In this episode we have a special group with us from the Sturm Collaboration Campus in Castle Rock, Colorado: Jill Garber, the Director of the CSU Collaboration Campuses; Dr. Stephanie Fuji, the President of Arapahoe Community College; and Danny Winsor, the Assistant Superintendent of Douglas County Schools. We explore the Big Blur and how they have brought individuals, partners, and education institutions together to do what's best for students.

Some Questions I Ask:

• How did the collaborative come together in Castle Rock? (01:19)
• What problems would you like to solve through this partnership — and have you been involved in K-12 public-private partnerships in the past? (03:02)
• Tell us more about the Big Blur. (06:39)
• For Danny: How can K-12 school districts reimagine their collaborations to ensure they provide relevant experiences to students? (11:07)
• For Jill: How do you see the rise of work-based programs at Sturm and what is your advice for higher education institutions implementing them? (16:44)
• What’s next for Sturm? (20:45)
• How do you share your ventures with the community? (28:09)
• What are you most hopeful about for the future of work for our students? (35:15)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• From Jill about the Sturm Collaboration Campus (01:31)
• Danny’s point of view regarding public-private partnerships (03:19)
• Stephanie’s take on the Big Blur (06:54)
• How to ensure school district partnerships provide relevant experiences(11:41)
• Jill’s take on the rise of work-based programs (17:11)
• The future of Sturm (21:30)
• Strategies for sharing their ventures with the community (28:52, 30:41, 32:54)
• Their hopes for the future of work (35:27, 36:07, 38:54)

Quotes:
“If you truly, truly want to blur the lines between K through 12, post-secondary education, and the world of work, you have to have partnerships in which folks are willing to do work that's messy.”

“It's important to seek the input of industry, involve them in the process, and have relationships with them … and to also have wraparound services for students — things like advising, career counseling, and especially transfer admissions. Our internal minutiae can make it weird for students sometimes and impact their success.”


Stay in touch with:
D. Winsor:
Douglas County School District
Dr. Fujii:
Arapahoe Community College
J. Garber:
Colorado State University
Email

Resources Mentioned:
The 74 Million Survey

Stay in touch with Sarah Williamson:
Free Case Study Guide
SWPR GROUP Website
LinkedIn

Stay in touch with Chad Bolser:
LinkedIn

About "The Secret to Transformational Leadership," which Sarah co-authored with Dr. Quintin Shepherd:
Transformational Leadership Secret website
Purchase the print or ebook

In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Tim Taylor, who is a co-founder and the president of America Succeeds, a nonprofit organization committed to engaging business leaders in modernizing the education system. He also served as the founding president of Colorado Succeeds. One of the America Succeeds initiatives Tim highlights is Durable Skills, which includes a combination of how you use what you know – skills like critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity – and character skills like fortitude, growth mindset, and leadership.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Tell us more about America Succeeds. (01:14)
• Based on your research, what skills are applicable to the workforce community? (02:50)
• Are you seeing more public- private partnerships with K-12 organizations now than the past? (06:10)
• How did America Succeeds begin working with the Indiana Employability Skills Innovation and Implementation Grant and what was the outcome? (08:16)
• How are you working with America Succeeds partners networks across the country? (15:46)
• How do you recommend business leaders, partners, and everyone to work together and move this mission in a collaborative way? (18:13)
• How are you sharing America Succeeds stories? (19:50)
• What are your hopes about the future of work? (22:04)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• About America Succeeds (01:40)
• About durable skills for the workforce (03:06)
• About public-private partnerships with K-12 organizations (06:26)
• How America Succeeds and the Indiana Employability Skills Innovation and Implementation Grant intersect (09:07)
• About America Succeeds partnerships across the country (16:03)
• Tim’s recommendations for collaboration (18:46)
• How he shares America Succeeds stories (20:03)
• His hopes for the future of work (22:13)

Quotes:

“The challenge everywhere is how do we make a student's day look different or a classroom look different to practice these skills when we're asking so much of teachers already. And one of the things we discovered in working on this project is that it's not doing more, necessarily, it's just doing what you do a little differently.”

“It's rare that I have talked this long about durable skills without talking about one of our big drivers: economic mobility and equity. … There's been a lot of inequity.”

“The Association for Talent Development did a study, and 83% of employers complained about a skills gap. The largest two in the workforce are critical thinking and communication skills. We're hearing this over and over again; this is not an isolated problem.”

Stay in touch with America Succeeds:
Tim Taylor LinkedIn
America Succeeds Website
Durable Skills by America Succeeds Website
Email:info@americasucceeds.org

Stay in touch with Sarah Williamson:
Free Case Study Guide
SWPR GROUP Website
LinkedIn

Stay in touch with Chad Bolser:
LinkedIn

About "The Secret to Transformational Leadership," which Sarah co-authored with Dr. Quintin Shepherd:
Transformational Leadership Secret website
Purchase the print or ebook

In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Marina Parr, Director for Workforce System Advancement at Washington’s Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board and Stephanie Davidsmeyer, a Director of Communications for the Washington State Board of Education. Stephanie has 10 years of experience in nonprofit, corporate, and government outreach media relations.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Marina, tell us more about your work and if you have seen a shift in how districts prioritize workforce development. (01:25)
• Stephanie, from the communications perspective, what trends are you seeing in workforce development and advancement? (04:03)
• Have you both seen an increase in public-private partnership when it comes to workforce development in Washington? (08:09)
• How is the ESSER cliff impacting districts in Washington in terms of workforce development? (16:39)
• What are the key takeaways of the Workforce System Poster? (21:20)
• Stephanie, how do you share powerful success stories to the community? (23:51)
• What are you most hopeful about for the future of workforce development? (27:57)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Marina’s work and her view of districts prioritizing workforce development (01:49)
• Stephanie’s perspective on workforce development across Washington state (04:34)
• Marina and Stephanie’s points of view with regards to expansion of workforce development (11:08)
• Impact of the ESSER cliff on workforce development in Washington state (18:32)
• Key takeaways of the Workforce System Poster (21:42)
• How Stephanie tells powerful success stories(24:13)
• Marina’s hopes for the future of workforce development (28:21)

Quotes:

“We know that businesses are busy. Probably the biggest challenge in workforce development is getting businesses to the table, because they're really trying to run their businesses. So you need to make effective use of their time.”

“I've talked to students that are making canoes and then talking with advisors and building reports about how much it would cost to open their own business in boat making. They have all this math and all these figures that go into it. These kids will just blow you away.”

“Our state has had something called industry skill panels that bring together similar businesses so they can discuss common skill gaps, hiring challenges, difficulties that their employees face finding housing and other support. And the interesting thing is that these businesses are typically competitors.”

“Chronic absenteeism is an issue. It really did start with the pandemic [when] kids kind of checked out, and then they never really checked back in. So we have to figure out how to re-engage students and really get them to be present. And we know that populations that have struggled the most had the widest gap.”

Stay in touch with the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board:
Website

Stay in touch with Sarah Williamson:
Free Case Study Guide
SWPR GROUP Website
LinkedIn

Stay in touch with Chad Bolser:
LinkedIn

About "The Secret to Transformational Leadership," which Sarah co-authored with Dr. Quintin Shepherd:
Transformational Leadership Secret website
Purchase the print or ebook