Bridges - Summer 2013

7/27/2019 Bridges - Summer 2013

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PUBLISHED QUARTERLY

BY THE COMMUNITY

DEvELOPMENT

DEPARTMENT OF

THE FEDERAL RESERvE

BANK OF ST. LOUIS

L i n k i n g L e n d e r s A n d C o m m u n i t i e s summer 2013

Bridges w w w . s t l o u i s f e d . o r g

52Yearning to Breathe Free:Empowering Immigrants

in Louisville

Creative Placemaking:Strategically Shaping the

Character o a Community 7Saving Up or College, Gear-ing Up or Success: A Holistic

Strategy or Increasing Access

to Higher Education

By Jeanne C. Marra

On Tuesdays andThursdays, RankenTechnical Colleges

Carpentry & Building Con-struction Technology studentsare seated in a classroomlearning the tools o the tradeor building houses. The otherthree days o the week, rain

or shine, they learn in theirvirtual laba house they arebuilding two blocks away.They are pouring ounda-tions, raming bedrooms and,eventually, laying ceramic tilein what will soon become aamilys kitchen. By the timethey graduate, Ranken students

have a brick-and-mortar porto-lio that showcases a brand-newsingle-amily home, cratedrom their newound skills andguided by veteran expertise.

Fulflling an Economic Need

Through Middle-Skill Labor

Since 1907, the mission atRanken Technical College inSt. Louis has been to trainskilled workers or the regionby preparing students orcareers in trade, technical andskilled-service occupations.

With its roots in mechani-cal trades, todays Ranken,

which oers bachelors degrees,associate degrees and certicateprograms, is equally known orits technical achievements andstate-o-the-art technologiesthat keep students abreast othe latest marketplace needs.During this period o unstableeconomy and at a time when

the value o traditional highereducation is being questioned,Ranken claims its graduatesare still in high demand, as evi-denced by its 96 to 98 percent

job-placement rate within sixmonths o graduation.

The reason or Rankensimpressive success? We trainpeople or the middle-skilllevels, says John Wood, vicepresident or student successat the college. According to

Wood, this middle-skill levelwas traditionally supportedprimarily by baby boomers,

who are now retiring in greatnumbers. Rankens educationalapproach helps ll the gapsresulting rom such vacanciesand keeps many technical jobsin the United States, Woodsays. Not only that, but thesetrades are traditionally reces-sion-proo, he adds. Accord-

ing to a December 2012 articlein Harvard Business Review,middle-skill jobs are expected

From Graduation Caps to Hard Hats:Ranken Technical College Students Learn Hands-On

Workorce Skills While Building Stronger Communities

continued on Page 4

TOP: Almost market-ready, tis newly com-pleted ouse sold even beore it was listed,in May 2013. BOTTOM: Rankens Carpentry& Buildin Construction Tecnoloy stu-dents receive ands-on expert trainin onall staes o omebuildin projectsromramin to fnisin.

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Creative Placemaking:Strategically Shaping theCharacter o a Community

By Jeremy Nowak

ArtPlace America is acollaboration o 13national and regional

oundations and six nationalbanks whose purpose is topromote creative placemak-

ingdened as placing art andculture at the center o commu-nity and economic renewal.

There are great exampleso creative placemakingthroughout urban and rural

Americain emerging culturaldistricts, in the use o peror-mances and art installations to

animate public spaces, and inthe re-use o old inrastructureto promote creative enterpriseand community-based art. Atits best, creative placemakingacilitates social inclusion, con-nects disparate communitiesand contributes to the overallvibrancy o a place.

In historical terms, creativeplacemaking has emergedduring the past 30 years at theintersection o our practicesand perspectives: 1) an empha-sis on creating quality publicspaces; 2) local communityand economic developmenteorts; 3) a better apprecia-

tion o the regional economicimportance o art and culture;and 4) recognition o the com-petitive value o creativity, asexpressed through the ameni-

ties we build and the humancapital we enable.

From its inception, ArtPlaceAmerica was conceived as apartnership with the NationalEndowment or the Arts (NEA).Under the leadership o ormerNEA Chairman Rocco Landes-

man, creative placemakingbecame an important NEAtheme. This was refected inthe Our Town grant-makingprogram and in eorts to rallysupport or creative placemak-ing through other domesticprograms, rom the Depart-ment o Housing and Urban

Development to the Depart-ment o Agriculture and manyothers. The organizationcontinues to work with publicagencies at the ederal and locallevels, advocating or a creativeplacemaking perspective.

In its rst three years, Art-Place America has built national

momentum by: distributing $42 million

in grants in its rst threerounds o grant-making;

raising a $12-million loanund rom nancial institu-tions (managed by NonprotFinance Fund USA);

launching a national research

eort around neighborhoodvibrancy and diversity; highlighting Americas 12

most creative communities,based on the vibrancy index;

initiating the rst nationalcreative placemaking summit(Miami, January 2013); and

creating a policy dialogue inWashington, D.C., and manyother localities around theuse o public resources tosupport creative placemaking.

ArtPlace America exists toenable the multi-eld integra-tion already happening in

American cities and towns, aswell as to encourage or inspirenew experiments in the eld.

We are unding a movementled by an extraordinary groupo practitioners and visionary

leaders. We unction as theinnovation channel or mem-ber oundations and banks,identiying projects that meetcreative placemaking criteriaand providing the fexiblemoney they need to succeed.

At the root o creative place-making is a belie that artistic

and cultural practices shouldnot be separated rom many othe unctions o everyday lie,including how we und mucho our public inrastructure and

commercial lie. So what doesthis look like on the ground?

