1. HIGH TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL TO WORK GRANT PROGRAM
PART I PROGRAM NARRATIVE REPORT
GRANT NUMBER: 08-871017
GRANTEE ORGANIZATION NAME: Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
REPORTING CONTACT NAME: Catherine Marsden, Project Coordinator
REPORTING CONTACT E-MAIL: info@catherinemarsden.com
REPORT PERIOD: Final Reporting
DATE SUBMITTED: December 31, 2009
August 2008: Developing the Project Plan and Conducting Research
During the month of August, activities for the TechWorks project focused on conducting on-line
research and developing a project plan. Secondary research uncovered issues and trends affecting
recruiting people with disabilities. Researching other School to Work grants throughout the U.S
identified language to be used in TechWorks’ marketing materials and in the student internship
application.
September 2008: Marketing Material and Student Applications Designed
The project team met for the first time on September 8, 2008 to review the project plan and to
develop a communication plan. The highest priority tasks focused on developing marketing
materials with the goal of recruiting students with disabilities with strong IT skills. Marketing
materials included:
1) The Introductory Brochure: an informational brochure to tell stakeholders about the project,
ie. students, parents, employers and schools.
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2. 2) The Employer Brochure: promoted the benefits of hiring people with disabilities from an
employer standpoint and to explain the benefits of the TechWorks Program.
Both marketing pieces were used at two networking meetings in September. The first event was
the Lunch and Learn Program: Putting Disabilities to Work held on September 17, 2008, and the
second event was the disabilityworks’ Speed Networking Luncheon held on September 23, 2008.
The Project Coordinator met one on one with potential employers to discuss the program.
MOPD’s Carolyn Jones also sent the Introductory Brochure to contacts at Chicago Public
Schools and to the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. Both CPS and “The Lighthouse” indicated
they were enthusiastic about the program.
October 1-15: Website Published and Tested and Social Networking Campaign Begins
October efforts focused on defining and installing a web application to allow Students and
Employers to contact the Project Coordinator for more information and download applications.
Groups were created on Facebook and LinkedIn for TechWorks to grow awareness in the
disability communities. In addition, the TechWorks website (http://www.chicagotechworks.org)
and email accounts were developed and an on-line and print student application page was made
available for submission. The website housed the electronic student database and served as a
record of all student application information. The TechWorks website was tested for
compatibility with JAWS software, reviewed for Illinois Accessibility Standards compliance and
linked to the Illinois WorkNet Branding Page.
In an effort to build awareness in the Chicago disability community, an on-line strategies
included adding links to the TechWorks homepages on several websites including
disabilityworks.org, Chicago MOPD.org, and Abilitylinks.org.
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3. On October 20, the TechWorks project team met with Karen McCulloh, Executive Director of
disabilityworks and Chicago MOPD’s Commissioner Karen Tamley to review of the TechWorks
project plan and develop student recruitment strategies. The team made several recommendations
for outreach within the university and non-profit communities, and the project plan was updated
accordingly. Finally, a student brochure was created and approved so that it could be used at two
upcoming Chicago Public School events in November and December.
College student outreach began to 15 college campuses located in Chicago, Illinois
including 6 onsite visits to Disability Service Offices and phone calls and emails to the
remaining 9 colleges. The Project Coordinator outreached an additional 8 Illinois public
universities located outside of Chicago via phone calls and email messages to ensure that
Chicago residents with disabilities attending large public universities also learned about the
program. Electronic college job boards placed free TechWorks advertisements which reached out
to students with disabilities who were actively looking for a job.
November 2008 Deliverables: Newsletter Publication and Community Outreach within
Non-Profit community
Two articles were written and approved by the team for the Cook County POET and the Illinois
Technology Association, ITA newsletters along with links on the the POET and ITA websites.
Work continued in community outreach with visits, phone calls and emails sent to non-profits,
most notably Anixter Center, Easter Seals, City Colleges and Columbia College. The project
coordinator made a presentation to Chicago CPS students with disabilities at the Youth with
Disabilities Summit, (see Table 2 for a complete list of websites linking to TechWorks).
