MEETING MILESTONES - PYNinc · MEETING MILESTONES: The. ... Kevin Dow. Deputy Commerce Director, Department of Commerce. Pat . Eiding . ... Daniel J. Hilferty . President & CEO,

MEETING MILESTONES:The Third Annual Progress

Report to Mayor NutterFrom the Philadelphia Council for College and Career Success

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Anne Marie AmbroseCommissioner, Department of Human Services

Tony Bartolomeo President & CEO, Pennoni Associates

Matt Bergheiser Executive Director, University City District

David Cohen Executive Vice President, Comcast

Jeffrey Cooper Vice President for Government & Community Relations, University of Pennsylvania

Patricia Coulter President & CEO, Urban League of Philadelphia

Enrico Crispo General Manager, Workforce Development,Philadelphia Housing Authority

Stephen Curtis President, Community College of Philadelphia

Honorable Kevin Dougherty Administrative Judge, Family Court

Kevin DowDeputy Commerce Director, Department of Commerce

Pat Eiding President, AFL-CIO

Cheryl Feldman Director, District 1199C Training Fund

Varsovia Fernandez President, Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Dan Fitzpatrick President & PA Market Executive, Citizens Bank

Carol Fixman Executive Director, Philadelphia Education Fund (Education Compact)

John FryPresident & CEO, Drexel University

Tionna Giddings PYN Youth Ambassador

Donna Frisby-Greenwood Program Director-Philadelphia, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Marcia Hampton Division Chief, Operations, Job Corps, Philadelphia Region

Mark Harrell Executive Director, Men United for a Better Philadelphia

Ann Hart President, Temple University

Donald L. Haskin Senior Vice President, Citi Community Development

Daniel J. Hilferty President & CEO, Independence Blue Cross

Jean Hunt City-Wide Youth Development Director, Parks and Recreation

Jerry Jordan President, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers

Thomas J. Lewis President & CEO, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Eugenio Longoria Sáenz Director, Eastern North Philadelphia Youth Services Coalition

Sharmain Matlock-Turner President & CEO, Urban Affairs Coalition

Jill Michal President & CEO, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Tom Morr President & CEO, Select Greater Philadelphia

Thoai Nguyen Executive Director, SEAMAAC

Jeremy Nowak President, William Penn Foundation

Lee Nunery Acting Superintendent, School District of Philadelphia

Lisa Nutter President, Philadelphia Academies, Inc

Andi Perez Executive Director, Youth United for Change

Brandon Oakley PYN Youth Ambassador

Candace Putter Director, PA Academic and Career / Technical Training Alliance

Dolores Shaw Parent

Lori Shorr Chief Education Officer, Mayor’s Office of Education

Sylvia Simms Founder/President, Parent Power

Susan Slawson Commissioner, Department of Recreation

Stephen Spinelli Jr. President, Philadelphia University

JoAnn Weinberger President & Executive Director, Center for Literacy

Sophia Wisniewska Chancellor, Brandywine Campus, Penn State

Rob Wonderling President & CEO, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce

Shelly Yanoff Executive Director, Public Citizens for Children & Youth

MEMBER LIST

CONTENTSTABLE OF

Introduction

Action Plan Framework

Council Campaign Measures

Council Committees

CollegeReady

Project U-Turn

WorkReady

Emerging Work

Conclusion

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In our third year of leading citywide efforts to achieve Mayor Nutter’s educational goals for the city, the Philadelphia Council for College and Career

Success (the Council) is pleased to present this report chronicling the accomplish-ments of 2011. In the following pages, we share examples of work from our three committees and our partners; we also describe several exciting new and expanding areas of work.

The Council, a committee of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board (Philadelphia WIB), manages the City’s collection of investments from government, foundations, and employers and directs these funding streams to support strategic initiatives designed to pro-mote youth workforce development, increase the quality and quantity of high school gradu-ates, and expand college access and success for Philadelphia residents.

