2019 – 2020 ANNUAL REPORT SERVING SCHOOLS, STUDENTS, EMPLOYERS, AND COMMUNITIES IN BENTON, CEDAR, IOWA, JOHNSON, JONES, LINN, AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES Connecting today’s students to tomorrow’s careers LINN COUNTY JONES COUNTY IOWA COUNTY CENTER REGIONAL CENTER REGIONAL CENTER 200 West St. 1770 Boyson Rd. 220 Welter Dr. Williamsburg, Iowa 52361 Hiawatha, Iowa 52233 Monticello, Iowa 52310 866-424-5669 319-398-1040 855-467-3800 KIRKWOOD REGIONAL CENTER WASHINGTON COUNTY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REGIONAL CENTER 2301 Oakdale Blvd. 2192 Lexington Blvd. Coralville, Iowa 52241 Washington, Iowa 52353 319-887-3970 855-467-3900 BENTON COUNTY CENTER CEDAR COUNTY CENTER 111 W. 3rd St. 100 Alexander Dr., Suite 2 WORKPLACE LEARNING Vinton, Iowa 52349 Tipton, Iowa 52772 CONNECTION 866-424-5669 855-467-3900 2019 – 2020 AT A GLANCE Thank you to all our contributors, supporters, and volunteers! Workplace Learning Connection uses a diverse funding model that allows all partners to sustain their participation in an equitable manner. Whether a partners’ interest are student career development, future workforce development, or regional economic development, all funds provide age-appropriate career awareness and exploration services matching the mission of WLC and our partners. Funding the Connections… 2019 – 2020 Revenue Sources Kirkwood Community College (General Fund) $50,000 7% State and Federal Grants (Kirkwood: Perkins, WTED, IIG) $401,324 54% Grant Wood Area Education Agency $40,000 5% K through 12 School Districts Fees for Services $169,142 23% Contributions, County Supervisors, Local Grants $81,934 11% 18,683 Total $742,400 100% Student Experiences in FY20 WLC Financial Contributors Boards of Supervisors: Employer Contributions: Benton County Board of Supervisors Collins Aerospace Cedar County Board of Supervisors Green State Credit Union Iowa County Board of Supervisors Iowa City Press-Citizen – In-kind Johnson County Board of Supervisors MSI Moldbuilders Jones County Board of Supervisors Linn County Board of Supervisors Individual Contributors: Washington County Board of Supervisors United Way of East Central Iowa Mindy Thornton Community Foundations: Carmen and John Wasta Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa Laurel Worden Iowa County Community Foundation Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation WLC Responds to Growth and Challenges This year Workplace Learning Connection (WLC) worked diligently to address the ever-growing demand for work-based learning opportunities, as well as creating innovative service delivery solutions to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last eight years, WLC has seen job shadow requests increase by over 56%, with almost 3,500 job shadow requests coming through this school year alone. Internship requests have grown by 90% over that same time period, and the number of students involved in career events has grown by 26%. The WLC team, in collaboration with our community partners, pivoted to deliver new options and solutions in FY20 to meet that growing demand for work-based learning and create new virtual platforms to connect our students, educators and business community; wherever learning is happening. WLC expanded program offerings, created libraries of virtual resources, communicated in new ways with students, educators, business partners and parents. We found new ways to work together virtually, productively and with great perseverance. School year 2020-2021 will mark Workplace Learning Connection’s twenty-third year of intermediary service delivery to our region. WLC will be ready to do what we do best, convene the best program partners, connect educators and students to meaningful career exploration experiences, measure the impact of the work, and sustain high quality work-based learning for the years to come. We thank you sincerely for your support of our mission: Connecting Today’s Students to Tomorrow’s Careers! 1 BENTON COUNTY 6 Schools Belle Plaine Community School District Benton Community School District Vinton-Shellsburg Community School • Belle Plaine High School • Benton Community High School • Vinton-Shellsburg High School • Belle Plaine Middle School • Benton Community Middle School • Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School Business Hosts: Atkins Elementary School Eleanor Kathryn Photography Longfellow Elementary - Belle Plaine Belle Plaine Ambulance Service Ervin Motor Co. McClure Financial Services Belle Plaine Area Museum Frontier Co-Op - Norway Monkeythis Belle Plaine Hardware Garling Construction - Belle Plaine P&K Midwest - Keystone Belle Plaine High School Hair by Halle Realtime Writing-- Court Reporting/TV Captioning Belle Plaine Police Department Ideal Industries Sara Stuefen, DDS Benton County Attorney - David Thompson