December 2008: Student Profiles Developed and Job Search Training. Presentations at
Disability Mentoring Day, Employer Recruitment
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4. Working with students, the Project Coordinator wrote a student profile or 3 line snapshot
describing their backgrounds similar to those used on on-line job boards like CareerBuilder and
Monster.com. Developing student profiles helped students understand which of their skills were
most important when speaking to potential employers and it allowed them to see themselves
more objectively from an employer’s perspective. It also allowed them to review their
backgrounds, and it ensured that all information presented to employers was accurate on their
application.
Training Provided:
In preparation for sending resumes out to employers, the Project Coordinator worked one on one
with students to develop his/her resume to provide a professional and consistent resume format.
Creating resumes and profiles did more than create quality materials to be sent to an employer on the
student’s behalf. First, by asking the student more probing questions about his/her work experience, the
student began to view his/her background from an employer’s perspective. Second, revising resumes with
the students allowed the project coordinator to test student follow-up skills, written communication skills
and technical skills including working in email, Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word.
High school student recruitment focused on leveraging existing efforts related to Mayor Daley’s
Youth Ready Summer Employment Program for Youth with Disabilities. During the month of
December, the Project Coordinator gave a presentation at Disability Mentoring Day to the
general audience and spoke to students at the Information Technology breakout sessions. Only
CPS students with disabilities interested in IT attended these Breakout Sessions and it provided an ideal
setting to discuss TechWorks and the wide variety of career paths and opportunities available in IT. A
Question and Answer period with CPS students and families followed.
January 2009 Deliverables: Student Outreach Efforts Continue and Student Applications
reach 79 and Employee Outreach Begins
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5. Employer recruitment began in January and student recruitment efforts were intensified.
The TechWorks internship program was posted on college electronic job boards and College
Disability Service Offices were notified again after the holiday break. The project team met on
January 23, 2009 to brainstorm on potential employers that might want to participate in the
program and plans were made to meet the students and schedule interviews.
The Project Coordinator spoke at the Summit for Youth with Disabilities. One month later 300
CPS students received the TechWorks brochure at Disability Mentoring Day, and the project coordinator
spoke to the general audience and to groups of students who were interested in exploring IT during the
Breakout Sessions. MOPD also distributed brochures at the World Aids Day event to 57 high school
youth with disabilities representing the following 5 high schools: Chicago Vocational, Curie, Lane,
Lemont, and Whitney Young. Finally, the Project Coordinator presented information on TechWorks at a
CPS Panel Discussion to principals at private high schools for CPS students with disabilities.
96 students applied to the Program and 35 applicants were invited to interview with TechWorks
team members (see Table 1). All Students were interviewed using a standard set of interview questions,
and interviewers took notes on several areas such as whether the student arrived on time, whether he/she
had the necessary communication skills, and dressed appropriately etc. Based on the interviewer’s
comments regarding student performance, 26 students were notified they were accepted into the Program.
Accepted students with disabilities had IT skills that could be applied to the following four career paths:
1) Office Support 2) Graphic/Web Design 3) Programming/Systems Analysis 4) Medical Technology. 22
students who were not selected into the program were referred to the ICED Internship Program for Youth
with Disabilities. 10 students invited to interview were rejected because they did not show up for
their assigned interviews or they did not have the necessary interpersonal skills to participate in
the program.
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6. February 2009 : Presentation at the AAAS EntryPoint Internship Forum and the Project
Plan shifts from Student Recruitment phase to Employer Recruitment Phase
Employer outreach continued as MOPD and the Project Coordinator contacted 30 additional
businesses and non-profit organizations to invite them to place interns for the Summer of ’09. 5
Companies submitted job descriptions requesting a TechWorks intern. The Project Coordinator
collaborated with Melissa Gordon from the Chicago Staffing Alliance to discuss the process of
finding new internship opportunities.
March 2009: Employer Outreach continues and 7 Organizations commit to offering an
internship.
