Rob Ivry, MDRC Senior Vice President, and James Kemple, Director of MDRC’s K-12 Education Policy Area, received the Sisyphus Award at the Annual Conference of the National Career Academy Coalition (NCAC) in St. Louis in early November. The award was accepted by Ivry and Kemple on behalf of MDRC “in recognition of persistence and dedication to Career Academy research on the national front.”

“The Sisyphus Award is given annually by NCAC to recognize persistence and dedication in supporting and maintaining high-quality Career Academies,” said Susan Tidyman of the Career Academy Support Network, who serves as NCAC conference chair. “Our organization was pleased to honor the work of MDRC — and especially Rob Ivry and Jim Kemple — who have done so much through their research and reporting for over a decade to help educators implement successful Career Academies. We were thrilled that both Rob and Jim could attend the Academy Awards and speak to our participants about the history and future of Academies.”

Operating as schools within schools and typically enrolling 30-60 high school students per grade, Career Academies are organized around such themes as health, business and finance, computer technology, and the like. Academy students take classes together, remain with the same group of teachers over time, follow a curriculum that includes both academic and career-oriented courses, and participate in work internships with employer partners and in other career-related experiences outside the classroom.

MDRC has been conducting a random assignment study of nine Career Academies for nearly 10 years. Findings so far from the study provide compelling evidence that the Academies produced substantial and sustained improvements in the post-high school labor market outcomes of young men without limiting their access to postsecondary education. In fact, Career Academies are one of the few interventions that have been found to improve the workplace prospects of young men. Students in the Academy and control groups were equally likely to graduate from high school and to enroll in college. Another follow-up report is scheduled for 2008.

The National Career Academy Coalition, a nonprofit membership association, provides information, training, advice, research findings, organizational development, and other forms of assistance to business groups, schools, and school systems that have existing or emerging Career Academies.