this protocol
Youth Focus Group and Interviews Program YCC counseling YCC classes Small learning communities Postsecondary awareness and course work Work readiness, work-based learning, and internships Mentoring and supportive services Program improvement	One-hour focus group with four to six youths who are currently in the program; and individual interviews with two youths per site.

ACRONYMS

AJC	American Job Center
CTE	Career and technical education
DOL	Department of Labor
FTE	Full-time equivalent
GPA	Grade point average
IDP	Individual development plan
IHE	Institution of higher education
LEA	Local education agency
LOA	Letter of agreement
MOU	Memorandum of understanding
PD	Professional development
WIA	Workforce Investment Act
WBL	Work-based learning
YCC	Youth CareerConnect

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I. Local context and alternative services

A. Respondent

• Title.

• Name and type of company/organization.

• Describe role in YCC program/initiative.

• Experience.

• Experience working with career pathways/CTE programs.

• Other relevant experience.

B. Local economic context

If the YCC program is implemented in more than one area, have the respondent briefly describe for each area.

• Tell me about the local economic context that may have affected the YCC design and implementation.

• Briefly describe each major industry sector in the local economy where the YCC program is being implemented.

• What local economic development efforts align to YCC-selected industries?

• Are there new/emerging industries?

• Is the economy in transition from one type of industry to another (for example, manufacturing to energy, or service)?

• Describe the demand for careers in selected industries and the types of employers in the local area.

• What occupations are in high demand? Why?

• What course offerings and certificate/degree programs in local community colleges/IHEs were in place (at the time the grant application was written)?

• What preexisting (before the grant) relationships with IHEs, AJCs, employers, and other key stakeholders supported and championed the YCC program?

• To what extent has the local economic context helped the YCC planning and implementation efforts?

• To what extent has the local economic context hindered the YCC planning and implementation efforts?

C. School district context

If the YCC program is implemented in more than one district, have the respondent briefly describe for each district.

• Provide a brief summary of the district context that is essential to the success of the YCC program. The summary should include the following information:

• The district’s current CTE programs, and how they align or differ from the YCC program.

• The degree of support from the district on the implementation of YCC.

• The degree of school-level autonomy to make decisions that influence the implementation of YCC elements.

• Do school leaders have the flexibility to implement the YCC elements according the school context/needs?

• What is the role of the district in guiding and overseeing the implementation of YCC elements?

• Which aspects of the YCC program has the district been most involved in (for example, integrated curriculum, employer engagement, work-based learning, small learning community, professional development)? Were they most involved at the design, planning, or implementation stage?

• To what extent have district policies helped the YCC planning and implementation efforts?

• Which policies have facilitated YCC implementation?

• To what extent have district policies hindered the YCC planning and implementation efforts?

• Which policies have hindered YCC implementation?

• Overall, which district policies have had the greatest impact on the implementation of the YCC program?

D. School context and school climate

• Provide and confirm a brief description of the school:¹

• Size in terms of students, staff, budget

• Student demographics

• Neighborhood and relationship with community

• High school enrollment patterns and high school dropout rate

• Student achievement levels on standardized tests and school ranking

• Other key characteristics and issues that define the school

• Describe other reform efforts currently happening in the school:

• Briefly describe the reforms.

• Experience with other/non-YCC CTE programs at the school site. Briefly describe these programs.

• Describe the climate at the school:

• What kinds of disciplinary issues tend to occur at this school? How does the school typically handle disciplinary issues (suspensions, expulsion, others)? What is the frequency of expulsion and suspension?

• In general, how active are the parents at this school? How frequently do you communicate with parents? What methods do you use? What topics do you discuss? What enables the school/teachers to connect to parents?

• Describe the school factors that are essential to the successful implementation of the YCC program elements. Leave open ended, but potential probes might include the following:

• The structure of the school environment to foster a small learning community (for example, school within a school, 9th-grade academies, sections organized by grade). Are the YCC classes near each other in the school building?

• Scheduling YCC or academy students at each grade level to take two or more courses together as a cohort, including the CTE course.

• The bell schedule (for example, by grade, career academy, programs).

• The degree of teacher and staff buy-in on school reform efforts.

• The quality of the classroom and school conditions (for example, is it clean, safe?).

• Describe the school factors that have hindered successful implementation of the YCC program elements.

• What are the most influential school factors that have shaped the YCC program?

• How successful has the school leadership been in getting buy-in from staff to support the YCC programs? What successes and challenges have surfaced in getting staff support and buy-in to implement the YCC curriculum/program components?

E. Alternative, YCC-like services

Emphasize that these are services that non-YCC students have access to.

• Does your organization have other CTE programs in the school(s)/district/community?

• Please describe any other current CTE programs or services, career pathways/key industries, and so on.

• How long have these programs been in place?

• What is the funding source for these other programs? Is it public or private funding?

• How many students are enrolled per year?

• What is the target group for these programs?

• Are any of these other programs similar to the YCC program? If so, how are they similar and how are they different? Do the same staff work in both? Do non-YCC participants get any of the same services from the same providers?

• How do non-YCC students access these services?

• Describe existing efforts focused on creating smaller learning environments. Career academies? Reduced-sized classes? Teacher collaborative efforts? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these efforts?

• Describe existing academic and career counseling services for students. How many counselors are on staff? What is the counselor-to-student ratio? How often do students and counselors meet? What are the strengths and weaknesses of career and academic counseling services?

• Describe existing efforts to promote college access and success. What efforts are available to help students learn about postsecondary options? Who runs these programs (district, CBOs, others)? How do students access these services?

• Describe efforts, other than those of YCC, to support career awareness and exploration as well as WBL options. What programs are in place to help youth learn about careers? Work-based learning opportunities? Who runs these programs? How do youth access these services?

• In what ways are these services distinct from the YCC program services (such as duration, intensity, timing, availability, target population)? In what ways are they similar? Do they differ for different types of students (by grade, English language learners, students with disabilities)?

II. Organizational/Administrative Structure

A. Respondent

• Title.

• Name and type of company/organization.

• Describe role in YCC program/initiative.

• Experience.

• Experience working with career pathways/CTE programs.

• Other relevant experience.

B. Grantee characteristics

Confirm information if it is available from other sources (such as recruitment site visit or grantee survey).

• Tell me about the organization that runs the YCC program.

• Does your organization/division/department have fiscal responsibility for the YCC grant? If not, what organization does, and what are the responsibilities of this fiscal agent with regard to the program?

• What other partner organizations/departments are critical for operating the YCC program? What is their role in administering the program? Note that this refers to major partners involved in administering the grant, not partners involved with service delivery.

• Describe the development and implementation of the YCC program.

• Where is the current YCC program in regards to its proposed implementation schedule? Are there still steps to be taken to fully implement the program? If so, what are they?

• How does YCC fit in your vision for the district? Do you have plans to expand YCC in the future?

C. Grant administration/leadership

• Describe the management structure of the YCC program.

• Is there a steering committee/advisory board that oversees the YCC grant/program? Who serves on this committee/board? How often do they meet?

• Describe how the leadership team (for example, advisory team/steering committee) monitors and supports all YCC grant activities.

• To what extent have leader(s) at other organization(s) been involved in the design and/or implementation of the YCC program?

• Who on the YCC leadership team has responsibility for the following:

• Creating shared understanding and buy-in from program staff about the YCC effort? Leading discussions about the link between YCC to student achievement?

• Working individually with staff members regarding grant implementation?