A team meeting was held to discuss the low rate of placed students and to discuss ways we could
increase the student placement rate. A follow-up Team Meeting was held with John Barr and
representatives from MOPD and disabilityworks to discuss paid vs. unpaid internship
opportunities. In addition to contacting employers directly several other employer outreach
efforts were conducted including the following: 1) 2020 Chamber Technology Committee Email
Blast 2) The project coordinator attended the 4th Annual Government Career Fair 3) MOPD staff
attended the ITA Networking Event 4) Outreach to the Illinois Technical Foundation.
Participating employers include: McDonalds, Neumann Center, Rush Medical, Lighthouse,
POET, Social Security Admin.
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7. April 2009: Student Training Provided through Job Preparation Skills Overview
Student/Employer Agreement Developed
Obtained and coordinated 5 Student Interviews resulting in 3 Additional students placed.
Total number of students placed reaches 11.
New participating companies include: Northern Trust (1), PACE (1), Chicago Department of
Procurement (1) .
Student Recruitment Efforts: TechWorks on-line student applications reached 95 and 3 new
students were interviewed and accepted.
Submitted Applications to 5 Large Internship Programs
Student Training: On Saturday April 4, 2009, the TechWorks team and 2 staff members from
Equip for Equality, prepared students on job readiness skills such as interviewing, appropriate
workplace etiquette and knowing your rights in the workplace. In collaboration with the
Interagency Committee on Employees with Disabilities, ICED Internship information was sent to
20 students that were not accepted into TechWorks program. Development of the
Student/Employer Agreement began and 8 students were placed in internship positions.
Employer recruitment efforts continued the last half of April as five students interviewed with
employers and 3 students were actually placed. Northern Trust hired an intern for systems
security management. PACE hired an administrative assistant to handle the incoming phone call
volume during the Taste of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Procurement hired an intern
with PERL programming experience to work on its intranet ordering application. In addition,
student resumes and applications were filed on-line with five large City, State and national
internship programs including: 2016 Chicago Internship Program, CITY Internship, Illinois’
Department of Human Rights, and Youth Ready Chicago.
May 2009 Deliverables:
• 10 Student Interviews obtained and scheduled resulted in 3 New placements.
• New participating companies and organizations include: SOVA(1), Modis(1),
MOPD(1)
• Total Number of Placed Interns Reaches 14.
• MOPD email blast sent to 150 City vendors.
In May 2009 10 student interviews were scheduled resulting in 3 new placements and the total
number of interns reached 14. SOVA hired a graphic design student, Modis hired a
hardware/software configuration specialist and MOPD selected an Access database programmer.
MOPD gained permission and sent out an email blast to 150 City vendors which resulted in the
graphic design internship opportunity for SOVA.
The Students typically had a difficult transition time during the first two weeks of the internship
period and the project coordinator worked with employers one on one in the first two weeks of
the student internships. Once the students and employers got into a routine the internships ran
smoothly.
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8. June 2009 Deliverables
• 7 Student Interviews obtained and scheduled resulted in 3 new placements
• New participating companies include: disabilityworks(1), Sntial(1), Youth Ready(1)
• Attended the Youth Ready Chicago Breakfast on July 9, 2009
• Total number of Placed Interns Reaches 17.
• Student and Employer Evaluation Forms Created
7 students interviewed in June resulting in 3 new placements and the total number of interns
reaches 17. Disabilityworks at the Chicagoland Chamber hired an intern to work in marketing
communications and office administration, Sntial hired a graphic designer and a CPS student was
placed in the Youth Ready Chicago program working in his school’s freshman orientation
program over the summer.
The project coordinator also sent out an email to all TechWorks students and employers telling
them about the Youth Ready Chicago Breakfast on July 9, 2009. Student and employer survey
forms were sent to the TechWorks team for approval.
On June 29, 2009 a Disability Awareness Training was provided to employers.