We are honored to serve the City and its young people, and are pleased to share the suc-cesses of the Council and our partners over the past year.

INTRODUCTION“ When you’re in Gateway,

you’re expected to excel and that

motivates you and it encourages

you to continue on. Gateway to

College was one of the best expe-

riences ever. The environment of

being at a college is phenomenal

because you get to meet people

with like minds and people with

different backgrounds who are

interested in one thing: just go-

ing further in their education and

pursuing a goal. My biggest pas-

sion is film-making. I’m about to

transfer over, through the dual

admissions program, to Temple

University. ”Ali

Multiple Pathways - College-Connected ProgramGateway to College

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a. Invest in critical transitions (including aligning summer resources) 2014: 8th to 9th grade Sum-mer Bridge programs

b. Invest in a broader and more intentional portfolio of proven and promising college and career pathway models 2014: Improve current CTE schools; open 3 new CTE’s

c. Align interventions that pre-vent and reduce truancy 2014: Align resources & provide cross-system training

d. Align utilization of early indicator warning systems in funded initiatives 2014: Early warning indi-cator system

e. Advocate for the development of a diverse portfolio of gradu-ation pathways for in-school youth

f. Advocate for adequate educa-tion funding

a. Invest in key areas to build graduation pathways for out-of-school youth

b. Invest in models that connect education and employment for out-of-school youth 2014: Work-based oppor-tunities

c. Align strategies and resources that support the most at-risk youth (e.g., juvenile justice, foster care, etc.) 2014: Student supports

d. Advocate for resources and the inclusion of disconnected youth in educational and work-force strategies

a. Invest in a broader and more intentional portfolio of proven and promising college and career pathway models 2014: Career academies

b. Invest in development of assessment tools, training and educational outreach, promoting 21st century skills attainment 2014: Career, academic & work-based opportunities

c. Advocate for the alignment of District curriculum with expected college core academic competencies

d. Advocate for increased dual enrollment and early college credit-bearing models 2014: Dual-enrollment courses & early college experiences

e. Invest in developing the capac-ity of adults to deliver high-quality interventions 2014: Focused profession-al development

a. Invest in the development and implementation of universal post-secondary preparation pathways 2014: Student Success Centers

b. Advocate for resources to increase the availability of scholarships

a. Invest in college completion models, in particular support for high school to college and two to four year transitions

b. Invest in replicable college persistence and completion promising practices

All Philadelphia youth are prepared for educational and economic success

• Increase the graduation rate to 80% (cut the dropout rate in half) by 2014

• Double the baccalaureate attain-ment rate to 36% of Philadel-phians over age 25 by 2017

INVEST in proven strategies

ALIGN, mobilize and coordinate resources and constituencies

ADVOCATE for policies and resources that support the attainment of the goals; and ensure accountability

Youth Engagement

Re-Engagement of Disconnected

Students

College & Career Preparation

College & Career Access

College Completion andCareer Mobility

ACTION PLAN FRAMEWORK

“ I’d initially thought I

wanted to be a neurologist,

but spending a second sum-

mer in a WorkReady pro-

gram changed my thinking.

My goal now is to be a psy-

chiatrist. At my internship, I

got a lot of good experience,

and found that interacting

with the patients was my fa-

vorite part. ”Michael

2010-2011 WorkReady Philadelphia participant

To be measured and reported each November

2009 Actual

2010 Actual

2011 Actual

2014 Target

High School Graduation Indicators

The % of first-time 9th graders on track to on-time graduation* 62% 60% 66% 79%

4-year cohort graduation rate*56%

(1st time 9th

graders of 05-06)

58%(1st time 9th

graders of 06-07)

61%(1st time 9th

graders of 07-08)75%

6-year cohort graduation rate*60%

(1st time 9th graders of 03-04)

63%(1st time 9th

graders of 04-05)

61%(1st time 9th

graders of 05-06)80%

College Matriculation,Persistence, and Graduation Indicators

The % of high school graduates matriculating to college

within 1 year#

45%(HS Graduates

of 2008)

