North Carolina Business Committee For Education Inc

THE ORGANIZATION CONSISTS OF BUSINESS THROUGHOUT NORTH CAROLINA WHO SHARE A COMMON DESIRE TO IMPROVE THE PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM.

NC STUDENT CONNECT WORKS TO ADDRESS BROADBAND GAPS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO LIGHT DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. AS PART OF A LARGER INITIATIVE, NCBCE HOSTED A SERIES OF REMOTE LEARNING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCES FOR EDUCATORS: REMOTE EDUCATION AND LEARNING (REAL), REAL 2.0, STEM CONNECT, AND CULTURAL ARTS LIVE.

THE NAVIGATOR IS A FREE TOOL FOR EDUCATORS TO SHOP FOR WORK-BASED LEARNING RESOURCES, INCLUDING GUEST SPEAKERS, INTERNSHIPS, WORKSITE TOURS, AND APPRENTICESHIPS. THROUGH THIS VIRTUAL TOOLBOX, WE ARE BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIERS THAT SEPARATE EDUCATION FROM EMPLOYMENT, ENABLING EDUCATORS TO BETTER-INTEGRATE WORK-BASED LEARNING RESOURCES INTO THEIR CLASSROOMS, AND GIVING EMPLOYERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GROW THEIR TALENT PIPELINE. THE PLATFORM ALLOWS EMPLOYERS TO TRACK ENGAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS AND EDUCATORS THE ABILITY TO COLLECT WORK-BASED LEARNING DATA. THE NAVIGATOR WAS DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FIDELITY INVESTMENTS.

REMOTE LEARNING WORKING GROUP: A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, NCBCE CONVENED REPRESENTATIVES FROM BUSINESS, EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT, AND NONPROFITS TO DEVELOP SHORT-TERM CONNECTIVITY STRATEGIES FOR REMOTE LEARNING. THROUGH THIS WORK, NCBCE RAISED GRANT FUNDING TO SUPPORT REMOTE LEARNING IN RURAL DISTRICTS AND ASSISTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NC STUDENT CONNECT, WHICH HAS CONNECTED OVER 83,000 STUDENTS WITH HIGH-SPEED INTERNET. THE WORK CONTINUES TO ADDRESS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AMONG K-12 STUDENTS.

