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Available Position: 55K Initiative Coordinator

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Job Summary

55,000 Degrees seeks an Initiative Coordinator who will play a critical function in the organization providing project and event planning, partnership communications, and logistical support to the many facets of this exciting community-wide partnership.

Duties and Responsibilities will include but are not be limited to:

  • Assist the Executive Director and team with scheduling, event planning and logistical needs
  • Support ED by tracking progress of certain strands of work, communicating with partners, and supporting internal organizational communications
  • Coordinate 55K board and committee meetings by scheduling meetings, tracking attendance, developing agenda and handouts, keeping minutes, and sending follow-up notes
  • Provide logistical support to action networks and teams such as the College Transition Action Network.
  • In partnership with the Director of Community Relations, coordinate the Cradle to Career AmeriCorps VISTA grant (specifically ensuring compliance as outlined by AmeriCorps VISTA, organizing reports, reviewing and processing monthly VISTA expenditures)
  • Assist with resource development by drafting proposals, tracking grants and reports, and preparing for funder briefings
  • Handle all bookkeeping tasks, including tracking and paying invoices, utilizing QuickBooks to allocate and monitor grant funds
  • Support financial reporting tasks, including preparing monthly financial statements.
  • Draft and edit communications and promotional materials targeting key constituencies, such as newsletters, emails/announcements, flyers, social media, etc.
  • Complete research assignments as needed (e.g., best practices on various strategies relevant to the 55,000 Degrees agenda)
  • Assist Executive Director with hiring processes and on-boarding new staff
  • Manage files and organizational records

View the full description here

Kentucky Work Ready Scholarship Application Now Open

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Originally posted on the KHEAA Work Ready webpage.

The Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship helps Kentuckians who have not yet earned an associate’s degree afford an industry-recognized certificate.

  • Student must:
    • Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
    • Be a Kentucky resident
    • Be a high school or GED graduate
    • Have not earned an associate’s or higher degree
    • Be enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, at an eligible postsecondary institution in an approved program of study that leads to an industry recognized certificate in a high-demand workforce sector.
      • Qualifying areas for the 2017-2018 year are health care, advanced manufacturing, transportation/logistics, business services/IT, and construction
    • Not be in default on any obligation to KHEAA
  • Application:
  • Award:
    • Amount equals tuition amount minus federal and state grants and scholarships, up to the maximum amount.
    • Maximum amount shall not exceed the in-state tuition and fees rate for full-time enrollment at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Estimated near $3,900 for the 2017-2018 year.
  • Eligibility:
    • Expires when the first of the following conditions is met:
      • Receipt of scholarship funding for the equivalent of four academic terms;
      • Receipt of the scholarship for 32 credit hours of enrollment; or
      • Receipt of a first associate’s degree
    • Recipients must earn a grade point average of 2.0 or higher each semester the scholarship is received in order to be eligible the following semester.

Looking Back at the Power Forward Summit

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On December 9, 2016, KentuckianaWorks, 55K and GLI, sponsored Power Forward, the Louisville Region Education and Workforce Summit. The summit, which was attended by over 250 people, picked up on last year’s call to accelerate progress with two main themes:

  • Making stronger connections between education and employers. Keynote speakers included Peter Cappelli, professor of Management at The Wharton School (Penn) and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources, and Dr. Kate Ziemer, Associate Vice Provost of Curriculum and Professor of Chemical engineering at Northeastern University. Cappelli is also the author of Will College Pay Off?: A Guide to the Most Important Financial Decision You’ll Ever Make, and his presentation called for a “shorter supply chain” between employers and higher education. Ziemer’s presentation explored Northeastern University’s Co-op Program for cooperative education and career development which integrates rigorous classroom study with real-world experiences to create a self-directed learning pathway for students.  KentuckianaWorks’ Career Calculator and SummerWorks programs were also highlighted.
  • Tackling policies and practices to improve equity in student outcomes. Presentations on the Tennessee Promise, Redlining Louisville, and concentrated poverty in Louisville explored the historic policies and current realities of inequity, and potential solutions.

View the presentations from our speakers below. (In chronological order)

Peter Cappelli – Meeting the human capital challenges of the business community

Mary Gwen Wheeler – Fast Forward to Power Forward

Michael Gritton – KentuckianaWorks Career Calculator

Haley Glover – What the data says about employer investments in their employees’ education

Rob Lauber – Changing lives through employee education

Paul Diaz – The importance and opportunity of youth employment

Kate Derrick – The Tennessee Promise and what it could mean for Kentucky

John Marshall – How JCPS is helping every student to succeed

Kate Ziemer – How universal co-ops have transformed Northeastern University

Andrew Melin – Career Readiness in Clark County Schools

Lilly Massa-McKinley – Bellarmine’s promise to get an internship for every student who wants one

 

Please check back in as we add more presentations from our speakers.

FAFSA Is Now Open! Have You Filed?

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This year’s FAFSA comes with important changes, the first being an early release date. Rather than waiting until January to open, the FAFSA opened on October 1st! Don’t fall for the myth that the FAFSA can’t help you; many schools require a FAFSA to give any aid at all, including work-study awards or student loans. Head on over to FAFSA.ed.gov to get started.

 

An earlier release date means earlier tax information. This year is a “prior prior” year, which means you’ll use 2015 taxes for your 2017-2018 FAFSA. You’ll also have to create a FSA ID (if you don’t already have one) before filling out this year’s FAFSA this year. A FSA ID is an electronic signature that verifies your identity, and you need an email address to create it. Learn more about the FSA ID here.

 

Remember: Kentucky awards financial aid on a first-come, first-serve basis, so waiting to file your FAFSA could make you lose out on state aid.

 

If you want guidance for this year’s FAFSA, the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) is hosting FAFSA completion events at libraries and schools all throughout October. These walk-in events are free and open to the public, so make sure to attend with plenty of questions!

1-Oct

Catholic Enrichment Center

 3146 W Broadway, 40211 9am-12pm

1-Oct

Main Library

 301 York St, 40203 2pm-4pm

5-Oct

Seneca HS

 3510 Goldsmith Ln, 40220 5-7pm

8-Oct

Southwest Library

 9725 Dixie Hwy,  40272 10-12pm

11-Oct

Fern Creek HS

 9115 Fern Creek Rd, 40291 6-8pm

13-Oct

Jeffersontown HS

 9600 Old 6 Mile Ln, 40299 5-8:30pm

18-Oct

Moore HS

 6415 Outer Loop, 40228 6-8pm

20-Oct

PRP

 5901 Greenwood Rd, 40258 6-7:30

25-Oct

Louisville Urban League

 1535 W Broadway, 40203 6-7:30pm

 

Louisville Recognized as Culture of Health Prize Winner

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Louisville has been selected to receive the 2016 RWJF Culture of Health prize for its efforts in improving community health and well-being. 55,000 Degrees was recognized as a contributing force in these efforts through a collective impact approach, giving Louisville residents a greater chance at obtaining degrees and improving their quality of life.

Louisville Sets New Record in Education Attainment

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Louisville’s adult population has set a new record for college attainment, according to 2015 data released this week from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Highlights of the data include:

  • The percentage of working-age adults with at least an associate degree now stands at 44.7 percent, up 3 percentage points over the previous year.
  • The percentage with at least a bachelor’s degree was also up to 35.7 percent, a 2.4 percentage point increase.
  • In addition, in the annual ranking of 15 “Peer Cities” tracked by the organization, Louisville moved up to the No. 9 position for adults with at least an associate’s degree, passing Greensboro, N.C.

These are the most significant gains since 55,000 Degrees was created in 2010.