ACE

ACADEMY for

CAREER

EXCELLENCE

dear

educatorWe live at an exciting time for our region‟s youth. Employers

throughout our ten-county region tell us they face a current

and future shortage of qualified workers to replace retiring

employees in jobs that pay well above the minimum wage.

Many of the jobs in demand today have starting wages that

will support a family with full healthcare and other benefits.

The employers who have these high-quality-of-life jobs

available, however, seek young people who are truly career-

ready, reliable, and energetic about work.

Employers value the skills that our Area Technology Centers

are teaching students. But getting the best jobs in-demand

today requires students and future employees develop great

“soft skills” like the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,

interviewing and problem-solving skills and more. The

purpose of the Academy for Career Excellence (ACE) is to

combine the BRADD Workforce Investment Board‟s

successful Teacher Academy program (click to view video)

with your strengths and new career preparation resources to

serve your students.

Your students will benefit directly from the ACE sessions and

curriculum described in this brochure. Working together, the

skills you have taught students can and will be put to work in

our region‟s economy.

We invite your school‟s participation with us at this exciting

time for careers in South Central Kentucky.

over

viewMonster.Com’s Making Your Future Count

September 24 and 25 at the WKU Carol Knicely Center

Monthly Workshops

Each 90-minute workshop will focus on one of the Seven

Habits of Highly Effective Teens as well as students learning,

practicing and applying career driven activities.

Junior Achievement

By partnering with Junior Achievement (JA), the Academy for

Career Excellence (ACE) will cover additional topics that

directly relate to seeking and gaining future employment.

Homework Challenge Each Month

Students will practice what they have learned in the ACE

workshops. Each month students who have completed the

assignments will be eligible for a special drawing and prize.

Industry/Education Site Visits

BRADD and JA will coordinate employer site visits for all

students and teachers who participate in ACE Workshops.

The visits are hosted by industries and businesses in the 10

county region that BRADD serves. Transportation costs for

your school will be reimbursed by BRADD.

Parent Engagement

The program will include a parent‟s night in August to give

them awareness of careers and scholarship opportunities for

their children.

start

bigACE/Making Your Future Count

Kick-Off Celebration

September 24 and 25, 2014Carol Knicely Center

Western Kentucky University

From 1998 to 2013, Monster.Com‟s Making It Count

programs reached more than 25 million youth through live

presentations in high schools and colleges throughout the

country.

Through targeted messaging and engaging content,

Monster‟s trained speakers empower youth to make

informed choices about their future and inspire action.

Although Monster.com‟s original MIC is no longer on tour,

Monster.Com‟s Making Your Future Count is designed to

be a more flexible and responsive solution to support skill

development, career exploration, and to help young people

from all backgrounds make the most of their educational

experiences and set the stage for ACE workshops

throughout the school year.

Transportation costs for your school will be reimbursed by

BRADD.

7

habitsEach month‟s ACE workshop is “framed” by one of Sean

Covey‟s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, (CLICK HERE)

based on Dr. Stephen Covey‟s international best-selling

management book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Students will learn how to achieve personal independence

by mastering the first three habits: Being Proactive,

Beginning With The End in Mind, and Putting First Things

First.

Students will discover how putting the first three foundational

habits into practice opens the opportunity for effective

teamwork and rewarding interdependence in the

succeeding habits: Think Win-Win, Seek First to Understand

(Then to be understood), and Synergize.

The seventh habit, Sharpen the Saw, emphasizes personal

health and well-being, through positive outlets such as

physical fitness and reading for enjoyment.

BRADD is partnering with the FranklinCovey organization to

deliver this exciting curriculum throughout the ACE workshop

series.

7October

Be Proactive: Taking Responsibility for

your life. Being proactive is more than

taking initiative. It is accepting

responsibility for our own behavior (past,

present and future) and making choices

based on principles and values rather than

on moods or circumstances. Proactive

people are agents of change and choose

not to be victims, to be reactive, or to

blame others. They take an Inside-Outside

Approach to creating changes.

Discover Who You Are and Define

Where You Want To Go: This segment

will help students understand how learning

more about themselves and their

personality strengths can assist them in

defining the path they wish to follow

towards future success and the importance

of defining long-term goals and how to

achieve them.