The diversity o ArtPlaceAmerica projects is remarkableand the demand or its grantresources ar outpaces whatthe organization can support.The grants made thus ar (more

than $42 million) represent134 separate grants to 124organizations in more than 80communities rom a pool oover 3,200 applications overthe three grant rounds.

At times, a creative place-making project brings attentionto uture development possibili-

ties. This was true in the caseo the Washington, D.C., Artand Culture Temporiums. TheD.C. Temporium selected keyvacant lots and underutilizedspaces or a wide variety ocurated, temporary art instal-lations. This project broughtattention and excitement to

communities that requirelonger-term, more sustainedrenewal eorts.

In other instances, creativeplacemaking animates a public

Piladelpias Te Porc at 30t St. Station, now a welcomin plaza wit perormances and

a ca atmospere | imae courtesy o University City District

L I N K I N G L E N D E R S A N D C O M M U N I T I E S#

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TOP: Leendary Stax Records in Soulsville USA| imae courtesy o Mempis Music ManetMIDDLE: Renderin o te Broad Avenue Water

Tower Depot in Mempis | imae courtesy oBroad Avenue Arts District; created by Fuss& ONeillBOTTOM: Workers transorm a derelict buildinin Nort St. Louis | imae courtesy o RebuildFoundation

space through design, pub-lic art and civic engagement,bringing to lie places thatseemed hidden rom view orsimply soulless. PhiladelphiasThe Porch at 30th Street Sta-tion is a terric case in point.Beore it became The Porch,a welcoming plaza with peror-mances and a ca atmosphere,it was a nondescript entry pointto one o the busiest train sta-tions in the nation.

Or consider new eortsin Milwaukee, where three

communities are teaming upto rebuild a ormer rail cor-ridor. Creational Trails willuse interactive art, light andsound pieces to create a senseo connectivity among commu-nities that were geographicallyproximate but psychologicallyand socially disconnected.

ArtPlace America is und-ing several projects in theEighth Federal Reserve District,including the ollowing:

South on Main by The Oxord

American Little Rock, Ark.

The Oxord American hascreated a home or diverse

live-arts programming andood that uses regional distinc-tiveness as its ocus in LittleRocks burgeoning South MainStreet (SoMa) distr ict. Thespace, which opened in May2013, includes a restaurantrun by che Matthew Bell thatserves up rened Southern

cuisine alongside nightly cul-tural programming, includingthe best o Southern literature,music, lm, art and drama.

Memphis Music Magnet @

Soulsville USA by Community

LIFT and Memphis Symphony

Orchestra Memphis, Tenn.

Working together, Com-munity LIFT and the MemphisSymphony have collaboratedto hold concerts in Soulsville,the home o legendary StaxRecords, which has attractednew people to the historiccommunity. It has also put thesymphony on stage with a vari-ety o dierent genres o music,including gospel choirs and

the North Mississippi Allstars.The blending o genres and thediverse audiences are contribut-ing to the renewal o Soulsvillewhile also creating a new pur-pose or the orchestra.

Broad Avenue Water Tower

Depot by Binghampton

Development Corp. and HistoricBroad Business Association

Memphis, Tenn.

Binghampton DevelopmentCorp. and Historic Broad Busi-ness Association will transorman active warehouse loadingdock on historic Broad Avenueinto an outdoor arts venue,

convert a 140-oot water towerinto an iconic public art beaconand activate The Water TowerDepot with eight weekends ocommunity dance, ollowed byeight months o community-based programming.

Rebuild in North St. Louis

by Rebuild Foundation St. Louis, Mo.

Led by internationallyrenowned artist and cre-ative placemaker Theaster

Gates, Rebuild Foundationwill expand its revitalizationwork in the North St. Louisneighborhood o Hyde Park bytransorming a vacant build-ing and adjacent lot into anarts- and design-centric urbanamenity. Activated by diverseprogramming and developed inpartnership with the commu-nity, this project will includeThe Listening Room, whichwill share archives o blackmusic with the neighborhood;a cultural ood program; an

artist-led orum on neighbor-hood public space; and anincubator or local cratsmenand artistic entrepreneurs.

Projects such as these ll avoid in our national develop-ment vocabulary. One o thechallenges o ArtPlace is to

draw attention to this void inan armative way by support-ing great projects. ArtPlace

Americas work can help usrerame how we plan, createand implement developmentthrough the body o workwe support, and through ourability to highlight the ways

aesthetic, civic and economiccomponents come together toredene place. In a nation thatis re-thinking how and whetherit invests in inrastructureand that prides itsel on innova-tioncreative placemaking is apowerul idea.

Jeremy Nowak is the interimdirector o ArtPlace America(www.artplaceamerica.org) inChicago, Ill.

ONLINE ONLY

https://www.stlouisfed.org/bsr/

EI_CDAudioConference/index.

cfm?proc=call&act=view&sid=5

Listen to an audioconference:

Transforming

Communities Through

Creative Placemaking

O n t h e i n t e r n e t a t w w w . s t l O u i s f e d . O r g#

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Graduation Caps

to Hard Hatscontinued rom Page 1

to stand the test o time. Inact, some labor market expertsestimate that as many as 25million, or 47 percent, o allnew job openings rom 2010 to2020 will all into the middle-skills range.

James McNichols, who gradu-ated rom Ranken in 2004 andreturned in 2009 as a acultyinstructor in the carpentry

department, says a key dier-ence in the schools approach isits hands-on technical experi-ence. This innovative approachprovides complete job trainingthat meets all o the expecta-

tions employers would have ortheir employees, says McNich-ols. He describes several o thesot-skills eatures that compriseRankens grading system, suchas attendance, appearance andwork ethicsskills studentsdont always ully appreciateuntil they see how benecialthese traits are later on. Whenstudents graduate and go outinto the real world, they comeback and tell us they appreciatethese standards.