• Promoting communication among staff about the grant’s goals and shifts in practices? How is this done? (for example, daily bulletins, staff meetings, web pages, joint planning time).

• Performance reporting.

D. Budget and funding

• ^{Please confirm total grant and program budget.} Get a copy of the current budget.

• What is the value of any in-kind services or donations? Are these included in the budget(s) provided? Who provides these services? Please describe these particular services.

• How does the per-student YCC budget compare to the per-student budget of other CTE programs in your school(s)/district(s)? Estimates are OK, to get a sense for scale of YCC compared to other CTE programs in school(s)/district(s).

• Who funds these other programs?

• To what extent do YCC program participants access services provided by these other programs?

• Describe how your program meets DOL’s formal matching/leveraging requirement.

• Who provided these matching funds?

• Are these matching funds in-kind or cash contributions?

• Are these matching funds at your disposal, or are they earmarked for particular services? If they are earmarked, which services are they set aside for?

• What other conditions apply to these matching funds?

• How have these funds changed over time?

• What were the biggest successes and challenges you had in meeting the leveraging requirement?

• Considering all the funding sources available for YCC, are the funds sufficient to support youth in the YCC program? Why or why not?

E. Program staffing

• Who are the staff working on the YCC program, and what are their titles, roles, organization, tenure, and time spent (in FTE) on the program? Fill this out for each school implementing the YCC program in your district(s).

Name	Title	Role	Organization	FTE on YCC	Tenure at organization	Tenure in YCC
John Smith	Career Counselor	Provides one-on-one career counseling	School district staff	.75	2 years	1 year

• Were any staff hired specifically for the YCC program? If so, what positions?

• Have the YCC staff positions changed since the beginning of the grant? If so, how?

• What other responsibilities do the YCC staff have at the school/organization? How do YCC staff balance their YCC responsibilities with other roles in the school/organization?

• Do you have plans to add or delete YCC staff positions? Has there been staff turnover since the beginning of the grant? Explain (which positions, why).

• Is the current level of staffing sufficient to run the YCC program? If not, explain.

• Describe the extent to which YCC program staff communicate/collaborate with one another.

• How often do program staff formally meet?

• Provide an example of a successful collaboration between YCC staff (including YCC teachers, program coordinators, others).

• What are some of the key challenges to getting program staff to collaborate with one another?

F. Overview of partners

• Please confirm the key partners involved with the YCC program. How did they get involved in YCC? See list of partners in grantee survey and build off the questions in the survey.

• Employers.

• Institutions of higher education.

• Workforce partner (for example, AJC).

• Supportive service providers.

• Others.

• What is each partner’s specific role in this project?

• Role in project design and planning.

• Role in service delivery, including services provided.

• Financial/in-kind contributions.

• Providing staffing for YCC program.

• Degree to which role is ongoing/consistent.

• In summary, to date, how have the different partners contributed to the design and implementation of the YCC program? In what ways have these partnerships strengthened YCC?

• Which partnerships have proven to be most successful? Why?

• Which partnerships have proven to be most challenging? Why?

• Which partnerships are/would be most likely to last after the program funding ends?

G. Program design

• For what particular set of occupations or industries is the YCC program intended to prepare students?

• How did your organization identify the focus of the YCC program?

• How does the new YCC-funded program add value to existing CTE efforts? That is, how does the YCC program relate to existing CTE courses and programs offered at the school?

• To what extent do the new YCC courses draw on existing course offerings at the school?

• To what extent are the YCC courses adapting existing courses? Please explain.

• How did employer input shape the development of your program focus and its content and scope? From what employer(s) was this input obtained?

H. Overview of YCC service model

• Confirm the structure and key components of the YCC program. Complete table prior to visit using information from grantee survey or previous site visit and confirm it.

• What are the changes, if any, to your program structure or model since the proposal/our last site visit?

• To what extent have the YCC elements been successfully implemented thus far? Which ones are challenging to implement? Explain.

Service	Information on file	Who delivers	Arrangements with partners (e.g., MOU)	Where offered (at school, off site)	How staff coordinate provision
# districts
# of high schools/sites implementing YCC programs; # of students enrolling each year
Program duration
Target group (grade levels, youth characteristics)
Program eligibility
Strategy/activities for providing academic and career counseling.
Strategy/activities for providing work-based learning opportunities.
Strategy/activities for integrating curriculum
Strategy for scheduling YCC students to take at least two classes each year together as a cohort, including the CTE class
Strategy/activities for partnering with employers.
Strategy/activities for promoting a small learning community (SLC).
Strategy/activities for providing supportive services.

I. Small learning community

• In what ways does the school(s) foster a small learning community?

• How is it organized? What is the structure of the school environment (for example, school within a school, 9th-grade academies, sections organized by grade)?

• Probe for advisory periods, grade-level teams, use of time-block scheduling, double periods, internships, whole-school events, and so forth.

• Does the school have a team of teachers devoted to YCC?

• Is there an interdisciplinary team of teachers focused on YCC? If so, which disciplines are involved?

• Do these teachers teach the same group of students over time? Please describe how this works.

• To what extent does the school(s) promote common planning time among the YCC teachers? Non-YCC teachers?

• What are the goals of common planning time? To share lesson plans? Design curriculum?

• What does common planning time look like (for example, when does it occur, how is it organized and facilitated).

• How often does it happen?

• To what extent do YCC teachers have flexibility and independence to deliver YCC-related content?

• What kind of support do teachers get from school leaders, mentors, and peers on how to improve their practice?

• In what ways does the YCC program promote personalization?

• Do students stay together in cohorts over time?

• Do teachers make an effort to incorporate students’ personal and real-life experiences in their classes?

• To what extent do teachers feel a sense of community to support one another in the implementation of YCC elements?

• To what extent do you think students feel a sense of community among their peers who have shared interests and goals?

J. Planning process

• Please describe the grant planning and design process.

• To what extent were community stakeholders, such as parents, teachers, involved in the process? What was their role in the planning and design of the YCC program?

• What is the role of partners—such as employers, IHEs, AJCs—in planning, designing, and reviewing the YCC curriculum and other program components?

• What was the superintendent/school principal/leaders’ specific role in the planning/design process?

• What were the key challenges of the planning and design process? (For example, different visions/philosophies of partners, deciding on specific project activities, relative focus on specific populations, identifying reasonable time line, outcomes)

K. Grant management and reporting

• Have you experienced any challenges in understanding the DOL performance reporting requirements and measures? Describe.

• Have you experienced any challenges in implementing those requirements or reporting on the measures? Describe.

• In using the performance tracking system, is your data entry process centralized? If so, how and how often are data sent from YCC staff and partners to the central data entry staff member?

• Are there any performance tracking system data items that are difficult to collect?

• Beyond data for direct entry into the performance tracking system, what reports or data do partners (for example, IHEs) provide to you, and at what intervals?

• Student data (GPA, attendance, progress).

• What challenges, if any, have you experienced in collecting participant-level data from partners?

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III. Recruitment and enrollment

A. Respondent

• Title.

• Name and type of company/organization.

• Describe role in YCC program/initiative.

• Experience.

• Experience working with career pathways/CTE programs.

• Other relevant experience.

B. Eligibility, recruitment, and application

Please refer to the confirmatory calls/recruiting visits/grantee survey for this information and confirm.

• Confirm the target group/grade(s) for YCC.

• Confirm eligibility requirements for the YCC program.

• Do you prioritize certain types of students (for example, English language learners, students with disabilities, grade levels, economically disadvantaged)?

• Do these eligibility requirements differ for different career clusters?