47%(HS Graduates

of 2009)

47%(HS Graduates

of 2010)65%

Of the students who enroll in college within one year, the % who return to college for a 2nd

consecutive year#

77%(HS Graduates

of 2007)

79%(HS Graduates

of 2008)

78%(HS Graduates

of 2009)87%

Of the students who enroll in college within one year, the % who earn an Associates or

2-year college degree within 6 years of starting college*

5%(HS Graduates

of 2003)

6%(HS Graduates

of 2004)

5%(HS Graduates

of 2005)16%

Of the students who enroll in college within one year, the %

who earn a B.A. or 4-year college degree within 6 years of

starting college*

37%(HS Graduates

of 2003)

34%(HS Graduates

of 2004)

36%(HS Graduates

of 2005)50%

*School District of Philadelphia students only # School District of Philadelphia and Charter school students

COUNCILCAMPAIGN MEASURES

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The CollegeReady Committee is charged with tracking and analyzing post-secondary outcomes for Philadelphia youth as well as developing and

investing in models to increase college success. Committee members have identified four goals which further focus and drive their work: 1) develop and implement a data collection system that allows for the analy-sis and reporting of annual college matriculation, remediation, persistence and completion rates of Philadelphia students; 2) align, expand and invest in strategies that ensure appropriate academic preparation and financial planning for success in college; 3) pilot, replicate and invest in models that increase college matriculation, persistence and graduation rates of Philadel-phia students; and 4) advocate at the state and federal levels for policies and funding that support increased college access and completion.

During the 2011 year, the Committee and its members achieved the following results:

• Aligning Practices to Promote College Access and Success. Under the aegis of the Committee, higher education representatives met with the School District’s Office of Teaching and Learning to promote closer alignment of secondary and college curricula to ensure that students are prepared to master the Common Core Standards in Mathematics and English.

• Developing a Citywide Messaging Calendar. The Post-Second-ary Readiness Strategies Work Team has developed a college prepa-ration framework and messaging calendar to establish uniformity in program interventions implemented by counselors and college prep program professionals which includes a monthly messaging campaign around college-going for K-12 grades.

• Continuing to Pursue an Aggressive Research Agenda. The Col-lege Completion Work Team engaged institutional research staff from area universities and colleges in order to begin to using data for two efforts: 1) tracking performance trends for Philadelphia students on local college campuses; and 2) identifying common metrics needed to inform the development of a risk analysis approach to retention initiatives. The Work Team’s overarching goal is to promote the use of data in creating data-driven retention initiatives designed to increase the completion rates of Philadelphia students.

• OMG Center for Collaborative Learning was contracted to conduct an analysis of enrollment, persistence and completion data sub-mitted by area colleges and universities. The initial report pres-ents findings in the areas of remedial course placement, college persistence, and completion.

• The Work Team has also begun collaborating with the School District of Philadelphia to align the District’s college-ready initiatives, through their Gates-funded College Ready Indicators System and Harvard Strategic Data Proj-ects, with the Work Team’s to create a K-12 system of benchmarks leading to college preparedness.

COLLEGEREADYCOMMITTEE

Exemplary Work of Committee Partners

The Mayor’s Office of Education has un-dertaken a number of efforts to promote better financial planning for college-going. In January, Mayor Nutter launched the citywide Financial Aid Campaign. From January through May, the City partnered with the U.S. Department of Education, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, the School District of Philadelphia, the Campaign for Working Families, and college prep programs to conduct Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion workshops to help college-bound students submit the FASFA, the first step in applying for any form of finan-cial assistance. Toward the end of the campaign, financial aid officers from area colleges and universities participated in two phone-a-thons, providing students and parents with direct access to professionals in the field. The phone-a-thons, hosted by Fox 29 and NBC 10, were highly suc-cessful in helping students and parents navigate the financial aid process.