Building Neighbors, One

House at a Time

While students and employ-ers value the skills trainingRanken provides, neighborsundoubtedly benet rom the50-plus new single-amilyresidences that have helpedrevitalize the North St. Louis

city neighborhood that sur-rounds the school. With theestablishment and support othe Ranken Community Devel-opment Corporation (RCDC)in 1994, students and acultyacross numerous disciplinesrom architecture, carpentryand plumbing to HVAC, electri-

cal and nish workuse theirskills to build new, aordablehomes or low- and moderate-income residents that replacethe vacant, deteriorating andabandoned homes commonto the area. Students do 100percent o what their trade is,explains Wood.

Mindul o tying trainingto evolving workorce needs,Rankens homebuilding pro-gram has changed over theyears since its inception in the

90s. Refecting the needs othe day, our houses were builteach year back then, whenthe construction industry wasquickly building subdivisions,and the college highlightedraming work as a key job skillwhile partnering with otherentities or dierent kinds owork. Today, with much othe need shiting to rehabbingand remodeling, the workorcedemands a greater depth onishing skills; as a result,students work on one project

rom start to nish, developinga uller range o expertise, andtypically build only one houseper year. In addition, thereis a trend toward green tech-nologytodays homes meet

the returns speak or them-selves. This is not a protableventure, Wood explains. Wewill spend more than whatwe can sell or, especially inthis economy. The motive orsuch an undertaking? Theresno better laboratory or ourstudents, Wood says. Not onlythat, but the program is goodor the neighboring communityas well. No one else is buyingvacant property and redevelop-ing it, Wood adds.

Microenterprises Help Students

Earn While They Learn

Further marrying its work-orce development approach toregional and student employ-ment needs, Ranken established

Ranken says graduates are still in high

demand, as evidenced by its 96 to 98percent job-placement rate within six

months o graduation.

2013 energy standards, andstudents are learning advancedtechniques that were not evenavailable a decade ago.

Initial unding or the homescomes primarily throughprivate construction loans,although the school has soughtsubsidies and grants andeagerly seeks partnerships toderay costs. We are alwayslooking or partners to workwith, says Wood. I a Lowes

or Home Depot came along andasked us what we would need, Icould literally hand them a list.

Although the educationalapproach is an investment,

a microenterprise programin which students can earnboth academic credit and anincome through employment

with microbusinesses locatedon campus. Two participatingcompanies include bioMer-ieux, which hires students toassemble and test the electricaland mechanical components ohigh-tech lab equipment, and

Jim Moran & Associates (JM&AGroup), which pays students to

help support the call center orits national automotive extendedwarranty service. Other compa-nies are partnering with Rankenor manuacturing operations,

Ranken students appreciate workin at oneo several microenterprise businesses oncampus, wic oer on-site employmentand academic credit.

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Yearning to Breathe Free:Empowering Immigrants in Louisville

By Edgardo Mansilla

Americana CommunityCenter (ACC) is anonprot organization

in Louisville, Ky. Foundedin 1990 in response to thecitys growing oreign-bornpopulation, the organizationsprograms have grown to serve

more than 5,000 individualseach year, representing thoseborn in the U.S. and in 92other countries. Multiacetedprograms are oered, creatingan inclusive environment thatpromotes educational growthand community involvement.

Adults come to ACC to

improve their English, prepareto take the GED exam, receiveree income tax assistance,tend a plot in the commu-nity garden or even study tobecome a U.S. citizen. Chil-dren have a wide variety ooptions as well. Out-o-schoolprograms oer academic assis-

tance, creative arts and recre-ation programs. Communityevents and an annual estivalhelp celebrate the diversity oLouisvilles neighborhoods.

ACCs Family EducationProgram provides comprehen-sive services to reugee andimmigrant amilies to support

their successul integration.This program educates andinorms parents, supportingthem in achieving academicand lie goals, while simulta-

neously ocusing on schoolpreparedness or their chil-dren. It is based on a nation-ally recognized amily literacymodel, tailored to meet theneeds o a multiculturalpopulation. The programaddresses a phenomenon thatis common in immigrant ami-liesthe children pick up the

language and culture muchaster than the parents, whichcan disrupt the traditionalamily structure. Using ACCsapproach, the whole am-ily learns together, restoringthe parents role as primaryeducators. Participants havethe opportunity to work with

a amily coach who assiststhe parents (amily leaders)in creating goals, connectingto community resources andovercoming barriers to eco-nomic sel-suciency.

In ACCs program, a goalcan be anything that a amilyleader views as central to the

success and stability o theiramily. Parents have set goalsor employment, homeown-ership, completing a GEDor learning English. Someparents may nd themselvesin a crisis situation due tonancial or domestic instabil-ity, but coaching is structured

to help parents re-establishstability through access tocommunity resources, supportand advocacy. Participants inthis program have achieved

signicant goals, includinghomeownership, saving ortheir childrens uture educa-tion and advancing out o thehighest English as a SecondLanguage (ESL) class to beginwork on their GED.

The coaching relationshipis built through mutual trustand respect. The amily coach

does not create a plan or whata amily should do, but asksparents what they want orthe uture o their amily andwhat they need in order to getthere. Coaching is based onthe undamental principle thatevery individual is endowedwith the capacity to make the

best decisions or themselvesand their amilies. Coacheshelp to provide the educa-tion and access necessary oramilies to enact their plan oruture success and to remove

leading the college to renovateexisting space to accommodategrowing opportunities.