Goals & Attitude: Will focus on how to set

goals – long and short term with activities

that directly apply the practice. Also

assessing our attitudes, and becoming

more positive and professional. We will

practice and apply positive thinking, losing

negative words, pondering the positive,

and learning how to make a positive

impact.

September 24 & 25WKU Carol Knicely Center

ACE Kick-Off:

Monster.Com‟s

Making Your Future Count

workshopsDecember

Put First Things First: Prioritize and do

the most important things first. Putting first

things first is the second or physical

creation. It is organizing and executing

around mental creation (your purpose,

vision, values, and most important

priorities.) The main thing is to keep the

main thing the main thing.

Build Your Money Management Skills:

We will cover topics that help students

understand how to develop effective

money management skills that will

empower them to achieve financial

independence.

Keys To Self Management – Managing

Your Time and Yourself! Students will

learn the skills to prioritize their work,

tasks, and schedules. They will

understand setting deadlines, being

punctual, responsible and how important

accountability is in everything they do.

November

Begin With The End In Mind: „Control

Your Own Destiny, or Someone Else Will‟

– Defining your mission and goals in life.

All things are created twice – first mentally,

second physically. Individuals, families,

teams, and organizations shape their own

future by creating a mental vision and

purpose for any project. They don‟t just

live day to day without a clear purpose in

mind. They mentally identify and commit

themselves to the principles, values,

relationships and purposes that matter

most to them.

Identify & Build The Skills Needed To

Succeed: Students will learn about the

various skills they will need to possess in

order to be successful in their future

career.

Make Yourself Heard! Professional

Communication Skills: Self assessment

– Communication Mistakes. Learn the 6

actions for effective communication.

November/December

Site Visit and Tour for Students/Teachers

February

Seek First To Understand, Then To Be

Understood: Listen to people sincerely.

When we listen with the intent to

understand others, rather than with the

intent to reply, we begin true

communication and relationship building.

Seeking to understand takes kindness;

seeking to be understood takes courage.

Effectiveness lies in balancing the two.

Resolving Conflict: Students will learn

how to identify and resolve conflicts in

personal, professional and academic

environments.

Play Nice & Stay Employed! Workplace

Relationships & Conflict Negotiations:

Are you a hero or a zero when building

relationships? Students will practice and

apply skills to master an executive

presence with their colleagues and

managers alike.

January

Think Win Win: Have an everyone-can-

win attitude. Thinking win-win is a frame of

mind and heart that seeks mutual benefit

and is based on mutual respect in all

interactions. It‟s not about thinking

selfishly (win-lose) or like a martyr (lose-

win). In our work and family life, members

think interdependently-- in terms of “we,”

not “me.” Thinking win-win encourages

conflict resolution and helps individuals

seek mutually beneficial solutions. It‟s

sharing information, power, recognition,

and rewards.

Respecting Diversity in the Workplace:

Students will understand the importance of

recognizing diversity in their lives and how

to respect diversity in the workplace.

Teamwork & Motivation: Collaboration

with other students, teams and family

members. Students will learn to apply

skills that help them keep commitments,

communicate constructively, listen more

actively, take initiative and share openly

and willingly and know how to put aside

differences to complete tasks and goals. February/March

Site Visit and Tour for Students/Teachers

April

Sharpen The Saw: Renew yourself

regularly. Sharpening the saw is about

constantly renewing ourselves in the four

basic areas of life: Physical,

social/emotional, mental and spiritual. It‟s

the habit that increases our capacity to live

all the other habits of effectiveness.

Discover Who You Are: This will help

students understand and learn more about

themselves and their personality strengths

and can assist them in defining the path

they wish to follow towards future success.

The Perfect Match: Students will review

the 7 steps to getting hired and succeed

and analyze job-hunting skills. They then

participate in mock interviews to prepare

for the job shadow challenge at the site

visit. When returning from the visit,

students will reflect what they have learned

before and during the site visit, and they

will practice business communication by

composing a thank-you note. They then

create one of four career-preparation tools;

a career assessment, elevator pitch,

resume‟ or infographic profile.

March

Synergize: Work together to achieve

more. Synergy is about producing a third

alternative – not my way, not your way,

but a third way that is better than either of

us would have come up with individually.

Synergistic teams and families thrive on

individual strengths. They go for creative

cooperation.