• Please confirm your outreach efforts for YCC. How do youth find out about the YCC program?

• District-wide enrollment fairs.

• Presentations in middle school classes.

• Back-to-school nights.

• Word of mouth.

• School assemblies.

• School counselors/teachers.

• Flyers/posters.

• Referrals from local agencies.

• Other.

• Confirm whether you actively recruit for the YCC program.

• If yes, how often does the district(s)/school(s) conduct recruitment efforts for the YCC program? If no, why not?

• Are you on target for meeting your enrollment goals (by school/by district) this year? Overall?

• Does the YCC program have a waiting list for interested applicants in addition to the waiting list generated for the evaluation’s random assignment? About how many youth are on this list at any given time? Which schools/districts have waiting lists?

• Describe your successes in recruiting YCC participants. To what extent does this vary by school/district?.

• Describe your challenges in recruiting YCC participants. To what extent does this vary by school/district?

• To what extent and how have you adjusted your recruitment efforts to reach enough youth for the program? For the study?

C. Random assignment and enrollment

• Confirm the point at which random assignment occurs in your enrollment process.

• Have there been changes to the timing or process to random assignment since the start of the evaluation?

• Confirm the point at which you formally enroll youth in the YCC program.

• Describe the process for enrolling in YCC.

• How do intake staff inform youth of their random assignment results? Have there been any challenges with that?

• Have you used any “wild cards”? For what reasons?

• What is the process for offering slots to youth off the waiting list when a slot becomes available? Who makes that decision/offer? Do they ever deviate from the list? Why? How often do students accept those offers? Does it vary by the timing of the offer? Are slots ever offered to students who are not on the waiting list or who are not next in line on the list? If so, why?

• How do you ensure that non-YCC students are not permitted access to YCC-only courses or services?

• What have been the biggest challenges your program has experienced in implementing random assignment? How have you addressed them?

• Other comments/thoughts about random assignment.

D. Youth characteristics

• Why do students tend to apply to the YCC program? Because counselors make them, their parents want them to, or they want to?

• Describe students that enroll in the YCC program.

• What level are the youth typically at academically? What academic supports do they need?

• What is the youths’ work experience in general? What supports do they need to prepare for work?

• What motivates them academically? At work? What gets them excited to learn?

• What challenges do they face in their personal lives that may affect their engagement in and success in school and the YCC program?

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IV. Partnerships

This protocol is designed for the following YCC partners: (1) employers, (2) institutions of higher education (IHEs), (3) American Job Centers (AJCs), (4) supportive service providers, and (5) other partners.

A. Employers

1. Respondent

• Title and role in organization.

• Name and type of company/organization.

• Brief description of organization.

• History of organization/length in business.

• Types of services/products you offer.

• Size of company (for example, number of employees, number of locations).

2. Summary of partnership

• Describe the partnership between your company and YCC program.

• How did you hear about the program?

• How did you get involved? To what extent were you involved in the grant application process? Why did you choose to get involved with the YCC program?

• How long have you partnered with the YCC program? How has the partnership evolved over time?

• What have been the best practices for collaboration (for example, frequent meetings, soliciting ideas for shared vision)?

• What have been the key challenges to collaboration (for example, time requirement, conflict between partners, data-sharing issues)?

• What arrangement exists between your company and the YCC program?

• Describe the terms of the arrangement (for example, provision of services, number of youth served, data sharing, expected outcomes).

• Do you have an MOU with the grantee? What are the key terms of the MOU/LOA? Get a copy.

• How useful is the MOU in guiding your roles and responsibilities in the YCC program?

• How does your partnership operate?

• How much communication do you have with YCC program staff? With whom do you typically communicate? What is the nature of the communication?

• What are the key issues discussed at these meetings that affect the YCC program and youth?

3. Role in YCC

• Do you see your role as advisory, service delivery, or both? Focus discussion on how they perceive role: advisor or active participant.

• In what ways do you work with the YCC program (for example, review curriculum, refine the program, help prepare students for work in the field, attend planning meetings, host job shadow events)?

• What was your role in planning and designing the YCC program/curriculum, if any?

• To what extent did you help shape the program components (for example, identifying target industries, skill competencies for youth)?

• Do you have other decision-making roles in the program (for example, serving as an advisor on employment services, advisory board member)? Explain.

• Do you have any other roles with the program (for example, consultant, mentor)?

• What services do you provide YCC participants? Please describe.

• To what extent do you contribute resources (financial or in-kind) to the YCC program?

• What was your role with the school(s)/district(s) prior to the YCC grant?

• What value do you think the YCC program brings to your organization?

• What value do you think the YCC program brings to the community?

4. YCC services

• Do you offer work-based learning opportunities for youth? If yes, describe these opportunities (for example, type of opportunities, training provided).

• Career exploration.

• In-school activities (for example, presentations).

• Job shadowing.

• Work readiness training.

• Mentoring.

• Work experience opportunities.

• Internships (paid, unpaid, duration, intensity, virtual).

• Apprenticeships.

• School-based enterprise.

• How many YCC students have participated in WBL or work readiness training at your company?

• How many students who are part of another CTE program have participated in WBL or work readiness training at your company ? Are there noticeable differences between YCC participants and other program participants? Explain.

Career exploration, in-school activities, and job shadowing

• What specific activities do you provide youth in each area? How frequently are the activities offered to students?

• Career exploration.

• In-school activities (for example, presentations).

• Job shadowing.

• How are the activities linked to academic learning at school (for example, students have to write a paper on the presentation/job shadowing)? Explain.

• To what degree are activities aligned to industry standards?

Work readiness training

• What specific training do you provide youth in the work-based learning opportunities?

• Work readiness training.

• Skills training in specific industries or occupations.

• Soft skills training.

• Others.

• What does this training look like?

• What is covered in this training (for example, training content, area of emphasis)? Probe for the following, as referenced in DOL’s work readiness tool: Attendance, punctuality, workplace appearance, initiative, quality of work, communication, and so forth.

• How long does the training last? How many sessions? How many hours per session? How often do the trainings occur?

• Who provides this training within your organization?

• When does this training occur within the school/participant schedule?

Mentoring

• Describe the mentoring you provide. Is it done one on one or in groups? In person or virtually?

• How often do mentors meet with the students?

• What are the topics of conversation?

• How are mentors matched with students? Do they receive any training/guidance from the schools?

• How do you coordinate mentoring activities with the school/program staff/WBL coordinator?

• To what extent do you communicate student progress with academic instructors at the school site?

• What supports, if any, have you received from the YCC program staff for your work with YCC participants?

• How do you think students benefit from mentors?

• What major problems have you encountered, if any, to offering mentoring opportunities to students?

Internships, apprenticeships, school-based enterprises

• Describe the work experiences. Describe for each type of activity: internship, apprenticeship, and school-based enterprise.

• When does the work experience occur (for example, over the summer, on weekends)?

• How long does it last (number of weeks)? How many days per week? How many hours per day?

• Is it paid?

• What types of things do students do?

• How do you assess the students’ progress on the job? Who provides that assessment, and how is it communicated to the school?

• What changes have you noticed among the YCC participants as a result of the work experience?

• What specific supports do the YCC participants need to succeed in their work experience? To what extent do you provide these supports?

• What skills are important for the students to have to be successful in the experience?

• Do you feel that the youth are work-ready in the following dimensions?

• Attendance.

• Punctuality.

• Workplace appearance.

• Taking initiative.

• Quality of work.

• Communication skills.

• Responses to supervision.

