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 | Digital Divide Best Practices |  | |
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Training
Mission High School - San Francisco, CA
The CCNA training uses a comprehensive, entry-level
networking curriculum. Cisco quality control requires Networking Academies
to offer it with no fewer than 280 hours, in no less than six months.
All Networking Academies agree that the labs are a critical part
of the learning. They have found ways to provide as much lab time
as possible during the training.
"I invite all of my Locals to come to the college and I'll
have 16 to 20 students from Denby High School or another high
school in my lab. Here instead of having 5 routers for 20 people,
we have 25 routers for 20 people. They work for two to four hours
and they get a lot more labs done here than they can do in four
weeks at their high school.
Dennis Quatrine,
Henry Ford Community College Regional Academy
Dearborn, MI
"Communities in Schools got routers from two schools and set
them up in a common location for students to be able to work on
the weekends."
Dennis Quatrine,
Henry Ford Community College Regional Academy
Dearborn, MI
Some Networking Academies have supplemented the curriculum with
other certifications either for a better foundation or additional
skills for employment.
"The students were not ready. They had the technology information,
but not the background. They had an end-user background: Word, Excel,
and they surfed the web. We've added A+ and Net+ before they begin
Cisco."
Jose Velazquez
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago, IL
"When you're entry-level, you have to have a broader knowledge
and not as much depth. So by having a cabling certification, an
A+ certification and a CCNA, you're very flexible in the job you
may be placed in."
Linda Hanks
Focus: HOPE
Detroit, MI
Individuals with learning disabilities may find the
electronic delivery and self-paced style of the curriculum engaging.
"I have two IEP (Individual Education Plan) students. They either
have a reading disability or a learning disability. My students
were chosen because they were high achievers, motivated and they
have good work habits. They're not always successful on the test
the first time, but they go back over the material and they get
it the next time around. They're two of my better students."
Lynne Ryan
Eastern Technical High School
Baltimore, MD
For more information about implementing the requirements
of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
regarding Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for children
with disabilities, see the Department of Education's IEP Guide. 
Mission High School - San Francisco, CA
In addition to technology training, some Networking Academies
prepare students for employment. The courses are covered by a combination
of teacher-directed and computer-based training. Some of the topics
offered include:
 The Electronic Job Search
Electronic Resume
Avoiding New Employee Pitfalls
Negotiation Skills
Conflict Resolution
Sexual Harassment
Safety Training
Developing A Career Management Plan
"The industrial model of a company hiring an
employee for many years and investing in their training is changing.
The new technology employee is taking more responsibility for
their own professional development and career management."
Linda Hanks
Focus: HOPE
Detroit, MI
Some high schools provide curriculum that integrates
SCANS soft skills.
"Campuses are working with career centers to
provide soft skills that are integrated to the SCAN Skills in
interviewing . This is followed up by field trips that allow students
to practice their SCAN skills in dressing for the office."
Carlos Colom
Alameda County Office of Education
Hayward, CA
Some of the soft skills necessary for success are
communicated to the student via office simulation.
"The students have a dress code, behavior code
and attendance policy. At the beginning of each cycle we see them
test it. Once they see us follow through on the traditional, verbal
warning, written warning, final warning and termination; they
realize they're now in the real world."
Acte Maldonado, Dean
Borough of Manhattan Community College
New York, NY
"A few weeks after the safety training, I'll come to the class
and randomly pick students to experience the feeling of working
with an injury. We'll patch someone's eye as if he had poked it
out. We'll bandage someone's hand as if they had drilled through
it. We'll give someone a crutch and bandage his leg as if he had
broken it. It's make believe, but it drives home the importance
of practicing safety procedures more effectively than just telling
them."
Linda Hanks
Focus: HOPE
Detroit, MI
"We have evaluation forms like you do in industry. We evaluate
them once a quarter in different categories like quality of work,
quantity of work, initiative, and effort. They have a senior year
multidisciplinary project. They prepare a multimedia presentation
for a research paper and a product. It is then presented to a
group of professionals. Bell Atlantic offers scholarships for
these."
Lynne Ryan,
Eastern Technical High School
Baltimore, MD
"We require the students to work Saturdays to wire other schools."
Carlos Colom
Alameda County Office of Education
Hayward, CA
A number of Networking Academies reinforce the classroom training
by encouraging students to join professional organizations related
to their interests.
SkillsUSA-VICA is a national
organization serving more than 245,000 high school and college students
and professional members who are enrolled in training programs in
technical, skilled, and service occupations.
SkillsUSA-VICA prepares America's high performance workers. It provides
quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork,
citizenship and character development. It builds and reinforces
self-confidence, work attitudes and communications skills. It emphasizes
total quality at work, high ethical standards, superior work skills,
life-long education and pride in the dignity of work. SkillsUSA-VICA
also promotes understanding of the free enterprise system and involvement
in community service activities.
A number of Networking Academies have their students participate in the national
internetworking contest. The contest consists of two parts: a written
and a hands-on evaluation. The written test questions covers several
general internetworking topic areas. The hands-on portion tests
the student's ability to design, install, and maintain internetworks.
Given a set of networking equipment (cable, hubs, routers, etc.),
the student must, in a finite amount of time, install a network
on which an Internet application runs. Complete information is available
at www.skillsusa.org
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