Identify & Build the Skills Needed to

Succeed: Students will learn about the

various skills they will need to possess in

order to be successful in their future

career.

Lead with Integrity! Leadership and

Ethics – Students will learn and practice

lessons on leadership, ethics, and the

power of teamwork. They will understand

what traits make a leader a leader. Also,

applying the skills that track these

achievements and to know how to practice

thoughtful awareness.

jobSeeing is believing. Our region‟s employers open

their doors to your students through exciting and

informative student tours and site visits. Many of these

employer-partners also participate in the ACE mock

interview sessions held toward the end of the

workshop series. ACE participants will visit many of

our region‟s top employers to see for themselves what

a modern manufacturing career is all about.

site visits

Teacher Academy: (For all teachers, guidance

counselors and parents) The Teacher Academy

is where we bring all educators together to

provide overview, input, get feedback, look at

reflective questions regarding the goals of the

program and workshops and evaluate the

program for improvements. We also will divide

into groups and take teacher/parent tours of

industries and businesses to allow you to see

first hand all the opportunities that manufacturing

facilities can provide for your students/children.

Professional Development Credits may apply

depending on your district.

JA Job Shadow™

Preparing for the Site Visit: The site visit

introduces students to the workplace and to the

career opportunities available to them. Although

the product developed or service provided differs

from business to business, many companies

provide similar career opportunities. For

example, public relations firms, government

agencies, and biotechnology firms all need

accountants, project managers, and writers. The

JA Job Shadow site visit experience inspires

students to learn and demonstrate the basic

skills that will make them valuable assets to any

employer.

moreIC3

BRADD offers job seekers of all ages

the Internet and Computing Core

Certification, or “IC3”

The IC3 is a valued credential that

tells a prospective employer that an

applicant has strong competence in

most office software functions,

including internet and networking

literacy.

If your school would like to become a

BRADD-designated IC3 training site,

check the box for IC3 on the school

confirmation page.

WIN & NCRCACE participants will use BRADD‟s

licenses for WIN, (Worldwide

Interactive Network) to practice and

pass the WorkKeys NCRC exam.

The NCRC (National Career

Readiness Certificate) is widely

recognized by employers as evidence

that an applicant has grasped basic

workplace skills such as reading for

information, applied math, and

locating information independently.

If your school would like to become a

BRADD-designated WIN NCRC test

prep site, check the box for WIN on

the school confirmation page.

resources

CareerScopeThe CareerScope assessment tools

offered through BRADD, help students sift

through the myriad of career choices

confronting them. Through the

CareerScope assessment, users discover

the types of jobs that will excite them and

best-utilize their skills and abilities.

Youth criteriaCertain criteria should be met for students to participate in BRADD Youth

programs. Please contact our staff for application process. There will be limited space available for each school.

InterviewStreamBRADD makes getting job interview

practice just a click away. ACE

participants will learn how to use this

valuable tool and “ace” their first job

interviews.

confirACE workshops and other certification

programs may be limited to 30 student

seniors per school.

To begin, simply print and complete the

following page and email or fax it to

Jennifer Rogers:

jennifer@bradd.org

fax: (270) 842-0768

To register your school for ACE using our

online system, click HERE.

YES:My school will participate in the BRADD Academy for Career Excellence (ACE).

1) The best date for our ACE Parent’s Night is:

August ______, 2014 at ___ PM

2) The best day of the week for holding our school‟s monthly 90-

minute ACE Workshops will be:

_____________ Mornings at: ____ AM

(Mon-Fri)

_____________ Afternoons at: ____ PM(Mon-Fri)

(Except for: _____________________________________ )

indicate if necessary

3) We will send our students to the Monster.Com Making It Count Kick-Off Event at The Knicely Center

____ On September 24, 2014(number)

____ On September 25, 2014(number)

Name of School:

____________________________________

Principal:

____________________________________

Contact Info:

____________________________________

(phone number) (email address)

My school is interested in becoming a BRADD-designated

WIN (NCRC test preparation) site. Please contact me with

the details.

My school is interested in becoming a BRADD-designated

IC3 training site. Please contact me with the details.

EMAIL or FAX (270) 842-0768

this page to jennifer@bradd.org

m

braddBarren River Area Development District

177 Graham Avenue

Bowling Green, KY 42101

(270) 781-2381