• Teamwork.

• Problem solving/critical thinking.

• Workplace culture, policy, safety

• How do you coordinate WBL opportunities with the school/program staff/WBL coordinator?

• To what extent do you communicate student progress with academic instructors at the school site?

• How do you ensure that learning at the worksite is connected to the classroom? Please explain.

• What supports, if any, have you received from the YCC program staff for your work with YCC participants?

• Describe the type of supervision available to students during the work. What are some considerations for staff supervision (for example, safety hazards, OSHA requirements)?

• If apprenticeship: to whom are students apprenticed? Is it a real apprenticeship or a pre-apprenticeship?

• What major problems have you encountered, if any, to offering work experience opportunities to students? Probe for union rules, licensing requirements, other labor laws involving youth workers.

• Overall, how satisfied are you with the YCC youth’s performance? Do you plan to hire/sponsor these youth again in the future?

5. Outcomes

• What outcomes (for example, high school completion, work readiness, certifications, career awareness, employment opportunities) matter most to YCC program participants? Why are these outcomes important to participants? To what extent have participants been able to achieve these outcomes? In what ways do you help participants achieve these outcomes?

• What have been some unanticipated participant outcomes since the start of your partnership with YCC?

• How satisfied have you been with the YCC program in general? What improvements or changes to the program would you like to see?

• How successful has the partnership with the YCC program/school/district been, from your perspective?

• What challenges, if any, have you encountered in working with youth workers?

• What steps have you or the YCC program taken to address these challenges?

• What successes have you encountered in hiring youth workers?

• What lessons have you learned in partnering with a school/district in hiring/sponsoring a YCC participant?

6. Sustainability

• What plans, if any, do you have to be involved with the program at the eventual end of DOL funding?

• What elements of your YCC program will likely continue beyond the life of the grant?

• If you plan to continue the program, what sources of funding will you use to sustain the program?

• What are the key challenges you anticipate in securing additional, long-term funds?

• What major challenges do you anticipate facing in sustaining your involvement?

B. Institutions of higher education

1. Respondent

• Title and role in organization.

• Name of institution.

• Brief description of institution.

• Type of institution (for example, two year, four year, for profit).

• History of organization/length in community.

2. Summary of partnership

• Describe the partnership between your institution and the YCC program.

• How did you hear about the program?

• How did you get involved? To what extent were you involved in the grant application process? Why did you choose to get involved with the YCC program?

• How long have you partnered with the YCC program? How has the partnership evolved over time?

• What have the best practices for collaboration (for example, frequent meetings among teachers/support staff, soliciting ideas for shared vision)?

• What have been the key challenges to collaboration (for example, time requirement, conflict between partners, data-sharing issues)?

• What arrangement exists between the school and YCC program?

• Describe the terms of the arrangement (for example, provision of services, number of youth served, data sharing, expected outcomes).

• Do you have an MOU with the district/school? What are the key terms of the MOU/LOA? Get a copy.

• How useful is the MOU in guiding your roles and responsibilities in the YCC program?

• What was your arrangement with the school(s)/district(s) prior to the YCC program?

• How does your partnership with the school district/school operate?

• How much communication do you have with YCC program staff? With whom do you typically communicate? What is the nature of the communication?

• What are the key issues discussed at these meetings that affect the YCC program and youth?

3. Role in YCC

• In what ways do you work with the YCC program (for example, review curriculum, refine the program, help prepare students for work in the field, attend planning meetings, offer PD)?

• What was your role in planning and designing the YCC program/curriculum, if any?

• To what extent did you help shape the program components (for example, identifying course content, target industries, skill competencies for youth)?

• Do you have other decision-making roles in the program (for example, serving as an advisor on employment services, advisory board member)? Explain.

• Do you have any other roles with the program (for example, consultant)?

• What services do you provide YCC participants? Please describe.

• To what extent do you contribute resources (financial or in-kind) to the YCC program?

• What was your role with the school(s)/district(s) prior to the YCC grant?

• What value do you think the YCC program brings to your organization?

• What value do you think the YCC program brings to the community?

4. YCC services

• What academic services do you offer YCC participants? For instance, do you offer any of the following? Please explain the specific arrangements/requirements involved with each service:

• Dual enrollment.

• College credit.

• College awareness/prep courses.

• College tours.

• College students serve as tutors or mentors.

• Remediation.

• Academic or career counseling.

• Others.

• What is the target group for these services (for example, grade levels, academic history/GPA)?

• What specific educational goals do you seek to address through these services?

• To what extent have these services been designed for or tailored to the YCC participants?

• Are there particular strategies that you use to engage YCC youth? Explain.

• Are these services tailored to YCC participants in any way? If yes, how so?

• To what extent do services offered by your organization connect to what the YCC participants are learning at their primary school?

• How do you coordinate with YCC staff on the services available to youth?

5. Data sharing

• To what extent do you share data with the school(s)/districts?

• What type of data is shared between your organization and the YCC grantee?

• What issues have emerged during the data-sharing process?

• What is the most challenging aspect of data sharing between your organization and the grantee?

• How have you addressed these challenges?

6. Outcomes

• What outcomes (for example, high school completion, work readiness, certifications, career awareness, employment opportunities) matter most to YCC program participants? Why are these outcomes important to participants? To what extent have participants been able to achieve these outcomes? In what ways do you help participants achieve these outcomes?

• What have been some unanticipated participant outcomes since the start of your partnership with YCC?

• How satisfied have you been with the YCC program in general? What improvements or changes to the program would you like to see?

• How successful has the partnership with the YCC program/school/district been, from your perspective?

• What challenges, if any, have you encountered in working with youth workers?

• What steps have you or the YCC program taken to address these challenges?

• What successes have you encountered in hiring youth workers?

• What lessons have you learned in partnering with a school/district in hiring/sponsoring a YCC participant?

7. Sustainability

• What plans, if any, do you have to be involved with the program at the eventual end of DOL funding?

• What elements of your YCC program will likely continue beyond the life of the grant?

• If you plan to continue the program, what sources of funding will you use to sustain the program?

• What are the key challenges you anticipate in securing additional, long-term funds?

• What major challenges do you anticipate facing in sustaining your involvement?

C. American Job Centers

1. Respondent

• Title and role in organization.

• Name of organization.

• Brief description of organization.

• Brief history in community.

• History of collaboration with grantee/LEA/district/school.

2. Summary of partnership

• Describe the partnership between the school and YCC program.

• How did you hear about the program?

• How did you get involved? To what extent were you involved in the grant application process? Why did you choose to get involved with the YCC program?

• How long have you partnered with the YCC program? How has the partnership evolved over time?

• What have been the best practices for collaboration (for example, frequent meetings among teachers/support staff, soliciting ideas for shared vision)?

• What have been the key challenges to collaboration (for example, time requirement, conflict between partners, data-sharing issues)?

• What arrangement exists between the AJC and YCC program?

• Describe terms of the arrangement (for example, provision of services, number of youth served, data sharing, expected outcomes).

• Do you have an MOU with the district/school? What are the key terms of the MOU/LOA? Get a copy.

• How useful is the MOU in guiding your roles and responsibilities in the YCC program?

• How does your partnership with the school district/school operate?

• How much communication do you have with YCC program staff? With whom do you typically communicate? What is the nature of the communication?

• What are the key issues discussed that affect the YCC program and youth?

3. Role in YCC

• In what ways do you work with the YCC program (for example, review curriculum, refine the program, help prepare students for work in the field, attend planning meetings)?

