Overview
Implemented in partnership with New Visions for Public Schools, the Transfer 2 Career Collaborative is an innovative career development strategy for transfer high school students that seeks to improve the postsecondary and workforce outcomes of New York students most at risk of becoming part of the out-of-school, out-of-work population. Consisting of 12 transfer high schools and 11 workforce development organizations, it aims to universalize career exploration and awareness; embed advanced career development into school design; and build bridge programs to sector-specific post-secondary opportunities.
The Challenge
Of the city’s 53,000 over-age, under-credited high school students, about 15,000 attend transfer high schools—small schools that are not organized by age or grade but instead by credit accumulation to help off-track students graduate with a high school diploma. Currently, these schools are not equipped to integrate career readiness into their curricula, provide high-quality work-based learning experiences, or connect graduating students to post-secondary education and training that leads to careers.
25%
TRANSFER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES ENTER POSTSECONDARY within 6 months
15,000
OVER-AGE, UNDER-CREDITED STUDENTS ATTENDING TRANSFER SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK CITY
54%
TRANSFER HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS GRADUATE WITH A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA BY THE AGE OF 21
70%
OF ALL JOBS WILL REQUIRE SOME POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION OR TRAINING AFTER HIGH SCHOOL BY 2027
Approach
The small-school design of transfer high schools provides a unique opportunity to enrich student experiences through a sequence of high-quality career development activities that form a core part of their education. The Transfer 2 Career Collaborative capitalizes on this opportunity by offering a multiple-phase student experience that includes a core and enhanced curriculum; high-quality work-based learning experiences across the career development continuum; individualized career development support; and case management and wraparound support services. The approach is designed to help students recover credits, graduate from high school, experience success in postsecondary education and training, and launch careers in growing industry sectors. Importantly, this framework is organized in competency-based phases rather than by age or grade, allowing students to progress through the initiative at their own pace.
Impact
Leveraging the small school design of Transfer High Schools with intensive wrap around support services and internship stipends, JobsFirstNYC and New Visions for Public Schools are building partnerships between 12 Transfer High Schools within the New Visions network and select workforce development and training organizations with a track record of working with out-of-school, out-of-work young adults. These partnerships form the School Design Team made up of School principals, Learning to Work Program Directors and Internship Coordinators, and leaders from workforce development organizations. By operationally integrating these workforce development organizations into the schools, these school-based partnerships will: 1) provide career awareness and exploration services to all student; 2) integrate advanced career development into the school design; and, 3) build bridge programs to sector-specific postsecondary opportunities.
Our Partners
Related Publications
In the last few months, we have witnessed a welcomed change in New York City to name and scale a vision for creating career-connected learning and pathways for all our students in City schools. These changes closely align with our work through the Transfer 2 Career Collaborative to embed career pathways in schools via structural […]
In a recent blog published on Sept 3, 2020, JobsFirstNYC posed the question: With an estimated 27 percent (259,000) to 34 percent (324,000) of NYC Young Adults out of school and out of work, what’s the city’s plan? The city recently announced that it is proposing to cut programs in transfer schools by 72 percent, […]
In the wake of the Great Recession, a strong economy made it easier for young adults to find jobs, leading to significant declines in the number and share of New Yorkers aged 18 to 24 who were out of school and out of work from 22 percent (187,588 young adults) in 2010, to 16 percent […]
In the midst of a pandemic that has hit our Transfer to Career (T2C) communities the hardest in terms of health, wellbeing, employment, and security, our high school leaders and staff, workforce training partners, and CBOs have continued to prioritize career development for students. They understand that access to work-based learning, training, industry certifications and […]
March 11, 2020 New York City’s transfer high schools are designed to serve students who have struggled to make progress in traditional high schools. Even with additional help, however, the students enrolled in transfer schools typically face greater barriers to success: Only half of them graduate with a high school diploma, and only a handful […]
JobsFirstNYC and New Visions for Public Schools are launching a new initiative to transform the school-to-work transition for a set of NYC’s Transfer High School students. Through this initiative, we aim to leverage current and new resources to design and pilot a career pathway strategy leading to degree and credential attainment and employment for NYC […]
JobsFirstNYC and New Visions for Public Schools present Building Partnerships: Bringing Together Workforce & School Leaders March 6, 2018, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at UJA – Federation On March 6, 2018, JobsFirstNYC and New Visions for Public Schools hosted Building Partnerships: Bringing Together Workforce & School Leaders, which brought together school leaders—including community-based […]
Reimagining the School-to-Work Experience for Transfer High School Students A JobsFirstNYC and New Visions for Public School Convening Tuesday January 30, 2018 from 3:00-5:30 p.m. at New Visions for Public Schools On Tuesday, January 30, JobsFirstNYC and New Visions for Public Schools co-hosted an event exploring the structural and systemic barriers that students […]
