Monthly Archives February 2013

KRA “Principals for the Day”

On February 13th, Alisha Bazemore, Program Manager, and Domonique Goode, Quality Assurance Team Leader, from the KRA/VIEW (Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare) Program, served as the “Principal for the Day”, an activity held in conjunction with the Norfolk Education Foundation (NEF) and Norfolk Public Schools,  at two community schools. The “Principal” program allows community leaders the opportunity to experience what it is really like to be in charge of a school, for 1 day.  Several prestigious community leaders…including members of the City Council and the School Board, as well as the Superintendent of Schools…took part in the event, which was preceded by a recognition reception for all
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"Nemo" No Match for KRA Teamwork

The snow began falling across the Northeast on February 9th, ushering in a massive blizzard that dumped from one-to-three+ feet of snow from Maine to New Jersey, and every state in between.  Connecticut was one of those “in between” states that got pummeled…as did the travel plans of two CTWorks’ One-Stop Career Center staff expected to make presentations at the 2013 Spring SETA (Southeast Employment and Training Association) Conference held February 10th-13th in Orlando, Florida.  Joseph Seymour, KRA Trainer/Subject Matter Expert, and Karen Cirincione, KRA Career Agent, were scheduled to present workshops on February 11th  and 12th , respectively, and were understandably disheartened when flights out of
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KRA Monthly Spotlight!

This month’s Spotlight! wraps up a recent series of articles dedicated to how the development of strategic community partnerships expands the depth and breadth of KRA workforce operations by providing critical, employment-enhancing auxiliary services. Below, another KRA program provides a stellar example of this principle in action. In July 2011, the WJLA-TV website posted “D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray launched an unusual new jobs program Monday: It hires welfare recipients to renovate abandoned homes.  The program, which has been aptly named “sweat equity,” involves 12 homeless or formerly homeless residents of the District who are receiving benefits as part of Temporary
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KRA SVP Challenges WD Community to “Step it Up in 2013!”

The following is a reprint of an article written by Don Scott, KRA Senior Vice President for Workforce Development and Chair of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals’ (NAWDP) Board of Directors, for the NAWDP Advantage newsletter.  It is a thought-provoking call-to-action for workforce development professionals nationwide and worthy of sharing with all our readers. “2013 promises to be a challenging and exciting year for the workforce development family, in general and NAWDP, specifically. We are all blessed to be able to work in an area that is broad, deep, and ever changing. (I saw some of you roll your eyes
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KRA Continues to Track GED Overhaul

The Workforce3 February 2013 newsletter article, “GED® Test Series to Go All Digital”, stated, “A major overhaul of the GED® Test is underway.  The test will be jointly run by a non-profit and a for-profit organization and with release of the new GED® Test Series on January 2, 2014, administration of the GED® Test paper version will only occur in limited circumstances.”  Don Scott, KRA Senior Vice President for Workforce Operations, reported “More than half our workforce development programs offer GED test preparation, particularly those that serve Out-of-School Youth and recipients of public-assistance benefits.  Because our GED test graduates must be competitive with
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KRA Customer Volunteers to Provide GED Tutoring

The KRA/VIEW (Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare) Program in Norfolk, Virginia, is offering tutoring services to those customers who need to complete GED training, testing, and credentialing before the end of 2013, as part of its GED® Preparation Program.  On January 2, 2014, the GED® Testing Service (GTS) will issue a new Test and testing system, with no “grandfather” provision for those who started, but did not complete one or more subtests of the current 2002 version.  According to Tiffany Haynes, KRA/VIEW Lead Instructor, “The current test has five subtests.  If a customer, for instance, passes four subtests, he or she
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KRA to Present at 2013 SETA, NAWB, and NAWDP Conferences

Today, KRA issued the following Press Release:   KRA TO PRESENT AT UPCOMING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCES KRA Corporation has been tapped to present multiple workshops at several national and regional workforce development conferences over the next few months.  Selected because of its reputation as a national leader in workforce operations planning and programming, the firm will be presenting at the: Southeastern Employment & Training Association (SETA) Conference, February 10th-13th in Orlando, FL National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) Conference, March 9th-12th in Washington, DC National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) Conference, May 19th-22nd in Minneapolis, MN Don Scott, Senior Vice
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KRA Tracks Proposed GED Testing Changes

KRA has been tracking the progress of the new American Council on Education (ACE)/Pearson partnership that is driving the future direction, design, and delivery of the GED® testing program.  Two years ago, KRA became aware that ACE and Pearson, the world’s leading learning company providing educational materials and testing services, were combining their expertise and resources to develop a new GED® Test.  Building on the goals of the GED 21st Century Initiative, and aligned with Common Core State Standards, the partnership’s goal is to assure prospective employers, as well as institutions of higher education, that those who pass the Test are
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