Crain’s
November 26, 2012
Opinion by President Sid Mohn
From Crain’s:
In its recent article on City Colleges of Chicago, Crain’s asked: Is City Colleges doing the right thing (“Change of Course,” Oct. 22)? I’m struck by two alarming data points in the article: that one-third of City Colleges students live in poverty and that 90 percent of incoming students need remedial education. For these students struggling to make ends meet, the right thing to do may be to combine vocational training with actual paid work—or contextualized education and transitional jobs.
Fortunately, in Chicago there are programs that do just that. Participating in contextualized education and transitional jobs programs could provide the extra boost some students need and help Reinvention meet its goals.
Contextualized education, in which lessons are drawn directly from work activities, improves academic, work-related skills and prepares individuals for training, certification or careers. Transitional jobs programs combine wage-paid work, job-skills training and supportive services. Together, these approaches increase literacy and basic skills while providing income.
Efforts at Heartland Alliance to blend these approaches have resulted in gains in math and reading skills for program participants equal to two grade levels over 12 weeks. Of the 34 people served by our Community Green Jobs program launched in August 2011, 60 percent transitioned to jobs with an average hourly wage of $11.50.�This year, Heartland Alliance is launching Chicago FarmWorks, an urban farm on Chicago’s West Side that will enable participants to gain urban agriculture, landscaping and logistics skills and earn a paycheck while building academic and career-sector knowledge. The course was developed jointly with Wilbur Wright College and local businesses.
Since 2003, Heartland Alliance has run the National Transitional Jobs Network to promote these programs because they have proven to be promising strategies for getting the most vulnerable Americans back to work. In one study, almost 98 percent of individuals who were offered a transitional job took it. These programs not only provide a stable source of income but have been shown to reduce incarceration rates; reduce reliance on public benefits and lower taxpayer costs; improve educational outcomes for dependent children; increase local demand for goods and services; and benefit employers by increasing productivity and financial well-being.
Chicago is stronger when everyone who wants to work can find a job. Doing the right thing means developing flexible, realistic strategies that can meet both the income and training needs of Chicago students.