• What was your role in planning and designing the YCC program/curriculum, if any?

• To what extent did you help shape the program components (for example, identifying course content, target industries, skill competencies for youth)?

• Do you have other decision-making roles in the program (for example, serving as an advisor on employment services, advisory board member)? Explain.

• Do you have any other roles with the program (for example, counselor)?

• To what extent do you contribute resources (financial or in-kind) to the YCC program?

• What was your role with the school(s)/district(s) prior to the YCC grant?

• What value do you think the YCC program brings to your organization?

• What value do you think the YCC program brings to the community?

4. YCC services

• What services do you provide YCC participants? Please describe.

• Resources for placement in work-based learning opportunities.

• Work readiness training.

• Resources for postsecondary education, job placement.

• Referrals for internships.

• Information about different careers.

• Youth program participation.

• Engaging employers.

• Others.

• How do you coordinate the services available to YCC participants? Describe how the coordination works (for example, who is involved, what information is shared)?

• Are there different services for different types of youth (for example, WIA [Workforce Information Act] funded youth, YCC youth, other youth)? Explain.

• To what extent are YCC participants coenrolled in your other programs, such as the WIA youth program?

5. Data sharing

• To what extent do you share data with the school(s)?

• What type of data is shared between your organization and the YCC grantee?

• What issues have emerged during the data sharing process?

• What is the most challenging aspect of data sharing between your organization and the grantee?

• How have you addressed these challenges?

6. Outcomes

• What outcomes (for example, high school completion, work readiness, certifications, career awareness, employment opportunities) matter most to YCC program participants? Why are these outcomes important to participants? To what extent have participants been able to achieve these outcomes? In what ways do you help participants achieve these outcomes?

• What have been some unanticipated participant outcomes since the start of your partnership with YCC?

• How satisfied have you been with the YCC program in general? What improvements or changes to the program would you like to see?

• How successful has the partnership with the YCC program/school/district been from your perspective?

• What challenges, if any, have you encountered in working with youth workers?

• What steps have you or the YCC program taken to address these challenges?

• What successes have you encountered in hiring youth workers?

• What lessons have you learned in partnering with a school/district in hiring/sponsoring a YCC participant?

7. Sustainability

• What plans, if any, do you have to be involved with the program at the eventual end of DOL funding?

• What elements of your YCC program will likely continue beyond the life of the grant?

• If you plan to continue the program, what sources of funding will you use to sustain the program?

• What are the key challenges you anticipate in securing additional, long-term funds?

• What major challenges do you anticipate facing in sustaining your involvement?

D. Supportive services providers and other partners²

1. Respondent

• Title and role in organization.

• Name of organization.

• Brief description of organization.

• Brief history in community.

• History of collaboration with grantee/LEA/district/school.

2. Summary of partnership

• Describe the partnership between the organization and the YCC program.

• How did you hear about the program?

• How did you get involved? To what extent were you involved in the grant application process? Why did you choose to get involved with the YCC program?

• How long have you partnered with the YCC program? How has the partnership evolved over time?

• What have been the best practices for collaboration (for example, frequent meetings among teachers/support staff, soliciting ideas for shared vision)?

• What have been the key challenges to collaboration (for example, time requirement, conflict between partners, data-sharing issues)?

• What arrangement exists between your organization and the YCC program?

• Describe terms of the arrangement (for example, provision of services, number of youth served, data sharing, expected outcomes).

• Do you have an MOU with the district/school? What are the key terms of the MOU/LOA? Get a copy.

• How useful is the MOU in guiding your roles and responsibilities in the YCC program?

• How does your partnership with the school district/school operate?

• How much communication do you have with YCC program staff? With whom do you typically communicate? What is the nature of the communication?

• What are the key issues discussed at these meetings that affect the YCC program and youth?

3. Role in YCC

• In what ways do you work with the YCC program (for example, review curriculum, refine the program, help prepare students for work in the field, attend planning meetings).

• What was your role in planning and designing the YCC program/curriculum, if any?

• To what extent did you help shape the program components (for example, identifying course content, target industries, skill competencies for youth)?

• Do you have other decision-making roles in the program (for example, serving as an advisor on employment services, advisory board member). Explain.

• Do you have any other roles with the program (for example, consultant, mentor)?

• To what extent do you contribute resources (financial or in-kind) to the YCC program?

• What was your role with the school(s)/district(s) prior to the YCC grant?

• What value do you think the YCC program brings to your organization?

• What value do you think the YCC program brings to the community?

4. YCC services

• What services do you provide YCC participants? Please describe.

• Mentoring (individual or group).

• Supportive service referrals (child care, health care, transportation, mental health services).

• Life skills training.

• Others.

• How are these services provided to the YCC participants? In what format? How often? What is the duration and intensity?

• How do you coordinate the services available to YCC participants? Describe how the coordination works (for example, who is involved, what information is shared).

• Are there different services for different types of youth (for example, YCC youth versus non-YCC youth)? Explain.

5. Outcomes

• What outcomes (for example, high school completion, work readiness, certifications, career awareness, employment opportunities) matter most to YCC program participants? Why are these outcomes important to participants? To what extent have participants been able to achieve these outcomes? In what ways do you help participants achieve these outcomes?

• What have been some unanticipated participant outcomes since the start of your partnership with YCC?

• How satisfied have you been with the YCC program in general? What improvements or changes to the program would you like to see?

• How successful has the partnership with the YCC program/school/district been, from your perspective?

• What challenges, if any, have you encountered in working with youth workers?

• What steps have you or the YCC program taken to address these challenges?

• What successes have you encountered in hiring youth workers?

• What lessons have you learned in partnering with a school/district in hiring/sponsoring a YCC participant?

6. Sustainability

• What plans, if any, do you have to be involved with the program at the eventual end of DOL funding?

• What elements of your YCC program will likely continue beyond the life of the grant?

• If you plan to continue the program, what sources of funding will you use to sustain the program?

• What are the key challenges you anticipate in securing additional, long-term funds?

• What major challenges do you anticipate facing in sustaining your involvement?

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V. Employer Engagement & work-based learning

These topics are structured to be asked of individuals at the school or districts: career counselors, WBL coordinator, YCC managers. Although they could be adapted for employers, the questions in Section IV on partnerships were structured to be asked of them.

A. Respondent

• Title.

• Name and type of company/organization.

• Describe role in YCC program/initiative.

• Experience.

• Experience working with career pathways/CTE programs.

• Other relevant experience.

B. Employer engagement

• What are your goals for employer engagement in YCC?

• Confirm who are the key employers in the YCC program?

• How were they selected to participate in YCC?

• Do you have a sufficient number of employer partners in the YCC program?

• Are there any types of employers or specific employers that you think are missing from the YCC partnership? If so, why?

• What other employer partners are you planning to pursue in the future? Specific industries, size, location?

• What roles do employers play that are important to the success of the program (for example, advisor to the project, contributing to training and curriculum design, career exploration and awareness, providing WBL/job shadowing/internships)?

• Do they provide internships to YCC participants? If yes, under what conditions do they hire youth (for example, youth must have certifications, take key classes)?

• What additional roles would you like them to play on YCC?

• How do you maintain partnerships with employers? How do you ensure employers continue to stay engaged in YCC over time? Probe for whether employers are invested in YCC, including whether they are committed to supporting youth, see the value of YCC to their own bottom line, and so forth.

• What is the role of the local AJCs, if any, in engaging employers in the YCC program?

• To what extent do you coordinate with the AJCs to strengthen employer partners’ roles?