MOPD Programs and Services
Disability Awareness and Etiquette
ADA Title 1:
Accommodations, Resources and Assessing a Candidate
July 2009 Deliverables:
• Grant Modification Request Approved
• Ongoing Student Support and Administration
• Finalized and Distributed the Student and Employer Surveys
• Number of Placed Students reaches 18
• Student Success Stories are written
• 3 Site Visits Completed
In July, 2009 a grant modification request was provided to allow disabilityworks to pay an
$8.00 stipend for three student interns who otherwise would not have been placed. The
modification allowed the following employers to offer paid internships: 1) Jewish Vocational
Services 2) Chicago MOPD 3) disabilityworks. Ongoing support and administration were
provided defining accommodation requirements for a deaf intern and time card instructions for
the students paid through the grant modification. The project coordinator received approval for
the Employer and Student Surveys and began emailing these documents to the appropriate
Program participants. CPS student Khristian Gillespie interviewed for a graphic design
internship and was placed in the Chicago Youth Ready Gallery 37 program bringing the total
number of students placed to 18. Weekly phone calls and emails were made to the Employers
and Students to ensure that no work-related issues needed to be resolved. Unfortunately one
intern became ill and was not be able to complete her internship at the Northern Trust. The intern
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9. was able to serve 5 weeks of the total 8 week internship. 3 Site Visits were completed including
Chicago Department of Procurement, Cook County POET and Neumann Association. Note:
Two other students who were not placed in TechWorks internships were connected with
opportunities in their communities. Taniya Shack was connected to her local YMCA as an
unpaid volunteer, and Veronica Hall was connected with an interview with a DRS counselor.
These two students were not counted in the 18 students placed total.
August 2009 Deliverables:
• TechWorks Recognition Event Held
• 7 Site Visits Completed
• TechWorks segment Airs on ABC7 News
The TechWorks team gathered students and employers together on August 19th to thank them
for participating in the program, review Program results and view a PowerPoint presentation.
Disabilityworks Executive Director, Karen McCulloh and, MOPD’s Deputy Commissioner,
Joe Albritton and Catherine Marsden, TechWorks Project Coordinator spoke at the event. In
addition the Project Coordinator visited 7 work sites to review the students’ internship job
duties and to take pictures used in the slide show and Student Success Stories. Work
continued on sending out the surveys as all students finished up their internships. TechWorks
also received recognition when Karen Meyer covered the Pilot Program during her ABC7
News segment on disability issues.
September 2009 Deliverables
• Survey Results Compiled and Final Report Started
• TechWorks Lessons Learned Meeting Held
• Coordination for Student Think Tank Meeting
11 Students and 11 Employers returned their surveys and the results were compiled for
inclusion in the final project report. The TechWorks project team convened a “Lessons
Learned Meeting” to discuss processes that were effective in managing the TechWorks Pilot
Program and those that the team felt could be improved upon if the TechWorks program was
to continue in 2010. Students were invited to a “Student Think Tank Meeting” which was
held on October 7, 2009.
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10. Program Summary:
Typically accommodations were work-flow related with no additional costs being
incurred including, e.g. detailed written instructions, a break every 2 hours, following a daily
routine and additional advanced notification for schedule changes. The primary accommodation
expense necessary incurred by the Program was for sign language interpretation during
interviews, student workshops and during team meeting once placed in an internship. One
visually impaired student who placed at the Lighthouse for the Blind used ZoomText software
which was already available at the employer site before the student began his internship. The
TechWorks Pilot data supports other studies like the one conducted by ESSI which found a
majority of large businesses are hiring people with disabilities and discovering that costs for
accommodations differ little from those for the general employee population, (PVA Journal, “on
the job,” 2009).
Survey Results and Evaluation
A survey was emailed to all students and employers who participated in the TechWorks
program with 11 employers and 11 students submitting responses. Surveys were designed to
identify Students and Employer preferences and attitudes when deciding to participate in the
TechWorks Pilot Program. Despite the small research sample size, some important patterns
emerged that may increase future participant satisfaction levels in similar programs.
Motivational preferences were derived from the Desired Goals and Outcomes described
in the original TechWorks grant document. Students and Employer Participants were asked to
rank their motivational preferences for why they wanted to participate in the program with 1
being the highest rating and 6 being the lowest or least valued preference. The 6 Preferences
ranked in the survey were:
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11. Factor 1: Technical Ability: Find an intern or an internship that will use student‘s current
technical skills
Factor 2: Mentoring: The ability to find a mentor or become a mentor to the intern
Factor 3: Support: The ability to speak with a liaison during the internship if problems occur.
