Vice President/Executive Director for Programs of The Pinkerton Foundation
Laurie Dien, the Vice President/Executive Director for Programs of the Pinkerton Foundation, briefly talks about our decade long partnership.
Q&A
Q: What is Pinkerton’s history with ExpandED Schools?
A: We were fans of what was then TASC long before we made our first grant. [Founding President] Lucy Friedman came to our offices about 25 years ago to meet with Pinkerton’s small staff at the time—Joan Colello, Chris Bell and me. Lucy unveiled an ambitious plan to support and strengthen after-school programs in elementary schools. We were enthusiastic, of course, but ultimately decided to focus on community center and teen-based programs that were unlikely to take advantage of the funding that TASC was leveraging.
About a decade later, along came the After School Apprenticeship Program (ASAP). We completely shared TASC’s realization that high school students required new and different models of after-school programming—and decided to jump in to help. It was in 2008 that Pinkerton and TASC (now ExpandED Schools) — if you will pardon the pun — expanded our relationship considerably. The first grant was for $155,000. Over the years, we’ve made grants totaling roughly $8.6 million. We now work with Saskia Traill and the team to fund and collaborate extensively on work-based learning and STEM programs, and we’re delighted that soon a major literacy initiative will be added to the mix.
Q: As you see it, describe ExpandED School’s journey in developing its expertise on work-based learning.
A: The ASAP programming was an important first step, and like any good organization, TASC learned from that project. Your commitment has held steady ever since, and now as ExpandED Schools, the expertise in the work-based learning arena has grown exponentially. That initial pilot was based on Chicago’s After School Matters where teens received specialized training as apprentices and then taught younger children during the summer as paid interns. ASAP partnered with nonprofits that were experts in the skills that the teens were being trained. In the early days, the apprenticeships focused on coaching skills and certifications in lifeguarding, and then moved on to include visual arts and drama. By 2011, we discussed strategies to make ASAP more financially stable. A breakthrough question emerged: Since students were “learning” their new apprenticeship skills during the spring semester, why couldn’t they receive academic credits for learning their trades and then get paid for their work in the summer? Candace Brazier-Thurman, now the Vice-President of Work-Based Learning at ExpandED Schools, created a rubric that demonstrated the 21st Century skills that the students learned during the apprenticeship and would later use during their internships. Much to our surprise, the high school principals accepted the idea of giving credits without much pushback.
Over time the number of apprenticeship offerings grew – now it includes art, computers, nutrition/cooking, gardening, video, STEM, among others. The apprenticeship credits were taken care of, but the next question was how do we get the summer wages paid for? The Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) seemed an obvious answer. Thanks to tenacity all around — and with Candace Brazier-Thurman at the helm — the SYEP funds eventually came through. And it got even better. Not only did the city pay for ExpandED Options’ slots, it also adapted the model for an SYEP initiative known as “Career Ready Schools.” That program now serves thousands of young people. The next stop is to bring ExpandED Options to full scale — where students will earn academic credit for their SYEP internships as part of this initiative. Monia Salam, Candace’s colleague, has been working closely with city agencies and City Hall to make this happen, while also facilitating a coalition on work-based learning that ExpandED Schools developed.
Q: In the fifteen years you’ve been working together, what do you think has made ExpandED Schools a good partner?
A: One of the keys to success of ExpandED Schools efforts in work-based learning–and for that matter, all across the board– is the creativity and persistence of its dedicated and now growing staff. Once a small program, ASAP has been transformed into an entire department. More important, its staff has become a the “go-to” expert in the field.
Q. What’s next for the partnership?
A: We at Pinkerton couldn’t be happier that ExpandEd Schools will be taking a leadership role in the Career Internship Network. CIN was seeded by Pinkerton 23 years ago and I have had the privilege of watching it grow from about 20 organizations to more than 40 today. The wages, workplace experience, career exposure and networking possibilities are all important elements of a successful internship. In CIN’s new home, we hope to get even closer to one of the network’s original goals: to marry the experience of career internships and what teens learn in school.
Working with ExpandED Schools has and continues to be a fruitful journey.