In December, the Mayor’s Office of Education partnered with the College Prep Roundtable to sponsor a “financing college” professional develop-ment workshop series for high school counselors, college prep personnel, and representatives from community-based organizations. The week began with Drexel University hosting an all-day seminar focused on understanding federal and state leg-islative changes impacting college affordability. Congressman Chaka Fattah and Pauline Abernathy from the Washington-based Institute for College Access and Success were featured speakers. This seminar was followed by four three-hour FAFSA online trainings, held over a period of two days, conducted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Financial Aid division. The final session, conducted by the Pennsylvania Association of Stu-dent Financial Aid Administrators, helped the pre-college community understand how financial aid packages are prepared and awarded to students.

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The Project U-Turn Committee is responsible for advancing a campaign which focuses public attention on Philadelphia’s dropout crisis, and designing strategies and leveraging investments to improve outcomes for disconnected and out-of school youth. During the 2011 year, the Commit-tee and its members achieved the following results:

Supporting Re-Engagement. The School District’s budget crisis cre-ated challenges for the city’s efforts to re-enroll former dropouts. The School District Re-Engagement Center (REC) was established in 2008 to help support youth and young adults seeking to return to education after leaving high school without a diploma. But the 2011-12 funding shortfall threatened to eliminate key staff positions at the REC, and seri-ously diminish its capacity. Understanding the importance of the REC to its overall efforts to resolve the city’s dropout crisis, the Committee re-directed foundation funds available to Project U-Turn to sustain the REC Director position, which enabled these invaluable services to continue. In 2011, the REC served just over 3,000 youth. Since it opened its doors in May 2008 through June 2011, 78% of the young people that sought the services of the REC have been reconnected to educational programs lead-ing to 546 new graduates.

Expanding Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care. The Committee continued to support the efforts of the DHS Education Support Center, which provides important services that promote educational achieve-ment for youth in foster placement. Also, the Committee continues to explore options to engage the foster care disconnected youth popula-tion through forging a partnership with Arise Academy Charter High School, an institution that provides a strong academic program com-

bined with high quality on-site support services for 14-21 year-old, foster care youth who are moving towards emancipation.

Informing the Field. Committee-support-ed efforts continue to shed light on effective strategies to address the disengagement and disconnection of older, off-track students and out-of-school youth. Examples include:

• Mathematica Policy Research’s final report on student outcomes in Accelerated Schools documented the schools’ successes in terms of students’ improved credit acquisition and graduation rates, relative to similar youth in other high schools.

• Research for Action examined the Jobs for the Future instructional strategies being employed at Accelerated Schools, with particular em-phasis on transforming literacy instruction at participating schools, and found that these approaches were showing promise in schools where they were fully implemented.

TheExpandingInfluenceofProjectU-Turn. Project U-Turn’s collaborative approaches to dropout recovery and prevention con-tinue to draw widespread attention and to inform national conversa-tions about how to shape and lead systemic strategies for off-track students and out-of-school youth. Notably, Philadelphia’s cross-sector strategies were featured – as one of only two local models – at a symposium sponsored by the White House Council for Com-munity Solutions, a high-level advisory body to the Presi-dent organized to develop recommendations for reconnecting disen-gaged young people. In addition, Project U-Turn approaches were featured at con-venings of several na-tional organizations, including the National Youth Employment Coalition, the Center for Law and Social Policy, the National League of Cities and Jobs for the Future.

A closer look at the students served by the Re-Engagement Center in 2011

Cohort Graduation Rates

PROJECT U-TURNCOMMITTEE


• Youth United for Change (YUC) has led the field in organizing young people to advocate for disconnected youth in Philadelphia. This year, the YUC Push-Out Chapter (a group of disconnected or formerly disconnected youth), released “Pushed Out: Youth Voices on the Dropout Crisis in Philadel-phia,” which highlighted underlying issues related to the current dropout situation in Philadelphia and helped lead an advocacy effort with other Project U-Turn partners which resulted in identi-fying new funding to maintain the Accelerated Schools.