Factor 4: New Skills: The ability to learn new skills or provide an opportunity to teach new
skills
Factor 5: Inclusion: The ability to be a part of or provide an inclusive workplace.
Factor 6: Career Choice: The ability to explore IT or to allow the exploration of IT as a
possible career choice.
Employer Participant Survey Results
Employers selected Factor 2: Mentoring: The ability to become a mentor to the intern.”
as the most important factor when deciding to participate in the TechWorks Pilot with a
weighted average of 2.09. This was followed by “Factor 4: New Skills: To provide an
opportunity to teach new skills” with a weighted average of 2.36. In third place was “Factor 1:
Technical Ability: To find an intern who already had current skills to perform in the internship.”
with a weighted average of 2.82.
Employers were also asked how they thought the TechWorks Pilot performed on these
most important factors of mentoring a student and providing the opportunity for the student to
gain new skills. Only 3 of 11 employers “Strongly Agreed” that they were able to be a mentor to
their student even though they ranked it as their most important preference when deciding to
participate in the program. Furthermore, 3 Employers “Disagreed” that they were able “To be a
Mentor” and 1 “Had no Opinion”. In contrast, 6 of 11 Employers “Strongly Agreed” that their
Student “Gained New Skills” and 7 of 11 “Strongly Agreed” that their Student had the necessary
skills to perform his/her internship. 100% or 11 of 11 Employers indicated that they would
recommend the TechWorks Pilot Program to a friend or colleague, they would hire another
TechWorks student intern in the future and they found the Project Coordinator helpful during the
recruitment process (see Figure 1).
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12. Student Participant Survey Results
Students were asked to rank the same 6 attitudinal preferences as the employer
participants when deciding to participate in the TechWorks Pilot Program. They were also asked
how they thought the TechWorks Program performed on these same 6 preferences. The top
Student Participant preference when deciding to participate in the TechWorks Pilot Program was
“Factor 4: The Ability to Learn New Skills” with a weighted average of 1.81. 10 of 11 students
ranked this preference with a 1 or a 2 as being the most important (see Figure 2).
This was followed by “Factor 1: Technical Ability or Using My Current Skills” which
had a weighted average of 2.72. 5 of 11 Students ranked this preference with a ‘1’ or a ‘2’.
“Factor 6: Exploring IT as a Possible Career Choice” with a weighted average of 3.0 ranked
third.
When asked whether students thought the TechWorks program actually allowed them to
“Gain New Skills” 8 of 11 students “Strongly Agreed”. When asked whether they felt their
internships helped them “Use Their Current Skills” and “Explore ‘IT’ as a Possible Career
Choice”, 11 of 11 students “Agreed” or “Strongly Agreed”.
Students differed from Employers significantly as they ranked “Factor 2: The Ability to
Find a Mentor” almost last just ahead of “ Factor 6: Finding Support During the Internship if
Problems Occur”. Both Students and Employers ranked “Factor 6: Finding Support During the
Internship if Problems Occur” as relatively unimportant to them when deciding to participate in
an internship program. Also very low on the priority list for both Employers and Students was
“Factor 5: Working in an Inclusive Workplace”.
The Pilot Program research indicates that the most mutually beneficial employer/student
pairings occur when the employer felt s/he could be a mentor and the student perceived he was
learning new technical skills and using current technical skills. TechWorks had a very high
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13. internship completion rate with 17 of the 18 internships lasting the planned 8 to 12 week period
with one student dropping out due to illness. 100% or 11 of 11 Students indicated they would
recommend the TechWorks Pilot Program to a friend or colleague, they would participate in the
Program in the future if offered again, and they found the Project Coordinator helpful during the
recruitment process.