• In what ways do local AJCs promote employer engagement in YCC?

C. Work readiness training

• Does the YCC program provide work readiness training?

• Is it a separate class, or is it integrated with academics and career-based education?

• How is it delivered, and by whom? (as an elective, as part of a CTE class, as part of WBL activities?).

• What is covered in this training, such as:

• Résumé prep

• Interviewing skills

• Workplace behavior

• Dress appropriately

• Communication skills

• Time management (attendance, punctuality)

• Response to supervision

• Teamwork

• Problem-solving

• Workplace culture/policy/safety

• Other

• When does this training occur within the school/participant schedule? How long does this training usually last? How many sessions and hours per session?

• Is it available to everyone in the school, or just to YCC participants? Please explain the specific requirements, if applicable.

• In what ways have staff designed the course content to reflect participant and employer needs, and industry standards?

D. Work-based learning/career exploration

Work with the program to develop a chart (perhaps starting with the one from the proposal) showing the sequence of WBL experiences over the course of the program, both during the school year and summer to give a clear picture of the sequencing of WBL/career exploration activities.

• Can you confirm the types of WBL learning opportunities available to YCC participants? Describe for each industry/pathway.

• Internships.

• Apprenticeships.

• Work experience opportunities.

• Workplace visits or job shadowing.

• Career exploration/speakers.

• Other.

• When do different types of WBL opportunities occur?

• During the school day (for example, field trips, speakers, job shadowing)?

• After school?

• On the weekends?

• Summer?

• At what grade level (for example, after 10th grade)?

• Do students receive academic credit for participating in WBL? Explain.

• What organizations/companies host WBL opportunities? Ideally, get a list of all recent employers.

• How do you find employer hosts for the WBL programs? What is your sales pitch to the employer when recruiting them to host a WBL program, offer internships, and so forth?

• Why have you focused on these specific businesses/organizations?

• Do you have enough employer hosts for your YCC program? If not, what are your plans to recruit more employer hosts?

• How are youth selected to participate in WBL activities?

• Describe the matching process and factors used to determine where youth are placed.

• Do you typically place multiple youth in a single business/organization?

• Work site activities

• What do youth do in these WBL placements? What types of tasks/projects do youth work on?

• How many hours do they participate in WBL per week? How many weeks do they last?

• Are they paid? If so, what is their rate of pay/stipend? Do employers contribute any of this amount?

• Do you provide support to participants while they are in WBL?

• What does this support entail? Who provides it?

• Are participants provided with support services (transportation assistance, child care)? If yes, describe.

• How helpful is this support to keeping participants engaged?

• What happens if youth get in trouble at work (don’t show up, misbehave)? Who handles those questions? How often does this sort of situation happen, if at all?

• How do you prepare youth for the WBL opportunities?

• How do you prepare employers to host a youth worker? Do you provide training to employers? If yes, describe?

• What paperwork do employers have to complete? Does this make it more difficult to recruit employers to host youth workers? Explain.

• Is there a written plan or agreement that lists what students are expected to learn?

• To what extent do you provide employers with guidelines on hosting youth workers/ensure roles and responsibilities are clear?

• How do you coordinate WBL opportunities/career exploration with employers?

• How often do you communicate with the employer (work site supervisor or employer contact)? Is this typically by phone or in person? What do you discuss?

• What key supports/services do you provide employers that are important to the success of WBL/career exploration experiences?

• How do you ensure that learning at the work site is connected to the classroom? Please explain.

• To what extent do you document student progress with work site supervisors?

• Do YCC program staff visit students’ workplaces?

• Do most participants successfully complete their work experience/internships? If not, what are the reasons they leave early?

• How do you assess students’ performance in WBL?

• Do employers conduct a formal assessment? When? At the start of participation, after participation or both?

• Are YCC program staff involved in assessing students’ performance? If so, how?

• Are youth involved in the assessment of their performance? If so, how?

• Do students document what they have learned in WBL?

• Do students make a presentation explaining what they have learned or accomplished in WBL?

• What are best practices in the area of providing WBL opportunities and career exploration?

• What are the challenges to developing and sustaining WBL opportunities?

E. Outcomes

• What are the most important outcomes to date (for the program, the participants, and the employer) with the following:

• Partnering with employers.

• Implementing work-based learning opportunities.

• Implementing work readiness training.

• Placement of YCC participants in permanent unsubsidized employment.

• What have been some unanticipated outcomes in working with employers?

F. Successes and challenges

• What have been the major successes in engaging employers in YCC?

• What are some challenges in trying to partner with employers?

• What are some of the concerns or reservations you hear expressed by employers about working with youth?

• What strategies have you used to overcome employers’ concerns about working with youth?

• How do you ensure that you understand the skill needs of employers and their concerns about hiring youth?

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VI. Integrated Academic and Career learning

A. Respondent

• Title.

• Name and type of company/organization.

• Describe role in YCC program/initiative.

• Experience.

• Experience teaching career pathways/CTE courses.

• Other relevant experience.

B. Integrated YCC classes

• Confirm the YCC pathways that you are teaching.

• What classes are part of each YCC pathway?

• What academic subject areas are taught in the YCC program?

• How many and which academic classes are required for YCC?

• What career-based classes are available in the YCC program? Are these geared specifically to the YCC career pathways?

• How many and which career-based classes are required for YCC?

• To what extent do these academic and career classes meet entrance requirements for two- or four-year colleges? Industry standards? Be specific for both academic and career-based classes and overall.

• Please describe how the YCC classes may be different than traditional academic classes at the school?

• Are these classes available to all students or just YCC participants?

• Similarities and differences between YCC classes and non-YCC classes.

• Structure of YCC classes.

• Average number of students per class.

• Confirm teacher to student ratio.

• Class schedule: when classes occur in relation to other YCC classes.

• Are these offered as electives? Core classes as part of YCC?

• Are the YCC classes available only to YCC participants or to nonparticipants as well?

• How long do each of the YCC classes last? How many total hours are the classes?

• What classes are required as part of YCC (career-focused, work readiness/career prep, academic)?

• In what ways do you foster a small learning community among the participants?

• Are YCC students scheduled to take at least two courses each year together as a cohort, including the CTE class?

• To what extent do the classes lend themselves to small group instruction? Provide examples.

• Sequence of YCC courses.

• Are courses taught in a specific YCC course sequence, including academic and career-focused classes?

• What is taught in the YCC courses each year of the YCC program? Get a sense for sequence of learning.

• ^{If students start YCC in the 9th grade, what do they focus on during that year? In 10th grade? In 11th grade?}

• ^{Internships over the summer?}

• How do the career-based classes fit in with the overall school and district curriculum?

• What is the role of employers in designing or reviewing the career-based curriculum for YCC?

• Who teaches the YCC classes (both academic and career-based)?

• Is there a lead teacher for the YCC program? What is his/her role?

• What other teachers teach YCC courses? How many teachers in each cluster/academy?

• Do the same teachers teach the same students/cohorts?

• Do the teachers work in teams? Do they represent a cross-disciplinary team at the school?

• Do the teachers have shared planning time?

• ^{Common prep period during the school day? How often?}

• ^{Compensated time after school or during summer? How much?}

• Integration of career-based and academic education.

• In what ways do you integrate career themes in the academic classes? Can you give an example of how you do this?

• In what ways do you integrate academic course content in the career-based classes? Can you give an example of how you do this?

• How do you include math, science, language arts, and history into the YCC career-based curriculum. Can you give an example?

• Can you give an example or a class or lesson that blends academic and career-based education?