• YESPhilly (YES) has made important progress in building the capacity to implement a more effec-tive math curriculum for GED programs. YES is working with Math Foundations, a research-based education company committed to addressing the specific learning needs of older students, to imple-ment a math curriculum that is focused on helping students to attain higher level math skills. These efforts involve intentional professional develop-ment for staff and faculty, and the use of instruc-tional frameworks that scaffold student learning. The collaboration is allowing Math Foundations to test and develop products, resources, strate-gies, and materials for GED students. These initial results have been promising, and the William Penn Foundation has invested in the further develop-ment of this work.

• Congreso partnered with Harcum College to launch ILead, an initiative to bring college courses to three Accelerated Schools. In the first-year pilot, 75 Accelerated School gradu-ates were able to enroll as Harcum students and begin their post-secondary careers in fall 2011 by taking courses offered at the Accelerated School sites.

• The Department of Human Services’ Education Support Center was showcased at a national event organized by the Child Welfare League of America as an example of how child wel-fare institutions can and should pay attention to and support educational attainment of the youth in their care.

58% 56% 58% 59% 57% 59% 60%63% 61%

48% 44% 48% 49% 52% 52% 53% 57% 56% 58% 61%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1997-1998 First-time 9th Grade Cohort











Students graduating in six or less years On-time graduates

School District of PhiladelphiaCohort Graduation Rates

First-time 9th Grade Cohorts in 1997-98 through 2007-08 (Graduating Classes of 2001 through 2011)

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Realizing Success Through New Program Models. Funded through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the Council’s new models– which include innovative approaches

like Industry Pipelines and 21st Century Continuum (for in-school youth) and GED-to-College (for out-of-school youth) – produced results that met or exceeded state and federal

standards, reversing several years of struggling performance and pointing toward continued success in future years.

Replicating Council Program Models. In 2010, PYN received a grant from the PA Depart-ment of Labor and Industry to develop a series of guides intended to help public, private, and non-profit stakeholders interested in supporting and/or offering high-quality youth pro-gramming. These guides, which were based on three Council program models (School-Year Internships, Industry Pipelines and Occupational Skills Training) were completed in 2011, and are now being presented and generating considerable interest at national meetings and conferences. Thus, the Council’s models are not only promoting positive outcomes for young Philadelphians, but are also beginning to influence program development in communities across the country.

The WorkReady Committee is tasked with overseeing the cross-sector partnership dedicated to improving the economic outcomes of the

region’s youth by attracting, aligning and investing resources in research-based, youth workforce development strategies. During the 2011 year, the

Committee and its members achieved the following results:

Improving strategies to assess the acquisition of 21st Century Skills. With a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Com-mittee is overseeing a project designed to promote student acquisition of 21st Century Skills. The project involves several components: (1) identifying a set of core 21st Century competencies; (2) developing a standardized assessment tool; (3) building the capacity of organiza-tions to teach and assess core skills and competencies; (4) tracking re-sults; and (5) developing a research design to evaluate the connection between skill acquisition and other secondary and post-secondary outcomes. Based on progress to-date, the Committee has begun to collaborate and share information nationally with practitioners and foundations.

Strengthening Career and Technical Education (CTE). Working closely with the School District’s Office of Secondary School Pro-grams, the Committee is championing research-based reforms that would boost academic achievement for CTE students and align CTE programming more closely with in-demand industry skills and credentials.

Delivering 2011 Summer Programs. The Committee oversaw another successful WorkReady summer program for 5,336 young people, managed by 52 competitively procured youth-serving

organizations at more than 900 worksites. Participating youth earned over $4 million in wages, 91% demonstrated measure-

able gains in at least one of the four targeted 21st Century Skill areas, and 88% produced projects or portfo-

lios deemed sufficiently rigorous

to earn high school elective credit. Despite these successes, the loss of American Recovery and Reinvest-ment Act funding meant that the 2011 summer program was barely half the size of that offered in 2010. As a result, more than 10,000 eager and talented young people were turned away because the supply of opportunities could not meet the demand.