Recommendations:
The TechWorks Pilot Initiative supports the primary hypothesis that students with
disabilities can use their current skills and gain new skills in IT through summer internship
placement and thereby increase the possibility of employment in an IT career. Students with
disabilities had a life-changing opportunity to use their IT skills which they otherwise might not
have had. Students also engaged with peers in an office setting and in many case had a chance to
have their work reviewed by employers. Overall, the Student Recruitment phase of the project
went well with 96 students applying to the program. Other tasks that produced successful
outcomes include: the on-line strategy including the Program website, the linking strategy, social
networking and email blasts. Also the creation of the three-line Student Profiles modeled after
the major on-line job sites allowed employers a quick snapshot of student skills.
1. Conduct Employer Recruitment Concurrently with Student Recruitment: The TechWorks project
team was surprised by the increased time necessary to recruit employers primarily due to the rapid
plummet in the economy during the last quarter of 2008. Many employers were unwilling to participate
in any new programs in 2009 which resulted in the Employer recruitment phase lasting 6 months rather
than the anticipated 4 months. A poor economy also meant that many employers did not have the head
count to train a student nor the budget to offer a paid position.
2. Increase College Recruiting Efforts. Based on placement rates, Employer Participants preferred
college students 3:1, and future school to work programs should strive to increase college student
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14. recruitment. College students comprised 34% of the applicant pool but 77% of the placed Student
Participants. High school students comprised 66% of the application pool, but 22% of the placed Students
Participants.
3. Job Preparation Skills Workshop Additions. A student mentor modeling desired follow up
behavior with a sense of urgency may help students understand the need for immediate follow-up
when the Project Coordinator was trying to schedule interviews. Role modeling of competent
time management and organizational skills training could also be demonstrated. Non-attendance
at the workshop would be grounds for removal from the Program.
4. Changes to the Student Application. The risk of students ending contact with the Project
Coordinator when they found a job independently could be mitigated by including language in
the student application that Student Participant’s new employer information, salary and job
description must be disclosed to the TechWorks Project Coordinator upon acceptance of another
job offer.
5. Addition of Mentorship Component. To increase Employer Participant satisfaction a
mentoring component should be added to the internship experience. Providing opportunities and
times for students and employers to get together during a work day and “connect” on how the
internship was going may increase employer satisfaction with the program. Employers would
have the option to opt out of this if they prefer. The employer-mentor may not be the immediate
supervisor of the student, and other workers within the hiring organization could volunteer to be
a mentor.
6. Provide Job Search Skills. 4 TechWorks interns graduated from college within 6 months of
completing their internships. An optional component could be added for students who graduate during or
soon after their internships to help them transition to full time employment. A comprehensive referral
program including available state and local resources would help interns develop a targeted job search
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15. plan. How To sessions connecting them with AbilityLinks, DRS, IL WorkNet and the on-line job sites
would be useful.
7. Coordination of Grant Partner Efforts: The lack of definition of the roles of MOPD, the Project
Coordinator and disabilityworks led to some confusion during the employer outreach and recruitment
phase of the project. An introductory phone call could be made to employers before the Project
Coordinator called on employers.
8. Eliminate the TechWorks Logo: Designing a Program logo and placing it on program brochures
created the appearance of a stand-alone project separate from the grant holder, disabilityworks. The
disabilityworks and MOPD logo should be used on all Program materials.
9. Increase the emphasis on IT. It was felt that IT was not focused on enough in some of the internship
job descriptions. Taking this position may risk eliminating some placement opportunities.
10. Become a Community Resource Provide information available on the TechWorks website that
would help students with disabilities such as Federal Tax Credit information or architectural barrier
information and provide links to existing places where this information resides. Consider adding social
activities like coffees or brown bag networking events with speakers.
11. Automate the Student/Job Description Sharing. A large portion of the Project Coordinator’s time
was spent sending documents back and forth to participants in the program. Student Profiles, Student
Resumes, Employer Chamber Agreements and Surveys could be stored permanently on-line for registered
employers and students to view and create. Writeable pdf forms could also be created to automate these
processes as well.
12. Add a Legal Resource to the Team. A legal resource to help inform the team on legal issues like
accident liability, disclosure issues and issues with an unpaid student working outside of a school
accredited program would have been beneficial. In addition, a DRS contact for students who need more
job support beyond summer internship placement would helpful.