The microenterprise programis an especially big hit withstudents, who appreciate theopportunity to gain practicalskills and earn money withouthaving to leave campus. Weknow students always needmoney, says Wood. Thedicult part is their travel to

jobs and cost o transportation.This program allows them tohave a part-time job that is

close to their work and school.Employers, and ultimately

their communities, benetas well, by hiring Rankensecient, skilled workorce orlabor that not only meets theirbusiness needs but retains

jobs that might have otherwiseshited overseas.

For more inormation onRanken Technical College inSt. Louis, see www.ranken.edu.

Jeanne C. Marra is a seniorcommunity development specialistat the Federal Reserve Bank oSt. Louis.

ONLINE ONLY

www.stlouisfed.org/

publications/br

See a photo gallery from Ranken

Technical College online.

continued on Page 6

ACCs Yout Prorams create lielon

riendsips and build sel-confdence.

O n t h e i n t e r n e t a t w w w . s t l O u i s f e d . O r g#5


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barriers to reaching theirgoals. When a parent is givenknowledge and access, theyare no longer put in a positionwhere they must rely on othersor their success; instead theyare responsible or their ownachievements. Through thisprocess, they are empowered tomeet their goals and share theirsuccess with others. FamilyCoaching creates a coalition o

community leaders rom variousethnic backgrounds who sharethe knowledge and resourcesgained rom Family Educationthroughout their communities,extending the reach o ACCsprograms. Future plans includesecuring unding or a secondull-time amily coach to work

with the amilies o Youth Pro-gram participants as well.

Success stories are beingwritten each and every day at

ACC. A youth participant whois struggling with behavioralissues at school and home ndshis place as part o the ACCsoccer team, building sel-con-

dence and positive behaviorskills with the support o hiscoach and teammates. Threereugee amilies rom Burmabecome rst-time homebuyersthrough the Family CoachingProgram and spread the knowl-edge they gained throughouttheir community. A partnership

recently ormed with Spald-ing University provides mentalhealth services to ACC partici-pants at no cost, which is espe-cially critical or building amily

resilience and coping skills asmany clients have experiencedtrauma in their country o ori-gin or reugee camp.

A ormer Youth Program par-ticipant recently wrote a thankyou letter to ACC. When Ilook at where I am today andwhen Im able to refect on thekind o lie it has been, I canthelp but recognize the role thatthe Community Center hasplayed in it, she wrote. I was11 years old when the Cen-ter became a part o my lie; I

grew up with it and, in manyways, through it. Americana iswhere I opened my rst e-mailaddress. Its where I spentcountless hours working onhomework, attending healthclasses, speaker series and artclasses. I was introduced tovarious cultures and, most o

all, to other kids I could relateto and amilies much like myown. Americana is where Iormed some o the greatestriendships o my lie and Icouldnt imagine my lie with-out these same relationships.

My rst job was also withthe Community Center as a

counselor at their annual sum-mer camp. When it came timeto start thinking about college,I began the search with Ameri-cana by going on various col-lege visits. Today, Ive recentlynished my masters degreeand have joined the workingworld. I thank the Center or

the consistently positive role itplayed in my lie. Thank youor doing what you can or acommunity that needed it thenand needs it now.

ACC flls a unique niche in

the community, serving the

newest residents alongside

those who have called Louis-

ville home or years. The pro-

grams oered give participants

the tools they need or successso they can achieve their ull

potential and contribute posi-

tively to the community. Part-

nerships are utilized in order to

maximize the service provided

and stretch program dollars

urther. For instance, Jeerson

County Public Schools provides

the instructors and resourcesor ACCs adult education

classes. The organization relies

on the support o grants and

private donations to und the

rest o its work.

To learn more about ACC,

how to donate or to become

involved through volunteering,

please visit www.americanacc.org or fnd them on Facebook

or Twitter.

Edgardo Mansilla

is a native o

Buenos Aires,

Argentina. He

frst came to

Louisville, Ky.,

in 1990 on a

scholarship to

study social work.

He is a social worker, executive

director o the Americana Com-

munity Center (ACC) and part-time

proessor at the University o

Louisville, Kent School o Social

Work and at Bellarmine University.

Mansilla works extensively in southLouisville; however, his biggest

challenge and goal in the city is to

have an international voice in meet-

ings where the decision-making

process is done. He holds a mas-

ters degree in social work rom

the Carver School o Church Social

Work as well as a masters in theol-

ogy. He is a graduate o Focus

Louisville, Leadership o Louisville

and Neighborhood Leadership;he was also a Bingham Fellow.

Mansilla has received numerous

awards or his work and serves on

many boards and commissions.

In October 2012 he was inducted

into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall

o Fame. He is a member o the

Community Development Advisory

Council (CDAC) or the Federal

Reserve Bank o St. Louis.

CDAC members are experts in

community and economic devel-

opment and fnancial education.

They complement the inormation

developed through outreach by the

Districts Community Development

sta and suggest ways that the

Bank might support local eorts.

A list o current members is avail-

able at www.stlouised.org/commu-

nity_development.

CDAC MEMBER SPOTLIghT Empowering Immigrantscontinued rom Page 5

A moter and er dauter work side byside in ACCs community arden.



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Saving Up or College, GearingUp or Success: A Holistic Strategy

or Increasing Access to Higher EducationBy Johanna Gruenewald

As the cost o collegeattendance continuesto rise and the avail-

ability o grants and scholar-ships simultaneously dwindles,higher education has become

less accessible to those whoare unable to shoulder theexpense. (See Figure 1.) Childdevelopment accounts (CDAs),however, represent a promis-ing tool or moderating suchnancial barriers.

