19F - WIA STRATEGIC PLAN 2013-2017

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Although it has shown steady improvement since 2006, Santa Ana remains the lowest performing of all Orange County school districts on the Academic Preparedness Index, where its performance averages 88% of the county average. Two other statistics dramatically define the youth population of Santa Ana. Investment in education is very much down. A look at both the growth of NAICS job categories in education and education support shows all such jobs losing 3% over the 2011 -2012 period, compared to an average 2% gain for all Orange County jobs, and a drop -out rate, highest in the county and averaging 30% more than the County as a whole.3 Vision /Strategies Clearly, the extent ofthis need underlines the importance of the following youth strategies: • Intense focus on both the in- school and disconnected youth; • Creating vocational and vocational ladder and career pathway programs; • Establishing more skill enhancement programs in and out of schools; • Better preparing potential workers through STEM and STEAM programs in schools; • Intensifying special methods for reaching disconnected youth; • Expanding outreach efforts at all levels; • Approaching issues of job development on a regional basis; • Extending their collaborative efforts even beyond the immediate regional level if needed; and • Copying novel and innovative benchmarked approaches utilized elsewhere. The Santa Ana community already has a robust multiplicity of relatively easy to access no -cost and low cost resources. Integrated K -12 and Community College programs, various Federal, and local and regional agencies, businesses, labor organizations, and special programs to address issues of the dropout rate, short term vocational training, longer term preparation for career advancement, and on-the-job skill enhancement and job retention programs. These programs have involvement of the WIB and WORK Center staff. School programs emphasize English language, mathematics, reading, writing, and computer skills needed in the increasingly complex modern manufacturing and service worlds. Still, the challenges are formidable, and WIB partners have constantly raised concerns about English language, high school completion, general communications, and job readiness skill. Santa Ana also has made special efforts to address youth who have become disconnected from educational and work systems or face high barriers to participation with them. Statistics show an increasing needs gap in manufacturing as its workforce ages and retires, creating a loss of manufacturing jobs beyond the national average. In 2001, the City created a Manufacturer's 3 The drop -out figure, provided by the Data Reporting Office of the Department of Education (April, 2013) is misleading, in that it does not include about one -third of the worst performing public schools, any charter schools, GED and continuing education schools, etc. Nor are the results of those schools that do report verified. 46 19F -54