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16. Table 1
Student Recruitment Results
Description Total of Students
Applicants
Male Applied: 56 Female Applied: 40
Total Applied 96
College 34
High School 62
Interviewed
Male Interviewed: 23 Female Interviewed: 13
Total Interviewed 35
College Interviewed 24
High School Interviewed 12
Accepted
Male Accepted: 11 Female Accepted: 7
Total Accepted 26
College Accepted 20
High School Accepted 6
Note. Students not accepted into the TechWorks Pilot Program either did not arrive for the interview or
were not perceived by the interviewer as having the necessary interpersonal
skills to be placed with an employer.
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17. Table 2
List of Linking Websites
Organization URL
disabilityworks www.disabilityworks.org
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce www.chicagolandchamber.org
MOPD http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/
Illinois Technology Association http://www.illinoistech.org/
Technology Executives Club http://www.technologyexecutivesclub.com
Illinois Technology Foundation http://www.illinoistechfoundation.org/
Illinois WorkNet http://www.illinoisworknet.com/
Cook County POET http://cookcountypoet.org/
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18. Table 3: Student Participants by Skill Set and Gender Type
Skill Set College High School Total Placed
Male: 2 Female: 3 Male:1 Female: 0
Office Support 5 1 6
Male: 3 Female: 0 Male: 1 Female:0
Graphic/
Web Design 3 1 4
Male: 2 Female: 3 Male: 2 Female: 0
Programming/
Systems Analysis 5 2 7
Male: 0 Female: 1 Male:0 Female: 0
Medical
Technology 1 0 1
14 4 18
Total
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19. Table 4: Employer Participants
Number Employer Position Placed
1 Chicago Lighthouse Training/Development
2 Chicago Department of Programming and Design
Procurement
3 Deloitte Hardware Support
4 disabilityworks Marktg/Office Support
5 Jewish Vocational Services Office Support
6 McDonald’s Graphic Design
7 MODIS. Hardware/Software
Installation
8 MOPD Access DBA
9 Neumann Center Ebay/IT
10 Northern Trust IT Systems/Security
11 PACE Office Support
12 POET Internet Research
13 Rush Medical Medical Transcription
14 SnTial Graphic/Web Design
15 Social Security Admin. Benefits Administration
16 SOVA Graphic/Web Design
17 Youth Ready Chicago Leadership Program
18 Youth Ready Chicago Gallery 37
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20. Figure 1. Employer Preferences in Internship Participation for Students with Disabilities
Weighted Average
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
Figure 1. Employer Attitudinal Preferences when Deciding to Participate in an Internship Program for
Students with Disabilities. The following results were derived by taking the weighted average for each
Factor and comparing them to see which one the participants felt was the most important when deciding
to participate in an internship program for students with disabilities. The weighted average is obtained by
adding the survey response values and dividing them by the number of survey respondents. In this case
the lower the weighted average the stronger or more important the value was perceived as ‘1’ =“Strongly
Agree”, 2 =“Slightly Agree”, etc.
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21. Figure 2 Students with Disabilities Attitudinal Preferences when Deciding to Participate in an Internship
Program
Weighted Average
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
Figure 2. Student Attitudinal Preferences when Deciding to Participate in an Internship Program. The
following results were derived by taking the weighted average for each Factor and comparing them to see
which one the participants felt was the most important when deciding to participate in an internship
program for students with disabilities. The weighted average is obtained by adding the survey response
values and dividing them by the number of survey respondents. In this case the lower the weighted
average the stronger or more important the value was perceived as ‘1’ =“Strongly Agree”, 2 =“Slightly
Agree”, etc.
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22. Fourth Quarter Placement Results: Pilot School to Work Initiative Participating
Companies and Students.
HIGH TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL TO WORK GRANT PROGRAM
PART II PROGRAM EXPENDITURE / SERVICE LEVEL REPORT
.
GRANT NUMBER: 08-871017
GRANTEE ORGANIZATION NAME: School to Work Transition
REPORT PERIOD: Final: December 31, 2009
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