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RAND researchers assess the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API)'s progress toward its goals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for grades K–12; energy and advanced manufacturing workforce development; and community building from 2014 through 2019. This report should interest (1) Appalachian regional education, business, and community leaders concerned with STEM education and career readiness of workers in the energy and advanced manufacturing sectors; (2) policymakers elsewhere in the United States interested in promoting STEM education and workforce development through public-private partnerships; and (3) policy analysts interested in how program evaluation can help to advance regional innovation. The authors found that API set an ambitious, next-generation vision to improve the region's energy and manufacturing education and employment ecosystem in support of broader economic development through investing in particular programs and catalyzing a community of likeminded stakeholders to work toward these goals. The initiative made progress in improving awareness, skills acquisition, professional development, and industry engagement and skills alignment. Programs engaged with employers in many ways, including through advising and collaboration in training. Our analyses also found that gaps remained. Negative perceptions and lack of awareness of jobs in energy and advanced manufacturing persisted in the region, and programs struggled to keep up with evolving industry demands. To support and sustain regional K–12 STEM education and workforce development systems, it is vital to continue to support programs' continual evolution, build awareness about STEM education and employment opportunities, and leverage connections among the private sector, education institutions, and government entities.

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Tools for Life®: Relationship-Building Solutions (TFL) is a program designed to improve school climate and safety through the proactive development of elementary and middle school students' interpersonal skills (relationship-building and communication) and intrapersonal skills (self-regulation and resiliency). In the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 school years, the Jackson (Mississippi) Public School District (JPSD) implemented TFL in grades 1 through 8. RAND researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether TFL, integrated into existing school practices, positively affected school climate and safety in the district. In this report, they describe the implementation of TFL in JPSD, calculate its costs, and evaluate the program's effectiveness. TFL is designed to improve whole-school change in relationships among staff and students, but the authors found that implementation of TFL in JPSD schools was generally shallow, and the program was rarely, if at all, implemented across a whole school as it was designed. TFL had little impact: After one year of implementation, there were no practically or statistically significant differences between schools that implemented TFL and those that did not in measures of students' social and emotional, school climate, behavioral, or achievement outcomes. In addition to the uneven implementation of the program, the authors discuss how methodological limitations of the study and contextual factors in JPSD may have contributed to these findings.

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Lower-skilled workers in the United States face a shrinking pool of employment opportunities. To combat this, the city of New Orleans' Office of Workforce Development (OWD) developed a job training program with a grant, awarded in 2014, from the U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Innovation Fund. The program, Career Pathways, was designed to help lower-skilled, unemployed, and underemployed individuals train for and find skilled jobs in the fields of advanced manufacturing and energy, medical care, and information technology. The authors of this report examine that program's implementation and effectiveness and perform a cost-benefit analysis using a randomized controlled trial design. They found that the program created strong, valuable partnerships among OWD, training providers, and employers. Of all screening mechanisms used to select trainees, the Test of Adult Basic Education was most likely to identify applicants who were likely to complete the training program, whereas screening by community partners was least successful. Some aspects of program implementation needed strengthening, such as the provision of hands-on work experience and the distribution of supplementary benefits to trainees. The team found that the Career Pathways program produced meaningful, positive results in several areas. These included individuals' wage growth, job satisfaction, and the program's return on investment. There were also areas that had no significant change, such as arrest rates, likelihood of employment, and the duration of trainees' employment.

Occupational training --- Government policy --- Evaluation. --- New Orleans (La.) --- Economic conditions$y21st century.