Happy Summer!

This quarter has been a very busy time for us in workforce development!  I've been sharing the goal of building a globally competitive workforce with educators, students, community members, and partners across the county. I wanted to share two highlights with you as well as to tell you about a project I am undertaking.

First, it was my pleasure to speak at the Center for Career Alternatives (CCA) graduation ceremony in June. With a graduating class of 98 students, I was honored to address these youth who have managed to achieve so much even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Many of these youth can tell stories of a lack of role models in their lives, of having no desire to graduate from high school, and of facing barriers like teen parenthood, unstable families, and addictions. Speaking to a group of almost 100 young people who have chosen to succeed made me so proud, not only for them, but for the community partnerships that WDCSC is able to contribute to, even in small ways, like CCA's Career Readiness Program, partially funded though Workforce Investment Act dollars.

Secondly, we are so pleased to announce receiving a Building Bridges grant from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to both continue the support of and expand to four additional Snohomish County districts the highly successful Dropout Prevention, Intervention, and Retrieval program, Project STAR, now running at Everett Public Schools.  With any luck, we will be able to replicate Project STAR's amazing success in every school district in the county.

Lastly, I wanted to share with you an on-going project I've been participating in: I have personally made it my mission to visit every mayor or city official of every town in Snohomish County to discuss their community's workforce needs and look for solutions to address them. Collaboratively, we are looking at solutions such as offering the community workforce development services within city halls, libraries, and perhaps through a traveling center on wheels. I am excited about meeting with officials in the more rural areas of our county; many are embracing the idea of locating workforce development services in their own towns!

I look forward to our continued partnership in workforce development here in Snohomish County.  If you have a workforce or education issue you'd like to tackle with us, please don't hesitate to contact me via email or phone at 425 921 3477.

Sincerely,

Sue Ambler

Chief Executive Officer