TEACHER-BASED PROGRAMS: 1. THE GOVERNOR'S EDUCATOR DISCOVERY AWARD IS A CRITICAL PIECE IN BUILDING AND MAINTAINING STRONG TEACHERS BY PROVIDING THEM WITH HIGH-QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. THE GOVERNORS EDUCATOR DISCOVERY AWARD RECOGNIZES EXEMPLARY AND INNOVATIVE TEACHERS AND PROVIDES THEM WITH MONETARY STIPENDS TO COVER THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SELECTED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES. THREE TEACHERS RECEIVE THE AWARD EACH QUARTER. 2. TEACHERS@WORK IS A STATEWIDE PROGRAM THAT REMOVES BARRIERS BETWEEN EDUCATORS AND INDUSTRY THROUGH SUMMER EXTERNSHIPS, PUTTING EDUCATORS INSIDE LOCAL BUSINESSES FOR A FIRST-HAND LOOK AT SKILLS NEEDED TO EXCEL IN TODAY'S PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENTS. THIS SUMMER, 12 EXTERNS ARE AT A TOTAL OF NINE INDUSTRY PARTNERS IN NASH/EDGECOMBE COUNTIES. STUDENT-BASED PROGRAMS: 1. STUDENTS@WORK IS A CAREER AWARENESS PROGRAM, HELD BY GUBERNATORIAL PROCLAMATION, INTRODUCES MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ACROSS THE STATE TO BUSINESSES AND CAREERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. STUDENTS ARE HOSTED, (ONSITE OR VIRTUAL) BY LOCAL EMPLOYERS TO LEARN ABOUT CAREER PATHWAYS IN REAL- WORLD, BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS. CAREER AWARENESS IS A CRITICAL FIRST STEP IN ADDING RELEVANCY TO ACADEMICS AND POSITIONING STUDENTS TO SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATE COURSE SELECTION AND CAREER PATHWAYS. MANY STUDENTS ARE UNAWARE OF THE MULTITUDE OF CAREERS AVAILABLE WITHIN THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND STUDENTS@WORK HELPS BRIDGE THIS GAP. ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS: 1. LINC-IT, (LINKING INCLUSION FOR INNOVATIVE TALENT), ADDRESSES THE HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (86%) OF INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) AND EMPLOYERS NEED FOR HIGHLY INTELLIGENT, LOYAL, DETAIL-ORIENTED WORKERS IN STEM FIELDS. INDIVIDUALS ON THE SPECTRUM REPRESENT NEURODIVERSITY AND ENHANCE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THEIR EXISTING WORKFORCE. LINC-IT USES A FOUR- STEP PROCESS: RECRUITMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, EMPLOYABILITY AND TECHNICAL SKILLS TRAINING, INTERNSHIP, THEN A JOB. THIS PROGRAM HAS HAD 43 INTERNS WORKING WITH 16 EMPLOYERS WITH 97% OF INTERNS GETTING FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT. 2. TECH TEAM: THE NC STUDENT CONNECT TECH TEAM IS A COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK AND TOOLKIT FOR NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS TO ACCESS RESOURCES FOR STARTING, IMPLEMENTING, AND SCALING A STUDENT TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT DESK. SINCE LAUNCH IN 2020, FIVE PILOT DISTRICTS HAVE DEVELOPED PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT DEVICES IN THE DISTRICT AND GIVE STUDENTS VALUABLE WORK-BASED LEARNING AND CREDENTIAL ATTAINMENT. 3. READY, SET, APP: READY, SET, APP IS A STATEWIDE INITIATIVE THAT CHALLENGES STUDENTS IN GRADES 9-12 FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA TO CREATE AN ANDROID MOBILE APP TO ADDRESS OR SOLVE A PROBLEM IN THEIR SCHOOL OR COMMUNITY. READY, SET, APP FOCUSES ON THREE PRIMARY PILLARS: MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT, PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND INTERPERSONAL AND SOFT SKILLS DEVELOPMENT. THE COMPETITION IS SPONSORED BY LENOVO. 4. NC EDUCATOR DRONE COHORT: THE STATEWIDE EDUCATOR DRONE COHORT ENABLES REMOTE PILOTING WITHIN THE CLASSROOM. EDUCATORS USE TELLO DRONES AND DRONEBLOCKS TO TEACH STUDENTS DRONE PILOTING. THIS YEAR, THE COHORT COMPLETED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON DRONE PILOTING IN THE CLASSROOM, CONNECTIONS TO CAREERS, AND A DRONE COMPETITION FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS. THE NC EDUCATOR DRONE COHORT WILL RECONVENE THIS FALL. 5. WORK-BASED LEARNING POLICY ACADEMY - CAREER LAUNCH: NCBCE IS LEADING NORTH CAROLINAS PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION WORK- BASED LEARNING POLICY ACADEMY AS A LEADER STATE. THIS WORK WILL FOCUS DEVELOPING CRITERIA AND COMMUNICATIONS PLANS FOR NC CAREER LAUNCH - HIGH- QUALITY WORK-BASED LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT INCLUDE CERTIFICATIONS OR ACADEMIC CREDIT FOR STUDENTS. IN 2021, WORK BEGAN TO LAUNCH INNOVATIVE PILOTS ACROSS THE STATE, WITH THE SOLAR CLEAN ENERGY YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM IN HALIFAX COUNTY. 6. EXPERIENCE MORE: SINCE 2017, NCBCE HAS BEEN LEADING NORTH CAROLINAS EFFORTS TO EXPAND, PILOT, AND PROMOTE WORK-BASED LEARNING AND TO PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO EMPLOYERS AND LOCAL EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE PARTNERS. NCBCE CONTINUES TO BUILD OUT THE EXPERIENCE MORE SITE: WWW.EXPERIENCEMORENC.COM WHICH PROVIDES TOOLKITS, DEFINITIONS, AND STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYERS TO SUPPORT WORK-BASED LEARNING PROGRAMS AND HIGHLIGHTS QUALITY PROGRAMS ACROSS THE STATE.