Economic calamity spawns opportunity: Washington: Bridgeport School District.

Responding to a local economic calamity, the Bridgeport School District in Bridgeport, Wash., and the local community formed a partnership to prepare students for work off the farms.

This success story began in the late 1990s when the price of wheat and apples dropped, and unemployment rates ultimately rose above 9 percent. The dropout rate at the high school climbed to 58 percent as students sought jobs in orchards to help their families survive. Free and reduced-price meal eligibility rose to 87 percent. Despair and malaise permeated the community as the economy worsened.

To address the growing distress, a new school superintendent and the mayor of Bridgeport led the creation of a community business and school partnership called A Taste of Business Beyond the Orchard. The program combined living, learning and working into core work-skills experience and resulted in the district being named Washington's 2005 Civic Star Award recipient. Training focused on work-readiness skills, occupational skills and literacy.

Business partners, including the Workforce Development Council, the Beaumont Foundation, Enterprise for Progress in the Community and Microsoft Corp., were recruited to help with the effort. Meanwhile, the city recruited high school students to meet with members of the state legislature to explain the impact of state budgets on the community, giving students a sense of meaningful involvement in the community's future. Students were also trained to assist in disasters by filling sandbags and learning first aid.

Two key goals were established: reducing the dropout rate and training students to work in businesses. To lower the dropout rate, two alternative schools, Aurora High School and Main Street Learning Center, were opened. They allowed flexible hours for working students and teen-age parents with child-care needs. The Workforce Development Council partnered with businesses to provide training in job-interviewing skills, preparing resumes and filling out job applications. More than 40 students graduated from the two programs, a major accomplishment for a city that typically graduates about 30 students annually from Bridgeport High School.

Because few businesses operated in Bridgeport, students had been able to develop little job experience other than working in the orchards. To create other real work opportunities, businesses were created within the school system. They included a latte cafe that operated during the school day and a studio that enabled students to record their own music.

In addition, day-care training was provided so students could take early-childhood education classes. A pre-professional technology certification program provided on-line training for a student helpdesk initiative, and construction programs created summer job opportunities for students interested in building trades.

The variety of initiatives helped students develop entry-level job skills that would be marketable beyond the orchards. More than 250 students have benefited from the program.

For more information on the Bridgeport program, contact Superintendent Gene Schmidt at Bridgeport School District, P.O. Box 1060, Bridgeport, Wash. 98813, or call [phone]. Schmidt's e-mail address is [e-mail].