• To what extent do you coordinate the WBL opportunities with academic work?

• How do you prepare the students to succeed at the work sites?

• To what extent do the YCC classes incorporate students’ personal worlds (for example, cultural backgrounds and experiences)? Is this important for YCC participants to be successful? Get a sense of personalization.

• To what extent have adjustments been made for students with limited English proficiency? Students with disabilities?

C. Summary of YCC curriculum

Work with the program to develop a chart that starts at the beginning of the YCC program, shows the courses a YCC student takes each year, whether each course is optional or required, is part of a set of courses that students take together as a cohort during that year, and other characteristics of that course (meets college requirement, dual credit, and so on).

• What is the influence of state/district standards/common core on the YCC curriculum?

• Which features of this YCC academic and career-based curriculum have been important to engaging youth?

• Which aspects of the YCC program have you found to be successful at this school?

• What makes these features successful?

• What features are not as successful as envisioned? Why not?

D. Postsecondary services

• What is the range of postsecondary services available to support postsecondary access and success?

• College readiness classes/workshops.

• Workshops on financial aid options.

• College planning.

• College counseling.

• Visits to local colleges/universities.

• Other.

• Do you offer dual-enrollment opportunities with a local college/university? If yes, which college(s)/universities? Describe how dual enrollment works.

• Can participants earn college credit through their participation in YCC? By taking classes at local IHEs?

• To what extent do teachers coordinate with college faculty on student progress, course alignment, curriculum design, and so forth?

• For postsecondary models: How do you facilitate the transition from the YCC program in high school to the YCC postsecondary component?

E. Assessments

• Do you assess student learning at the program level?

• How do you assess student performance?

• Which academic measures/indicators are assessed (for example, GPA, standardized test scores, graduation rate, rates of college attendance)?

• Which career-based measures/indicators are assessed (for example, technical concepts, terminology, incorporate academic concepts in real-world/work settings)?

• Do you have performance-based assessment systems in place at each grade level? For each career focus? Describe them.

• Do assessments differ by type by academic and career course(s)? Please explain.

F. Professional development & small learning community

Refer to Protocol IX.B for professional development; for small learning community, please refer to Protocol II.I.

VII. Academic and career counseling

A. Respondent

• Title.

• Name and type of company/organization.

• Describe role in YCC program and other roles at the school.

• Experience.

• Experience working with YCC target population.

• Other relevant experience.

B. Overview of counseling services

• What are the major goals of the YCC academic counseling for YCC? For career counseling services for YCC? How do these goals differ for non-YCC participants, if at all?

• Describe the type of academic counseling services offered to students prior to the YCC grant.

• Who provided the counseling? What was the ratio of counseling staff to students?

• How often was counseling provided? How long was the typical counseling session?

• What topics were covered?

• Describe the type of career counseling services offered to students prior to the YCC grant.

• Who provided the counseling? What was the ratio of counseling staff to students?

• How often was counseling provided? How long was the typical counseling session?

• What topics were covered?

• What is the role of counselors in the YCC program?

• Connect them to WBL, career prep services, work readiness courses or employment services.

• Coordinate with YCC staff on service planning and so forth.

• Other.

• What is the configuration of counseling services? Describe for academic counseling and career counseling separately.

• Number of counselors total at the school. Number of counselors dedicated to YCC participants.

• Number of academic counselors for YCC participants; for non-YCC participants.

• Number of career counselors for YCC participants; for non-YCC participants.

• Counselor-to-participant ratio (how this differs for non-YCC participants).

• How youth are assigned to counselors?

• When do counselors first meet with the students? How often do they meet with them thereafter? Is there a set schedule for these meetings? How long do these meetings typically last?

• Do you have sufficient time to carry out your counseling responsibilities for YCC participants? Please explain.

C. Individual development plans

• Do counselors create academic and career service plans/IDPs? If so, please describe the plan and planning process. When is this plan developed? How soon after meeting a participant?

• Describe any formal assessments used in developing IDPs for YCC participants.

• What formal assessment tools are used to inform the development of the IDPs?

• When is each assessment administered to the participant?

• What types of information do these assessments provide (for example, information on basic skills, education, career and education goals, mental health, substance abuse)?

• Describe how the service planning process is coordinated between counselors and teachers, YCC staff, and WBL coordinator.

D. Academic counseling

• What type of academic counseling do you provide YCC participants? How does this differ for non-YCC participants?

• Picking classes for career cluster.

• Setting goals (for example, help youth organize career and education plans around career pathway).

• Postsecondary options.

• How does this differ for non-YCC students?

• How do you help students that are behind on credits catch up on their credits?

• What strategies are in place to help youth catch up?

• What supports are available at the school to help youth that are behind academically stay engaged in school?

• How does this differ for non-YCC students?

• How do you work with teachers to monitor students’ progress in YCC? What other school staff do you work with to make sure that students stay on track to graduate?

E. Career counseling

• What type of career counseling do you provide YCC participants? How does this differ for non-YCC participants?

• How do you coordinate youths’ work-based learning opportunities with teachers? Employers? Other YCC staff?

• What kinds of issues do you address with the YCC participants?

• How do you address youths’ needs/challenges in school?

• To what extent do you broker community-wide resources and services for youth? What services do you broker for youth? By which partner? How do you deliver these services (for example, referrals, follow-up)?

• To what extent do you partner with AJCs and WIA service providers to augment career counseling? Describe how this partnership works (for example, what types of support do YCC participants receive)? What are the arrangements for receiving these services?

• How well does this school counseling system serve the needs of the students with disabilities? English language learners? Are there some students who receive more attention than others? Why?

F. Small learning community

Refer to Protocol II.I, Small Learning Community.

G. Successes and challenges

• What are some successes in providing counseling services to the YCC participants?

• What are the most significant challenges in providing counseling services to the YCC participants at this school? How have you addressed those challenges?

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VIII. Wraparound Services

A. Respondent

• Title.

• Name and type of company/organization.

• Describe role in YCC program and other roles at the school.

• Experience.

• Experience working with YCC target population.

• Other relevant experience.

B. Summary of services

• What are the top wraparound services that YCC students need to succeed? Note that wraparound services may include child care, transportation, tools, work clothes or other supports designed to ensure participant success.

• Does the YCC program arrange for and provide wraparound services? If so, please describe these services.

• What organization provides services?

• Are these services funded through the YCC program? If not, what how are they funded?

• What proportion of YCC students need each type of wraparound service?

• How are the needs for wraparound services identified?

• What factors determine whether a program participant receives these services?

• Of those in need, what proportion are you able to provide these services?

• How is the experience of YCC participants different than nonparticipants with regard to wraparound services?

C. Coordination of services

• To what extent do you coordinate service delivery with community partners for wraparound services? Which partners? For which services? Explain.

• Do you coordinate with AJCs or WIA service providers to augment the provision of wraparound services?

• If you coordinate with partners to provide services, describe the process of coordination.

• Give an example of a successful well-coordinated service with a partner. Why did that coordination work? What enabled this coordination to work?

D. Successes and challenges

• What are the most effective strategies for providing wraparound services to YCC participants?

• What are the most significant challenges you face in providing wraparound services to YCC participants?

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IX. Sustainability

A. Respondent

• Title.

• Name and type of company/organization.

• Describe role in YCC program and other roles at the school/district.

• Experience.

• Experience working with YCC target population.

• Other relevant experience.

B. Professional development

1. Overview of PD

• What is your strategy for providing professional development opportunities to YCC staff?