Similar to individual devel-opment accounts, CDAs are

savings accounts specicallydesignated or postsecondaryeducation. A substantial bodyo research supports the eec-tiveness o CDAs in acilitatingboth college enrollment and

completion, with particularlysignicant implications or low-income students.1 Althoughthese accounts are not new,emerging collaborationbetween CDA initiatives andcollege access programmingoers an exciting opportunity

to provide students with thesocial and nancial resourcesnecessary to make the prospecto higher education a reality.

Traditional Models

Traditionally, CDAs havebeen distributed through threeprimary channels. First, states

oer 529 college savings plans,which allow resident amiliesto set aside unds or postsec-ondary education. While theseaccounts have been instrumen-tal in providing households

with tax-advantaged savingsopportunities, they remainlargely underutilized by low-income amilies.

The second avenue throughwhich CDAs have been admin-istered is community-basedorganizations, many o which

have attempted to make theaccounts more inclusive byusing ederal grant dollars tooer matching incentives toincome-eligible individuals.Though many such initiativeshave demonstrated success,their voluntary nature hasproven to limit widespread

participation.The third and most recently

developed delivery method isthrough cities. In 2010, theSan Francisco Oce o Finan-cial Empowerment deviseda strategy to circumvent theopt-in problem associated withvoluntary programs by admin-

istering CDAs to all kinder-gartners in the public schoolsystem.2 This eort is too newto warrant conclusions regard-ing its eectiveness.

An Innovative Approach

Growing enthusiasm orCDA programs in the pastseveral years has sparked con-tinued innovation in service-delivery methods. In 2011, theU.S. Department o Education(DOE) announced an invita-

tional priority to support themerger o CDAs into GainingEarly Awareness and Readinessor Undergraduate Programs(GEAR UP), a ederal collegeaccess program.3 Intended toprovide early intervention ser-vices, GEAR UP oers grantsto states and organizationalpartnerships or the purposeo establishing local projectstargeted at low-income middleand high school students.The mission o GEAR UP is toincrease rates o high school

graduation as well as collegepreparedness, participation andcompletion through supportservices such as mentoring,tutoring, academic and nan-cial counseling, and applica-tion assistance. The recentinclusion o savings accountswas primarily in response to

research at the University oKansas and at WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis thatlinks CDAs to improved educa-tional outcomes.

At the end o the 2011granting cycle, there were 66new GEAR UP grantees, 42o which proposed to oer

savings accounts to projectparticipants. Due to the greatinterest demonstrated by appli-cants, the DOE subsequentlyannounced plans to conduct anational research demonstra-tion. Washington UniversitysCenter or Social Development,in collaboration with globalresearch rm Abt Associates,will lead the eort to determinethe eects o incorporating

60

50

40

30

20

10

0Friends/Relatives

Low-income family

Grants/Scholarships Student/ParentBorrowing

Student/ParentSaving

5%3%

36%

21%24% 23%

36%

52%

Percentage

ofcollege

expenses

covered

High-income family

continued on Page 11

FIgURE 1 | Sources o Funding by Income Level

SOURCE: ttps://www.salliemae.com/assets/Core/ow-America-pays/howAmericaPays2012.pd



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FRESH PERSPECTIVES IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Innovative State Partnerships Inuence the

Creation o More-Efcient Certifcate ProgramsBy Garrett Jackson

Technology-drivenbusinesses in the 21stcentury are being met

with a growing skills gap atthe middle and top o the

labor market. Until recently,response to this economicthreat has been mixed, withmany workorce boards, busi-nesses and educational institu-tions working in a vacuum toaddress this concern. How-ever, viable solutions are nowbeing realized in the orm o

place. Both entry-level andexperienced workers, whoare looking to improve theirmarketability and resiliencyin the economy, are turning tocontextualized basic education,online learning and compe-

tency-based education.1 Theseprograms are preparing stu-dents with skills that requirethe application o judgment...such as analytical skills,problem-solving skills, criticalthinking skills and the like,according to Federal ReserveBank o Atlanta President

ing qualies someone to doaccounting work, etc.). Increas-ingly, employers are no longermaking that assumption andare helping to retool certicateprograms in partnership witheducational institutions, work-

orce boards and other organi-zations. These eorts speciycerticate curriculum and pro-gram duration, and broaden theuse o student testing, whichmight create a new norm in theworkorce development pipelineor how adult basic education(ABE) students secure good-

paying jobs. While these newprograms buck the conven-tional theory that students areprepared when they achieve theinstitutionally required credithours, these eorts could createa win-win or employers andpotential employees.

Flexible State ABE ProgramsAddress Completion and Skill

Attainment

The National PostsecondaryEducation Cooperative (NPEC)reported in 2012 that thenumber o two-year sub-bac-calaureate certicates awardedat both public and private TitleIV institutions totaled 663,177persons in the 2010-2011 aca-demic yearan increaseo 9.4 percent rom the 2009-2010 academic year. (See

Figure 1.)2 The trend showshealthy growth in the numbero certicates awarded, butissues still remain. Hal o thestudents entering two-year

colleges are placed in remedialcourses, 30 percent do notbother showing up and lessthan 10 percent actually gradu-ate in less than three years.3

Several states respondedto this trend by using a newmodel o embedding ABEmaterial within technical-education classes taught atthe postsecondary level orpostsecondary credit. The newmodel increases the relevancyo classes and completion o

FIgURE 1 |Total Sub-baccalaureate

Certifcates Awarded 20082011

More and more educators arere-evaluating the curriculum requirementsor certifcate programs to accommodatean ever-evolving global marketplace.