Addressing Summer Jobs Funding Challenges. Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which had stabilized and expanded opportunities for city youth in 2009 and 2010, was ex-hausted by mid-year, reducing 2011 summer programming to levels not experienced since the early years of the century. This loss of funding for summer jobs spurred action. Through a com-bination of innovative fund-raising strategies, known collectively as the WorkReady Save Summer Jobs Campaign, the Council was able to develop new investments totaling almost $300,000, including a major increase in support from the City of Philadelphia. This effort, which featured visible support from area employers, the Mayor, the District Attorney and a wide variety of other Philadelphia leaders, was the first of its kind focused specifically on summer jobs, and will help to pave the way for bigger and better development efforts in the months and years to come.

Creating New Opportunities for OSY. After extensive discussions and a careful review of program data and outcomes, the Committee, with input from Project U-Turn and WorkReady committee mem-bers, agreed to focus Workforce Investment Act out-of-school youth programming on three priority areas: GED-to-College, Occupa-tional Skills Training, and placement services. Based on these three approaches, the Council recommended the Philadelphia WIB issue a new Request for Proposals that identified six youth-serving organizations to deliver nine programs, which are expected to serve more than 400 young people over the next year.

WORKREADYCOMMITTEE


• The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce was instrumental in encouraging dozens of Philadelphia employers to sup-port 1,049 internships for Philadelphia youth dur-ing the 2011 summer. Area employers also host-ed more than 600 school-year interns throughout 2011. Additionally, the Chamber’s strong leader-ship contributed to the continued expansion of the Council’s WorkReady Philadelphia employer-paid internship model in the City of Chester. Most recently, the Chamber and members of the regional business and civic communities began working on a unified, deliberate strategy focused on the business community’s role in helping to improve education (public, charter, and parochial) in Philadelphia by offering practical solutions in three specific areas: 1. Leadership: Exploring ways to help the School Reform Commission, the Superintendent, the Mayor, and the Governor in their concerted ef-forts to improve schools 2. Efficiencies: Utilizing the expertise of the business community to assist in developing cost-effective practices within the School District 3. Children and Youth: Supporting young people to be successful in school, go on to post-second-ary education, and prepare them to meet the needs of businesses in the region. This multi-year strategy will complement the Chamber’s current involvement in WorkReady Summer Internships as well as the Read to Me Early Childhood Literacy program with the School District of Philadelphia.

• Citizens Bank was instrumental in launching a successful pilot of “WorkReady Pittsburgh” in summer 2011, based on the Philadelphia summer employer-paid internship model. WorkReady Pitts-burgh garnered support from key stakeholders in the city’s local business and foundation com-munities. The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board, which serves the Pittsburgh area, has be-gun plans to grow the program in summer 2012.

0 10 20 30 40 50

Funds available to the Philadelphia youth workforce system in FY ‘11

Tiana Butler (second from right),

a 2011 WorkReady Philadel-phia participant, was invited to

speak on a panel at the “Sum-mer Jobs +” summit at

the White House.

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The bodies of work encompassed by the Council and its committees continue to expand. The 2011 year saw the development of several new initiatives and sub-

stantial growth in other existing models.

• PromotingTechnology-Driven,Proficiency-BasedMastery. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently awarded the School District of Philadel-phia a two-year, $2.9 million grant to support innovations in student-centered instruction and assessment. The grant promotes proficiency-based learning and emphasizes the assessment of what students know and are able to do. Through this project, students will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of learning opportunities and settings that result in the attainment of English Lan-guage Arts credits aligned with national Common Core Standards. Key aspects of the project include the creation of performance-based assessments that link to English Language Arts, the engagement of community partners to broaden the contexts for academic learning, and the integration of technology as a means for mastery-based learning and systemic change. This work capitalizes on Philadel-phia’s long history with project-based instruction and the City’s promotion of academically-enriched youth employment programs. Next steps in this exciting new venture include:

• Developing a Learning Management System that serves as an accessible plat-form for learning, information tracking, and the production and exchange of student and teacher work.