• What are your top priorities for creating a professional learning community among YCC staff?

• How does your PD strategy for YCC align to other PD efforts at the participating school/district and grant partners?

• What are your top priorities for learning among the YCC staff?

• How do you plan to implement these priorities?

• Who is responsible for implementing the PD plan for YCC staff? What is his/her role in overseeing the relevance and quality of PD for the YCC staff?

• What role do partners play, if any, in your professional development plan?

• Contribute resources.

• Provide input on the design of PD.

• Facilitate specific PD activities.

• Other.

• Do you have specific goals for the number and type of PD opportunities for YCC staff? What are your plans for rolling out these PD efforts? Describe.

2. DOL requirements for PD

Describe the specific elements of PD that is required. How does it align to the PD that are contained in the in the SGA (solicitation for grant applications)?

Note the SGA specifies that:

Successful professional development programs will be characterized by the following key features supported by research or evidence: (1) include an investment of time allocated specifically for professional learning that could include industry site-based residencies or internships; (2) include intensive training and follow-up experiences to the training, such as individualized mentoring and focused coaching by master teachers and industry experts; (3) facilitate professional collaboration (enabling professional networking and establishing communities of practice amongst teachers and with partners); (4) be focused on specific school and industry-based content with active learning opportunities that will transfer into effective teaching practices and curriculum; and (5) use multiple measures to evaluate professional learning and effectiveness of professional development.

3. Investment in learning

• How do you ensure that YCC staff have sufficient time to devote to PD activities?

• How many days of PD have you planned for learning specific YCC elements? Which elements?

• Do you have sufficient access to substitutes when needed?

• Are PD activities accessible (for example, available during work hours, relevant to job duties)?

• To what extent do the YCC PD plans align to staff’s professional learning goals?

4. Intensive/industry-specific training and follow-up

• How are your YCC staff’s professional development needs assessed? How often does this assessment occur?

• What activities have the grant leadership team developed to train staff to implement the YCC program components and integrate the YCC curricula?

• Who is targeted for PD?

• What is the frequency and duration of these PD activities?

• Who provides PD (partners, local experts, district staff, others)?

• How do YCC teachers learn about the careers that they are teaching? What methods are used to train them on these careers?

• What does the PD/training focus on (for example, YCC program structure, curricular integration, student support, employer involvement, personalization)?

• What other types of support and PD have the YCC instructors received (for example, information on course content, workplace applications, developing engaging student activities, assessing student performance)?

• Describe the level of participation in PD efforts.

• Do teachers attend these training efforts?

• Are they required to attend them?

• What additional training would help staff carry out their responsibilities for the YCC program?

• What are your plans to provide follow-up training, if any, on the key topics of interest?

5. Facilitate collaboration

• Can teachers and school staff articulate a shared understanding about the goals of the YCC program? If yes, how might they (succinctly) articulate that goal?

• Do staff get the opportunity to talk with colleagues about their work under this grant? How does this happen? Probe for details on time available for collaboration.

• To what extent do staff have opportunities to collaborate with one another?

• How is collaboration time used? (To what extent does it focus on instruction and student learning needs?)

• How often does collaboration happen and under what circumstances?

• How often do staff meetings occur for YCC teachers? For all other teachers?

• Do teachers and staff have access to dedicated space to collaborate, meet with one another?

6. Strategies to evaluate professional learning

• To what extent do you evaluate the staff training efforts available to YCC staff?

• What is your approach to evaluating these efforts, including tools used?

• How do the evaluation results inform your PD strategy/activities?

• What are the key successes in providing PD to staff?

• What are the key challenges in providing PD to staff?

C. Sustainability plans

• What plans, if any, do you have to continue the YCC program at the eventual end of DOL funding?

• If you plan to continue the program, what sources of funding will you use to sustain the program? Who will continue to manage the YCC program?

• How likely is it to continue current matched funding (in-kind or cash funding)? At what total level?

• Has the program made any progress toward securing any future funding? If so, describe.

• Which partners plan to provide matching contributions during the life of the grant and beyond to sustain the program elements?

• What are the key challenges you anticipate in securing additional, long-term funds for YCC?

• How have service delivery systems been affected by the YCC program?

• What best practices for delivering comprehensive CTE programming have been developed under the YCC grant?

• What elements of your YCC program will likely be institutionalized beyond the life of the grant?

• Which partnerships are/would be most likely to last after the program funding ends? What methods of communicating or coordinating across partners are likely to be sustained?

• What major challenges do you anticipate facing in sustaining the YCC program?

X. Youth focus group and interviews

We’d like to learn a little bit about you. Can you tell us your name, grade, and when you enrolled in the YCC program and what you like to do most when you are not in school?

1. Program

1. What made you interested in this program, and what do you hope to get out of it?

2. What is your YCC career pathway or industry/occupational focus? How did you decide on that focus?

3. What do you think about the YCC program?

• What do you like best about it? Why?

• What do you like least about it? Why?

B. YCC counseling

4. Do you work with a counselor as part of the program?

• What kinds of things do you do with them? Probes: Do they help you plan about the types of classes and activities needed to help prepare you for college or a career? Do they help you pick classes, set goals for your education, discuss your performance in school, discuss how to catch up on credits, discuss college options?

• What is the biggest thing you get out of meeting with your counselor?

C. YCC classes

5. What kind of classes are you taking through the program? Probes: Are those classes academic (such as English, math, social studies, science) or career focused?

6. What have been your experiences in those classes? Probes: How are YCC classes different from other classes? How are they the same? In what ways does your course work challenge you? What classes did you find most interesting? Why? What are you learning that will help you meet your career goals?

D. Small learning communities

7. We would like to know the extent to which you take classes with the same group of students. How many and what types of do you take together as a group? Do you ever study, do classroom assignments, or do homework together with those students?

E. Postsecondary awareness and course work [if high school students]

8. Has the program taught you about options for continuing your education after high school? Probes: Have you visited any campuses of colleges, universities, or training providers as part of YCC? Did anyone visit your high school to talk about course offerings, degree options, entrance requirements, or the financial aid process? Have you received any help through YCC in applying for financial aid for college?

F. Work readiness, work-based learning, and internships

9. Did the program teach you about what skills you need to work? Probes: Did you learn this in a class? Was it a separate class or part of another class? What did they teach you (for example, how to prepare a résumé, interview for a job, act at work, dress appropriately, communicate better, interact with a supervisor, manage time, work in team, solve problems that arise, deal with workplace culture and safety)?

10. Have you had an internship as part of your YCC program/career pathway? If not, ask if the program helped them find a summer job.

• Did you find the internship to be useful? In what ways?

• What did you like best?

• What did you like least?

11. In what other ways (than the internship) have you learned about the workplace? Probes: Have you visited any work sites to learn about different career options or practice what you are learning in school? Did any employers visit your school or classroom to talk about career options or the world of work?

• What was most interesting about these experiences?

G. Mentoring and supportive services

12. Do you have a mentor through the YCC program? A mentor is someone other than YCC staff who provides you with one-on-one advice or guidance on school, work, or life.

• What do you like about having a mentor?

• What have you learned from having a mentor?

13. What other services or supports—such as transportation assistance, child care assistance, tools or supplies, work clothing—did you receive through the YCC program?

H. Program improvement

14. How do you think the program could be improved? Are there things that you would like to have but are not offered?

1 Try to get these data before the site visit. It’s OK to skip this if you have the data, but use this section to ask follow-up questions about the data.

2 Other partners may include mentoring provider, community service agency.