SOURCE: US Department o Education,

National Center or Education Statistics,Interated Postsecondary Education DataSystem, Fall 2011, Completions Compo-nent (Preliminary Data)

state-level partnerships thatmaximize the resources o each

organization, streamlining cer-ticate programs that preparestudents or todays jobs.

Preparing Workers or

21st-Century Jobs: Retooling

Curriculum

More and more educatorsat institutions that teach adultand nontraditional students arere-evaluating the curriculumrequirements or certicateprograms to accommodate anever-evolving global market-

and CEO Dennis P. Lockhart.These certicate programs

oten take less time to completeand ocus more precisely onsubject matter that is importantto employers, thus prepar-ing workers quickly and moreeciently or 21st-century jobs.Some innovative state partner-ships are leading the charge inthese initiatives.

At one time, hiring managerscould assume that a studentscourse completion refected amastery o the course material(e.g., a certicate in account-



9/12

A native o

Mitchellville, Md.,

Garrett Jackson

recently com-

pleted a six-monthinternship with the

National Gover-

nors Association,

researching state

workorce develop-

ment, economic development and

human services trends or state

policy advisers. In the summer o

2012 he worked at the Board o

Governors o the Federal Reserve

System in the Division o Consumerand Community Aairs, studying the

Independent Foreclosure Review

and serving as a contributor to the

signature Policy Scan ino-database.

Jackson holds a bachelors degree

rom Morgan State University and

a masters in public policy rom

The George Washington University

Trachtenberg School o Public Policy,

studying community development

and urban policy.

ABOUT ThE AUThOR

work, decreasing the time ittakes an ABE student to receivea certicate. This increasesthe workers marketability andresiliency in the labor marketand begins to address the issueo ongoing worker skill attain-ment, which is required orbusinesses to stay competitive.

The ollowing are threeexamples o states that arechallenging traditional edu-

cation systems to streamlinecerticate programs.

I-BEST ProgramWashington

In Washington, a studyby the Community CollegeResearch Center ound thatstudents who enrolled in anIntegrated Basic Skills and

Training (I-BEST) programwere more likely to earn acerticate (by 7.5 percent) orgain college credit (by nearly10 percent) when comparedto students not enrolled in theprogram.4 Today seven states,

Job-Matching PortalOklahoma

Oklahoma recently launcheda new job-matching portal thatuses real-time labor marketinormation to connect jobseekers with open positionsposted on more than 16,000web sites. The sotware thatpowers the site and gaugeshiring demand is also incor-porated into the states newcareer planning web site,

which shows the educationcredentials and other require-ments necessary or entry into32 jobs within 14 dierentcareer tracks in the state,rom entry to advanced levels.

State workorce developmentagencies should ensure that

certicate programs oered bycolleges and training acili-ties are preparing students or21st-century workorce part-nerships like these. Identiy-ing emerging industriesandcollaborating with all stake-holders across this sectoriskey to developing programs

that work. This approach ulti-mately helps students acquirepostsecondary certicates thatlead to jobs.

ENDNOTES

1 Simon, M., Golonka , S., Henton, D.,Melville, J. (2013). The Cornerstones oEconomic Security or Resilient Workers:A Policy Framework or Shared Act ion.National Governors Association.http://www.nga.org/les/live/sites/NGA/les/pd/2013/1304CornerstonesEconSecurityResilientWorkers.pd.

2 Sykes, A. (2012). Defning and Report-ing Subbaccalaureate Certifcates in

IPEDS (NPEC 2012-835). U.S. Depart-ment o Education. Washington, DC:National Postsecondary EducationCooperative. Retrieved June 2013rom http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.

3 Remediation: Higher Educations Bridgeto Nowhere. College Compete America.(April 2012) Retrieved June 2013 romhttp://www.completecollege.org/docs/

CCA-Remediation-nal.pd.

4 Zeidenberg, M., Cho, S., Jenkins,D. Washington States Integrated BasicEducation and Skills Training Program(I-BEST): New Evidence o Eective-ness. (September 2010) ht tp://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=805.

5 Groves, G., Woolsey, L. State SectorStrategies Coming o Age: Implications orState Workorce Policymakers. NationalGovernors Association Center or Best

Practices, National Skills Coalition,and Corporation or a Skilled Work-orce. (January 2013) http://www.nga.org/les/live/sites/NGA/les/pd/2013/1301NGASSSReport.pd.

including Georgia, Illinois,Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,Mississippi and North Caro-lina, have joined the Accelerat-ing Opportunity Initiative, across-state eort designed tobuild on Washingtons successand expand workers access tothis brand o ABE coursework.

Manuacturing Sector

StrategyVirginia

The Virginia PeninsulaCareer Pathways initiativeis meeting manuacturersworkorce needs by engaging14 major employers in a con-sortium, along with the localworkorce investment board,the community college, sixschool districts and other part-

ners.5 Through a grant awardedto the Virginia Foundation orCommunity College Educa-tion, the consortium conductsresearch and development whileimplementing career pathwaysin manuacturing that arespecically tai lored to 11,000advanced-manuacturing and

green-technologies jobs that arecoming available in the nextve years. This infuenced theeducational requirements orthese jobs ater the consortiumcompleted an 18-month reviewo skills needs by the manuac-turing partners. Once thoseskills were assessed, a website was developed to matcheducation with the skill sets,so people can see what train-ing they need to prepare or theemerging market.

A student at New horizons Career and Tec-nical Education Centera Virinia Peninsula

Career Patways initiative partnerpreparesto plasma-cut a piece o steel in is weld-in class.



