William Thompson and Chad Rosen, both math teachers in Adams County School District 50, each were awarded $500 by the Construction Workforce Foundation and the Colorado Contractors Association for creating the best lesson plans that demonstrate relevance between education and the workplace. The lesson plans were a product of their participation in this year's WorkforceConnect, a one-week professional development program that takes educators into business workplaces to help them establish relevancy between student instruction and the future world of work. Educators from Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Adams 50, and District 27J participated in this year's program.

"Too often new employees lack the basic skills to guarantee them success in their careers. Our commitment to help educators develop these young people is why we have annually supported this program and why we are so excited about the work done by these instructors," says Tony Milo, Executive Director, Colorado Contractors Association.

Thompson, who teaches at Ranum High School admits, "Without a working relationship between business and education, we are not preparing our students to enter the workforce with all of the necessary knowledge or skills." The educators participating in this program are giving up some of their vacation in order to learn about these industries themselves. Their WorkforceConnect experience will influence lessons that better engage students in the learning process by demonstrating relevance with future work."

"These visits have really helped me come up with some great project ideas that will be much more relevant to my students and their potential career aspirations," said Rosen who teaches at Westminster High School.

WorkforceConnect, an educator-in-the-workplace program, is coordinated by the Adams County Education Consortium and sponsored by the Daniels Fund and the Anschutz Family Foundation. Designed initially as a week-long business fieldtrip experience for educators, the program now includes a workshop for writing lesson and guidance plans that integrate the academic and career standards of instruction with workplace applications and skill development. Participating teachers will use these plans in class themselves, as well as make them available to other educators.

"Relevance is the key to opening the door of learning," acknowledges Dr. Roberta Selleck, Superintendent of Adams County School District 50. "Once students understand how the lesson applies to real life and careers, they more readily grasp the concept and retain it. Adams County School District 50 is embedding relevance in each career academy and in each class at the new signature high school. As the academies are planned in concert with business leaders and WorkforceConnect 2008, our teachers are learning how to better integrate relevance into their lessons through career related activities and practical experiences so students have the necessary skill sets and are better prepared for college, the military or the world of work."

Participating businesses included: Adams County Economic Development, Suncor, Denver Joint Electrical, Denver Merchandise Mart, University of Colorado Hospital, Adolfson & Peterson Construction, Denver Center for Performing Arts, Alliance Data, Micro Business Development, Whirled Peas Catering, TruStile Doors, Summit Bank & Trust, Precast Concepts, Coda Coffee, Emily Griffith Opportunity School, RNL, Colorado Division of Securities, The Children's Hospital, Comcast, and the Construction Industry Training Council of Colorado.

About Adams County Education Consortium (ACEC)

Adams County Education Consortium is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to develop a county wide partnership that will enhance the academic skills development, career knowledge and exploration, and relevant work ready skills for all learner groups in Adams County.

The group includes representation from the Adams County school districts, post secondary education, economic development, local governments, community-based organizations, social and human services, and the business community. The ACEC executive committee is comprised of the area superintendents, community college presidents and business leaders who unanimously support the initiative. The director of the ACEC is located at Adams County Economic Development, a sister agency to the Consortium.

For more information, go to www.a damscountyeducation.org.