Alamo Area Academies:
Career Pathways &
Creative Delivery of Education
Cliff Zintgraff
President, Innology LLC
Co-Founder, Information Technology
& Security Academy
January 30, 2008
Innology: Raising Talent,
Technology and Entrepreneurs
Talent
Technology
Entrepreneurs
Challenge: Engagement
While we expand the pool of teachers, “a better
understanding of what actions can be taken to
excite children about science, mathematics,
and technology would be useful in designing
future educational programs.”
Rising Above the Gathering Storm
Page 114
Challenge:
Critical Thinking Skills
“This is a story about … whether an entire
generation of kids will fail to make the grade
in the global economy because they can't
think their way through abstract problems,
work in teams, (or) distinguish good
information from bad …”
New Commission on the Skills
of the American Workforce
Time Magazine
December 2006
Presentation Overview
Alamo Area Academies: Why & How They
Started
Alamo Area Aerospace Academy
Information Technology and Security Academy
Manufacturing Technology Academy
Outcomes By the Numbers
Challenges We Face(d)
Mystery Workshop
Academies – What’s Next?
1999: Mayor Peak’s
Better Jobs Initiative
• Classic “review and recommendation”
committee
• Result: “Primed the pump” for …
2000: San Antonio’s
Aerospace Challenge
1. Vibrant aerospace manufacturing and
maintenance cluster
2. Aging workforce
3. No feasible plan
Aerospace Industry
in San Antonio
The Aerospace Academy
Entrepreneurs
Dr. Richard Butler
Trinity University
Professor of Economics
Dr. Federico Zaragoza
Vice-Chancellor
Alamo Community
Colleges
Joe Wilson
Lockheed-Martin
Kelly Aviation Center
Dr. David Splitek
Superintendent
Lackland ISD
What They Could See
1. An 11/12th grade program
2. Dual credit
3. Taught by college instructors
4. Students still connected to home school
5. Industry-driven curriculum
6. Leading to a job on graduation
7. And an industry certification within 6 mos
What They Created
1. Region-wide program
2. Broad partnership
3. Industry-led curriculum
4. Dual credit
5. Near 100% job placement
What Students Earn
1. Certificate of Completion
2. 27-31* college semester hours (free)
3. 80% completion of airframe/powerplant
license
*At ACCD or St. Mary’s University; fewer hours at other institutions
Zachary Trede
National SkillsUSA
Contest Silver Medal
July 11, 2007
Partnership
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City of San Antonio
Alamo Community Colleges
All San Antonio area school districts and select Private
Schools
Local aerospace companies
Port San Antonio
Alamo WorkSource
Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
Partner Contributions
City of San Antonio
Alamo Community
Colleges
Funding
Facilities, administration and
instruction
School districts
Employers
Textbooks and transportation
Curriculum leadership; summer
internships
Alamo WorkSource
Grant funding support; industry
cluster support data
2001: San Antonio’s IT
& Security Challenge
1. Second largest concentration of IT security
professionals in the U.S.
2. Growing IT and Security industry cluster
3. Inability to fill open positions
IT & Security: Differences
from Aerospace
1. Longer pipeline
2. Fragmented and diverse industry
3. Internships more challenging
4. Articulations more important
5. In the end, higher wage jobs
What We Created
ITSA: Economies of Scale
1. Staff
2. Facilities
3. Administration policies
4. Transportation
5. Recruiting efforts
ITSA: What Had to Change
1. Industry Committee structure
2. Goal (college, not work)
3. Internships (mix of paid and unpaid)
4. Support structure (to allow for these
differences)
Student Success
Strategic Success? Air Force
Cyberspace Command
“High school students have studied computer security
in a high school-to-career academy, called the
Information Technology and Security Academy, since
2002 …
… No city has more assets that would be left unused,
including a superbly trained work force, if the Air Force
does not place its Cyberspace Command in San
Antonio.”
U.S. Air Force AIM Points, http://aimpoints.hq.af.mil/display.cfm?id=20950, 9/30/2007
San Antonio’s Advanced
Manufacturing Challenge
1. Robust manufacturing capability and
industry association.
2. Serious difficulty filling positions; workforce
not being replenished.
3. Perception of manufacturing as “dirty, low
wage jobs.”
What Was Created
Using primarily the Aerospace Academy Model
OUTCOMES
BY THE NUMBERS
Numbers -- Overview
368 graduates, 2002-2007
98% continued higher education, or
… obtained jobs (vast majority in related industry)
… or joined the military
Average starting pay $27,730
Salary: $21,320 ($10.25 x 2080 hrs) plus ~ $6,400 in benefits
(Prior to earning FAA certification)
(Does not include any ITSA graduates,
who will just be graduating college)
Graduation Placements
Ethnicity
PAST
CHALLENGES
Past Challenges
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM)
Accuplacer
Four hours on campus
4 by 4
Transportation
Long pipelines (ITSA)
Perceptions (Manufacturing)
End to end alignment of staff, admin, industry,
partners
9. Recruiting
DESIGN A PATHWAY
WORKSHOP
Design a Pathway …
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What career pathways does your region need?
Will industry drive the curriculum?
Will industry send requisite leadership?
Will industry provide internships?
Who will administer the program / pathway?
Who will teach?
Who will fund raise?
Is regional funding available?
Who are the stakeholders?
How will you recruit students?
Pathway 1
Pathway 2
Pathway 3
Takeaways
1. The Academy Framework provides benefits in brand
recognition and recruiting
2. Framework provides operational benefits (scale) in
operations and recruiting
3. Industry drive is essential
4. Industry design must be custom
5. Tactical benefits are clearest with a short pipeline
6. Industry support wavers in a long pipeline -- but strategic
benefits can win the day
7. Achieve critical mass – launch intending to reach orbit
WHAT’S NEXT?
New Academy Locations
New Academy Locations:
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New Braunfels – Manufacturing Technology Academy
New Braunfels – IT & Security Academy
Dreams for New Academies:
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Biotechnology
Nursing
Creative Recruiting
Alamo Area Academies will integrate K-10
“engagement programs” as tools to
explicitly recruit into the Academies:
• SpaceTEAMS
• Texas Institute for Educational Robotics
• Whyville Robotics
Creative Recruiting -SpaceTEAMS
The Texas Institute for Educational
Robotics (TIER) will build on
SpaceTEAMS to expand the
program in San Antonio and
throughout Texas.
Whyville – Engaging Students
© numedeon, inc. 2006
Ion
Engine
Design
© numedeon, inc. 2006
Whyville Beach
© numedeon, inc. 2006
Whyville
Biotech
© numedeon, inc. 2004
Whyville
PlaneWorks
Whyville Texas Challenge
• STARTS April 15
• Biotechnology and advanced
manufacturing competitions
• Virtual World class vs. class
competition
• Prizes!
• To get on the mailing list:
info@whyville.net
Alamo Area Academies:
Career Pathways &
Creative Delivery of Education
Cliff Zintgraff
President, Innology LLC
Co-Founder, Information Technology
& Security Academy
January 30, 2008
Innology: Raising Talent,
Technology and Entrepreneurs
•
•
•
Raising Talent by helping to create careers
pathways in San Antonio
Raising Technology by managing the
technology assessment effort for the
UT/Portugal CoLab
Raising Entrepreneurs in Portugal (adults)
and in virtual worlds (middle and high school
students)