10/12

SPANNING thE REgIONThe region served by the Federal Reserve Bank of

St. Louis encompasses all of Arkansas and parts of Illinois,

Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

Elizabeth Duke Resigns rom Federal Reserve Board o Governors

Have you

hEaRd

Martha Perine Beard Named a

Super Woman in Business

Being a suc-cessul regionalexecutive or theSt. Louis Fed isan impressiveaccomplishmentand title in itsel,but now MarthaPerine Beard hasanother title to

add, courtesyo the Memphis

Business Journal: Super Woman.The newspaper recentlyannounced its second class oSuper Women in Business,and Perine Beard is one o thehonorees.

Recognizing 25 o the most

accomplished and infuen-tial women in the Memphisarea business community,the class includes executivesrom several companies andorganizations. The newspaperdescribed the honorees as notonly successul proessionalsbut also community activists

who spend personal time tomake Memphis the best it canbe and congratulated themon being great role models oryounger emale executives.

It really is an honor to beincluded in this list with somany other accomplishedwomen, said Perine Beard.Its also recognition o theFeds prominence in the Mem-phis business community.

For a ull list o the 2013honorees, visit http://www.

bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2013/07/09/mbj-names-2013-super-women-in-business.html.

Maria Hampton Discusses

Financial Literacy

In a recent op-ed publishedin the Louisville Courier-Journal,the St. Louis Feds Louisville

Regional Executive MariaHampton discussed the needor Kentucky and Indianaschools to place a greateremphasis on nancial literacy.

The local conversationabout education has ocused onthe need or increasing enroll-ment in Kentucky colleges and

universities and on making iteasier or all to attend collegeand earn a degree, Hamptonwrote. While those objectiveswill be instrumental in thesuccess o uture generations,they dont address the issuethat many o our childrenleave high school and college

without the ability to managetheir money.The St. Louis Fed has a

sta o economic educationspecialists that are workingclosely with teachers acrossour seven-state districtincluding many here in thegreater Louisville regiontoprovide proessional develop-ment and lesson plans onnancial and economic educa-tion, Hampton noted. Localteachers serve on our educa-

tor advisory boards to help usidentiy personal-nance needsin their classrooms, to reviewand pilot our curriculum,and to organize proessionaldevelopment programs or localschools and school districts.

Hampton concluded, We

must do more to ensure thatstudents leaving Kentucky highschools are prepared with thepersonal nance education

necessary ornancial suc-cess in what-ever career paththey pursue.Together wemust teach ourchildren the

skills they needor their nan-cial uture.

In a press release, Bernanke praised

Duke or er service to te Board. Betsy

as made invaluable contributions to te

Federal Reserve and to te country durin

er fve years at te Board, Bernanke said.

Se brout res ideas rounded in er

deep knowlede o te bankin industry

and te real-world dynamic between bor-

rowers and lenders. I wis er te best in

er uture endeavors.

Durin er time on te Board, Duke

caired bot te Committee on Consumer

and Community Aairs and te Subcom-

mittee on Supervision and Reulation o

Community and Small Reional Bankin

Oranizations. Beore joinin te Board, se

served as senior executive vice president

and cie operatin ofcer o TowneBank,

a Virinia-based community bank.

Federal Reserve gov. Elizabet Duke

will resin rom te Board o governors

on or around Au. 31. Se as not yet

announced uture plans.

Te fve years since I joined te

Board in Auust 2008 brout some o

te most callenin conditions ever

encountered by te Federal Reserve,

Duke said. I believe istory will jude

tat te Federal Reserve, under te

resolute leadersip o Cairman [Ben]

Bernanke, met every test in a tout-

ul, innovative and eective way. Suc a

response would not ave been possible

witout te unique mix o intellect,

expertise, creativity and tireless dedica-

tion to service tat te people wo

make up te Federal Reserve System

brin to work every day. I am proud to

ave contributed to teir eorts.

0L I N K I N G L E N D E R S A N D C O M M U N I T I E S


11/12

BRIdgEsBridges is a publication o the Commu-nity Development Oce o the FederalReserve Bank o St. Louis. It is intendedto inorm bankers, community develop-ment organizations, representatives o

state and local government agencies andothers in the Eighth District about currentissues and initiatives in community andeconomic development. The EighthDistrict includes the state o Arkansas andparts o Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mis-sissippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

Yvonne SparksCommunity Development Ocerand Executive Editor314-444-8650

Daniel Davis

Community Development Managerand Managing Editor314-444-8308

Maureen SlatenSenior Editor314-444-8732

Community Development StaffSt. Louis: Matthew Ashby

314-444-8891Jeanne Marra314-444-6146Brandon Farber

314-444-7439Johanna Gruenewald314-444-8743

Memphis: Kathy Moore Cowan901-579-4103Teresa Cheeks Wilson901-579-4101

Little Rock: Drew Pack501-324-8268

Louisville: Lisa Locke502-568-9292Faith Weekly

502-568-9216

The views expressed in Bridges are notnecessarily those o the Federal ReserveBank o St. Louis or the Federal ReserveSystem. Material herein may be reprintedor abstracted as long as Bridges is credited.Please provide the editor with a copy oany reprinted articles.

Free subscriptions are available bycalling 314-444-8761, by e-mail [email protected] oronline at www.stlouised.org/br/subscribe.

savings opportunities intotraditional GEAR UP activities.Results o the study will likely

impact uture policy initiativesrelated to both higher educa-tion and savings programs.

