Replace Cleveland Job Corps With Something That Works: Editorial By The Plain Dealer Editorial Board

There have been many problems with the Cleveland Job Corps Center in Collinwood.

The Plain Dealer Editorial Board is suggesting something many of us have said for years:

“It (The Department of Labor) ought to strongly consider ditching the program and forming partnerships with local schools, community colleges and social service agencies. That’s probably true in places other than Cleveland, too. “

Alutiiq, the second Federal Contractor in the last few years was recently dismissed from managing the plagued Cleveland center.  Alutiiq, with its less than savory reputation was already a poor choice before they even stepped on center.  If one definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” why hasn’t someone woken up to the fact that Job Corps, as it exists now isn’t working?

Pleasae read the editorial here:

Filed under: Alutiiq, Cleveland Job Corps, Contractors, Department of Labor, Job Corps, Alutiiq, Cleveland, Cleveland Job Corps Center, Collinwood, Job Corps, Michigan, Plain Dealer

Must See This Important Video on Out of Control Schools by Louisa Moller

Comments are encouraged and allowed on this post…

Filed under: Alutiiq, Job Corps, Newspaper Reports, Northlands Job Corps, Alutiiq, Fox44 - ABC 22, Job Corps, Louisa Moller, Out of Control Schools

Allegations about Flint/Genesee Job Corps online diploma program

-from J

“There is wide spread corruption and unethical practices at the Flint/Genesee Job Corps operated by the Alluttiq management LLC. Many of the students, aka, trainees take the high school on line classes from Penn Foster. The work is supposed to be completed on the computer. The administrator provides the student with a print out of the questions with the answers. The diploma is not worth the paper it is written on. There is high staff turnover and the students do not put the proper time in to obtain a vocational trade but are given the certification. This location needs some oversight or investigation.”

-Howard’s response:

“Flint/Genesee Job Corps has an overall ranking of 52 for the rolling year ending July 30, 2010. They ranked number 7 for the GED/HSD category. Well, now we know how they do it – give the students the answers to the test questions. This is nothing new, how do you think these “high school diplomas” are “earned” at Job Corps centers?

It’s more difficult to cheat on the GED test because that test is monitored by a GED examiner who doesn’t work for Job Corps. Knowing that most students can’t pass the GED test, the Job Corps system pays a hefty sum to other companies whose services they contract to issue “high school diplomas” allegedly earned on-line. It’s just another Job Corps charade.

Here’s the funny part. Any serious educator who looks at Flint/Genesee’s other statistics will immediately notice something suspicious. They rank number 115 out of 122 Job Corps on the Literacy ranking. How can they do so well earning GED/ high school diplomas, when they rank so low on Literacy gains? Every teacher worth his salt knows that the skills needed to pass the GED and earn a high school diploma correlate highly to Literacy skills. Stated another way, Literacy is a significant factor in being able to pass the GED test or to earn a high school diploma honestly. Yet on this center there is a very high inverse correlation between the two.

You’ll probably say, “but those students who earn the diploma and GEDs are not in the pool of students whose Literacy and Numeracy gains are being tested and tracked.” Not true. High school diplomas are being granted to students who score below the eighth grade level on the TABE. In fact, a student can enter the New Summit high school program with just a 6.5 GE Literacy score on the TABE. These students are definitely not leaving the program with 10.0 GE reading level as is recommended for taking the GED test. Most states’ Education Depts want students to be functioning at the 10.0 reading and math levels before they take the GED. This is how Job Corps fools students and the public into believing that they have earned a “high school diploma”. Then when they go to interview for a job, the boss finds out that they can’t read or write at what is considered a literate level. The unions, especially, are questioning these diplomas.

So why is the Forestry Service looking for contractors to submit bids for providing high school programs to it’s centers? The Forestry Service has prided itself in remaining true to the original Job Corps goals and in delivering honest certifications. Is it now falling in line with the rest of the system that has sold its soul to the devil”?

Filed under: Alutiiq, Contractors, Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center, number manipulation, Performance, Reader's Comments, Alutiiq, Flint/Genesee Job Corps, GED, literacy gains, online diploma program, overall ranking, Penn Foster, USDA forestry Service

Bedbugs, Secrets, Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center and the Media or, Two Versions of an Event

While trolling the internet for buried stories about Job Corps mis-management I found a Facebook Page called The Scupper. This is no ordinary page mind you, its author is apparently a student/staff who wanted to share the truth behind the bed bug infestation at Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center… The Scupper’s site is replete with pictures and information that has so far been successfully white-washed by its “business community liaison ” Verona Terry.  She/he did a great job downplaying the seriousness of the situation and minimizing the size and scope of the infestation.

Excerpt from the Flint News:

“We’ve had some cleaning solutions in the rooms, and we’ve had some exterminations brought in,” said Verona Terry, business community liaison at the Job Corps Center. “Rooms with bedbugs are being sanitized. We’re keeping it under control.”

And, another quote from an “expert” who is downplaying and minimizing the situation (from the same article)

“County Health Officer Mark Valacak said the Job Corps infestation is the first he’s heard of a reappearance of bed bugs in Genesee County.

The bugs were eradicated in most developed countries with the use of DDT after World War II, according to the Mayo Clinic Web site, which says the return of the parasites to this country may have been spurred by increases in international travel.

He compared the insects to mosquitos — usually more of an aggravation than a dangerous health concern. “It’s a nuisance,” Valacak said of the itchy red welts the bug’s bite leaves as its calling card.”

However, if we compare the “The Scupper’s” contentions about this event apparently, Flint/Genesee Job Corps officials decided to write letters to the parents of the students five (5) days after the sanitized version of the bed bug eradication attempts were published in the media.  Why wait five days?  Why bother to inform anyone at all? Would Job Corps officials have notified anyone if the occurence were not published? Who knows. Oh, I forgot to mention… the bed bug news was published on January 8, 2010 and, according to the Scupper, staff still hadn’t been notified of the situation as of  January 22, 2010.

Alutiiq is the operator/contractor for the Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center.

Filed under: Alutiiq, Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center, Job Corps, Newspaper Reports, Alutiiq, Flint News, Flint/Genesee Job Corps, Job Corps bedbugs, Mark Valacak, The Scupper, Verona Terry