• Providing faculty at Lincoln High School, the pilot site for the project, with intensive professional development on mastery-based and blended-learning strategies and practices.

• Identifying and engaging additional schools and collaborating with commu-nity partners for project expansion.

• Creating learning modules that comprise instruction and assessment ma-terials matched to core standards for English Language Arts.

• Assessing 21st Century Skills. As noted in the WorkReady Committee section (p. 12), the Council’s drive to promote the acquisition of 21st Cen-

tury Skills is developing a national profile that extends well beyond the Philadelphia. In fact, this work puts the Council in the forefront of a

growing national movement to develop methods

and strategies to communicate and assess these es-sential skills. The WorkReady Committee has partnered with WestEd, a leading national research organization, to advance this work. WestEd is in communication with organiza-tions such as the National Academies Foundation, ConnectEd, Big Picture National, and other innovative national leaders to drive the successful development of 21st Century Skills assessments. The col-laborative power of this work has the potential to substantially boost our ability to measure these skills, and to demonstrate the value of the Council’s work.

• A Deepening Commitment to Research. The CollegeReady Committee’s commitment to developing and analyzing high-quality data on the post-sec-ondary trajectories of Philadelphia students holds great promise for improving students’ college experiences and eventual successes. This ongoing work will continue to illuminate current strategies that promote positive post-secondary outcomes, and will also serve to identify barriers that hinder graduation and other credential attainment.

• An Expanding Focus on Youth Voice. Few voices raised in support of youth career preparation are more powerful than those of young people themselves. This fact was demonstrated this past year as Accelerated School students, organized by Youth United for Change, successfully urged the Mayor and City Council to maintain support for these innovative educational institutions. It was further reinforced as Philadelphia’s Youth Ambassadors led highly success-ful events, celebrating another successful summer program at the WorkReady Summer Expo, and thanking several hundred employers for their support of internships at the Breakfast of WorkReady Champions. Philadelphia young people are also sharing powerful examples of youth leadership beyond the city. For example, 300 young people from Youth United for Change and the Philadelphia Student Union participated in the National Rally for Youth Investment, and the Philadelphia Youth Ambas-sadors presented workshops and trainings at conferences of national organizations held in Chicago, Il and Myrtle Beach, SC. In short, young Philadel-phians are increasingly active and vocal in support of Council priorities and will continue on this course into the future.

EMERGINGWORK

It is our pleasure to play such a vital role in shaping the future of Phila-delphia. As the Mayor begins his second term, we are eager to con-tinue our efforts in support of the City’s education and youth workforce goals and we look forward to continuing progress in the year to come.

CONCLUSION

The Philadelphia Council for College and Career Success is guided by an over-arching vision of all youth as productive citizens who are ready to participate fully in our region’s workforce and the life of the city. To that end, the mission of the Council is to provide leadership and advocacy in support of the Mayor’s education goals: 1) increase the high school graduation rate to 80% in 5-7 years; and 2) double the bac-calaureate attainment rate of Philadelphians in 8-10 years.

The Council serves as the local youth council, a committee of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board, as required under the Workforce Investment Act. The Philadelphia Youth Network, selected through an open RFP process, is contracted by the PWIB to provide staffing and coordination support to the Philadelphia Council for College and Career Success.

www.philadelphiacouncil.org

c/o Philadelphia Youth Network • 714 Market Street • Suite 304 Philadelphia, PA 19106 • 267-502-3800

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MEETING MILESTONES - PYNinc · MEETING MILESTONES: The. ... Kevin Dow. Deputy Commerce Director, Department of Commerce. Pat . Eiding . ... Daniel J. Hilferty . President & CEO,