The six-year evaluation,which will begin in 2014, willinclude 20,000 students at200 high schools in 10 dier-ent states.4 Participants will berandomly assigned to receive

either regular GEAR UP ser-vices or regular services plusthe additional savings com-ponent. Those in the savingsgroup will receive an accountwith a $200 seed deposit andwill have the opportunity toearn a dollar-or-dollar matcho $10 per month or our years

thereater.5

By the end o theprogram, students could savemore than $1,000, all o whichwould be used to cover educa-tional expenses upon collegeenrollment. Students will alsobe able to take advantage oGEAR UPs nancial counsel-ing services to obtain addi-

tional scholarships.Though past CDA programshave paired savings accountswith general nancial educa-tion, the GEAR UP modelrepresents the rst large-scale,ederally endorsed partner-ship between college accessand matched-savings initia-tives. Evidence suggests thatboth college access programsand CDAs have independentlybenecial eects on collegeenrollment and completion

rates (see Figure 2), especiallyamong low-income youth. Itremains very promising, then,that the combination o the twowill produce avorable results.

While college readiness

services are indeed criti-cal in preparing students orthe application process, sucheorts are ruitless i ami-lies do not have the nancialmeans to und higher edu-cation. L ikewise, nancialresources without sucientacademic and social sup-

ports may not be adequate inpromoting college attendance.The collaboration betweenGEAR UP and CDAs, there-ore, represents an importantadvancement in holistic serviceprovision that will allow someo Americas most disadvan-taged youth to reap the manybenets o higher education.

Johanna Gruenewald is a gradu-ate student in the George WarrenBrown School o Social Workat Washington University inSt. Louis and a practicum studentin the Community Development

Ofce o the Federal Reserve Banko St. Louis.

ENDNOTES

1 Elliot, W. (2012). Are All Typeso Financial Aid Created Equal?Bridges, 1-3. Retrieved rom http://www.stlouised.org/publications/br/articles/?id=2368.

2 Kindergarten to College. Retrievedrom http://soe.org/programs/k-to-c.

3 GEAR UP. Retrieved rom http://www2.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html.

4 Washington University Researchersto Help DOE Study College Savings

Accounts. Retrieved rom http://www.newswise.com/articles/washing-ton-university-researchers-to-help-doe-study-college-savings-accounts.

5 Education Department ReleasesProposal to Help Thousands o Dis-

advantaged Students Access CollegeThrough Savings Accounts. Retrievedrom http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-releases-proposal-help-thousands-disadvantaged-students-acc.

Saving Up or Collegecontinued rom Page 7

6070

80

90

100

50

40

30

20

10

0

GEAR UP

Percentage

ofyouth

enrolled

in

college

Comparison

2001 2002 2003

High school graduation year

2004 2005

87%

55%

86%

56%

84%

57%

85%

60%

82%

62%

FIgURE 2 | Percent o Youth Enrolled in College Within 5 Years o

Graduating High School

SOURCE: ttp://www.earup.wa.ov/fles/Makin%20te%20Dream%20a%20Reality%202012.pd

#O N T H E I N T E R N E T A T W W W . S T L O U I S F E D . O R G


12/12

PRSRT STD

U.S. PoSTage

paid

ST. LoUiS, Mo

PeRMiT No. 444

CALENDAR

1920

2013 Policy Summit on Housing, Human

Capital, and InequalityCleveland, Ohio

Sponsors: Federal Reserve Banks o

Cleveland and Piladelpiawww.clevelanded.or/community_development/events/ps2013/index.cm

25

Childrens Savings Accounts

Louisville, Ky.

Sponsor: Federal Reserve Bank o St. LouisContact: Lisa Locke [email protected]

OCTOBER

3

Exploring Innovation in Community

Development Audioconerence

Rural DevelopmentAudioconerence

Sponsor: Federal Reserve Bank o St. LouisContact: Matt Asby [email protected]

24

Saving Your Small Town: Homegrown

Community and Economic Development

Sikeston, Mo.

Sponsor: Federal Reserve Bank o St. LouisContact: Katy Moore Cowan [email protected]

AUGUST

21

This Is Where We Live: Tennessee

Aordable Housing Coalition, WestTennessee Regional Meeting

Memphis, Tenn.

Sponsors: Multiplewww.stlouised.or/community_development/events/?id=487

29

Exploring Innovation in Community

Development AudioconerenceCRA:

Building Culture That Yields Credit

AudioconerenceSponsor: Federal Reserve Bank o St. Louiswww.stlouised.or/bsr/EI_CDAudioConerence

SEPTEMBER

5

Tennessee Statewide Microenterprise

MeetingNashville, Tenn.

Sponsor: Federal Reserve Banks o

St. Louis and AtlantaContact: Katy Moore Cowan [email protected]

10



Oxord, Miss.

Sponsor: Federal Reserve Bank o St. Louiswww.stlouised.or/community_development/events/?id=489

11

A Capital Idea: Connecting Funding

Partnerships in KentuckyLexington, Ky.

Sponsor: Federal Reserve Banks oSt. Louis and ClevelandContact: Fait Weekly [email protected]

12



Jackson, Tenn.

Sponsor: Federal Reserve Bank o St. Louiswww.stlouised.or/community_development/events/?id=495

1617

Women in Business Expo 2013Louisville, Ky.

Sponsors: Multiplewww.cvcky.or/womensbusinesscenter.tml

ONLINE ONLY

www.stlouisfed.org/

publications/br

In addition to the print version,

each issue of Bridgesoffers

information that is exclusively

online. Online content for the

summer issue includes:

Exploring Innovation

Week 2013: Community

Development in Times

of Austerity

By Lisa LockeEight from the Eighth Audio

Podcast: Memphis Start Co.

(formerly LaunchYourCity),

Eric Matthews

From Graduation Caps

to Hard Hats: A Photo

Gallery from Ranken

Technical College

Calendar

Expanded list of communitydevelopment events

Documents

Bridges - Summer 2013