Iowa Mold & Engineering Inc. Thys Auto Group Benton County Conservation - Rodgers Park Iowa State University Extension and Tilford Elementary School Benton County Rural Access Center Outreach – Benton County Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School Benton Development Group Kaestner Team Virginia Gay Hospital Clickstop, Inc. Kromminga Motors - Vinton Edward's Plumbing & Heating LaGrange Pharmacy - Virginia Gay Hospital Number of Benton County Student Participants: TOTAL = 1,258 1,091 18 149 Benton County student career Events – Mock Interviews; Financial Internships Job Shadows exploration experiences Literacy Fairs; Speaker Days; Worksite Tours; Target Your Future; Career Fair “The job shadow really helped me see what type of mentality to have in the workplace, and what type of character businesses are looking for. I learned a lot about how technology is used in graphic design, photography and videography, and internet marketing.” − Jordan Andrews, Student – Vinton-Shellsburg High School “I love my job as a Real Estate agent so talking with young adults excited to hear about my career was fun. It’s awesome that Workplace Learning Connection is giving these young adults the opportunity to get an inside look at careers they’re interested in!” − Annie Kaestner, Real Estate Agent – Kaestner Real Estate Team “It's fun to just let them (students) know what's out there and get them interested. You've got to start now because you have to be ready once you get done as it's very competitive, especially with veterinary medicine to get into a program, so if you know ahead of time I think it's great.” − Dr. Kim Vercande – Best Friends Veterinary Care “Vinton-Shellsburg and Workplace Learning have partnered for many years as we work towards common goals of supporting our students so they are prepared for their futures AND that we continue to have a workforce in Iowa that can meet the many and diverse needs of the businesses, non-profits and other employers who serve Iowa. The experiences that WLC provide our students allow our students to see what is available in Benton County and the corridor.” − Mary Jo Hainstock, Superintendent – Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District 2 CEDAR COUNTY 6 Schools North Cedar Community School District Tipton Community School District West Branch Community School District • North Cedar High School • Tipton High School • West Branch High School • North Cedar Middle School • Tipton Middle School • West Branch Middle School Business Hosts: Altorfer, Inc. - West Branch Iowa State University Extension and Tipton Ambulance Service Bowtie Automotive Collision Outreach - Cedar County Tipton Chamber of Commerce/Economic Cedar County Attorney JJ Nichting Development Office Cedar County Co-Op, Tipton Kirkwood Academy Johnson County Tipton Elementary School Cedar Manor Nursing Home Little Lights on the Lane Tipton Fire & Rescue Cedar Ridge Dental McCreedy Ruth Construction, LLC Tipton Greenhouse and Florist Chapman Funeral Homes Mercy Family Medicine of Tipton Tipton Police Department City of Tipton Mosier Seed Supply Inc Tipton Structural Fabrication - Tipton Clarence Main Street Office Niles Chiropractic Clinic Tipton Veterinary Service Clarence Senior Living North Cedar Junior/Senior High School U of I - Radiation Services Community Insurance Services Nutrien Ag Solutions UnityPoint Clinic Family Medicine - Tipton Crestview Speciality Care P&K Midwest - Lowden US Air Force - Cedar Rapids Crist Electrical Services Prairie Hills Assisted Living USDA Cedar County Soil and Cummins Manufacturing, Inc. Progressive Rehab. Assoc., LLC - Tipton Water Conservation Dist Esbeck Masonry River Valley Cooperative Wal-Mart-Tipton Hermsen Automotive RPM Revival West Branch Animal Clinic Hoover Elementary School - West Branch Tipton Adaptive Daycare West Branch Ford Number of Cedar County Student Participants: TOTAL = 795 602 35 158 Cedar County student career Events – Mock Interviews; Financial Internships Job Shadows exploration experiences Literacy Fairs; Speaker Days; Worksite Tours; Target Your Future; Career Fair “My favorite part of my internship experience was getting to work with many different people and seeing what it was like to work in a clinic “behind the scenes.” I also enjoyed working with all the different animals and really pinpointing what animals I enjoy working with. Time spent at my internships benefited me, I started to learn skills and terms that are used around the clinic and I could see myself going to college for a career in this field. After my internship, I was hired at the clinic, working after school where I clean and assist doing various tasks. It has changed my future, I was told that I will have a job waiting for me when I graduate college.” − Mariah Behrens, Student – North Cedar High School “I really enjoyed interacting with