Community Initiative
In September 2021, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Communities In Schools of Jacksonville, Florida State College, Duvall County Public Schools, and Englewood High School launched a new Bridge to Employment (BTE) program in the Jacksonville, Florida community. The three-year BTE-Englewood program targets 50 Grade 10 students enrolled at Englewood High School in the 2021-2022 with a minimum 3.2 GPA and helps build solid futures by introducing a broad array of careers in the STEM2D sectors and providing enhanced academic and real-world experiences. The long-term outcomes are: 1) Increase the number of students who enroll in higher education, and 2) Increase the number of students pursuing a career in the STEM2D sectors.
To achieve the stated outcomes, BTE partners will offer a variety of Academic Enrichment, Career Readiness & Exploration, Higher Education Preparation, and Community Engagement and Leadership opportunities. Key program activities include:
- Education & Career Planning, Students will develop a plan based on their interests, career/personality assessment results, and college and career exploration done throughout the year. Students will present their Education and Career Plan to their peers and volunteers.
- Academic Tutoring. Study hall will be set up to provide students with tutoring to ensure they are on track for promotion and graduation.
- STEM Electives. Students will participate in a STEM elective course at either Englewood High School or FSC
- Post-secondary Preparation, including tours and tasters of local colleges and universities, a college-student speaker series, ACT/SAT preparation classes, application counseling and support.
- College & Career Readiness Workshops. Workshops will be held to develop students foundation skills, such as resume/LinkedIn building, interview prep and cover letter writing. Students will also have the opportunity to earn a Career Awareness Digital Badge, among others.
- Career Exploration and Higher Education Exposure. Career exploration activities will follow a variety of formats from career fairs and industry tours to lunch-n-learns and career coaching with J&J volunteers. All opportunities are designed to improve the student’s knowledge of STEM career options, better understand the working world, and motivate students to improve academic performance.
- Community Engagement. Students will participate in an two annual community service projects: Thanksgiving Give Back and MLK Day of Service.