Kirkwood’s Workplace Learning Connection on Monday told the Linn County Board of Supervisors it provides coordinated work‑based learning for students in grades 6 through 12 and asked the board to fund the program at 10 cents per county resident, a request Christine Bulge identified as roughly $23,029.90 for Linn County based on the 2020 census.

The program serves as a single point of contact for school–business partnerships, Bulge said. It contracts with 32 public school districts plus private schools in the region and assigns a school liaison to each campus and a business liaison to employers. Services include classroom speakers for sixth graders, a regional STEAM institute for seventh graders, career interest inventories and simulated financial‑literacy fairs in eighth grade, and job shadows and internships for high‑school students.

Bulge said job shadows are the program’s most used offering and are intended to let students assess careers quickly. Students may progress from single‑day job shadows to internships, pre‑apprenticeships and apprenticeships; Bulge described examples ranging from hospital surgical‑tech days to internships with habitat organizations and local employers. She read written testimonials from local partners and families praising the hands‑on exposure and employer connections.

Program metrics cited to the board include a higher rate of Kirkwood participation among students who used WLC services: Bulge said about 62% of program participants later took concurrent credit or enrolled directly at Kirkwood, compared with 25% across the broader region. She also told supervisors the U.S. Department of Education had identified the regional ecosystem among the top 10 work‑based learning ecosystems nationally in recent reviews.

Bulge described operational changes that increase capacity: the state now requires districts to code work‑based learning activities on school report cards, and districts may share an operational coordinator under new rules; Kirkwood has agreements with Alburnett and Marion community school districts to dedicate staff time and reported a 33% increase in participation in the most recent year for those schools.

Bulge and board members discussed access barriers and next steps. Bulge said Kirkwood is applying for a grant to support transportation and stipends for higher‑needs students so they can attend multi‑day internships. She also noted the WLC job‑shadow portal was open the day of the meeting. Bulge offered to leave the board packet and email the supervisors an impact report.

Why it matters: supervisors must decide whether to add the county contribution to future budgets; Bulge framed the request as a small per‑resident investment that supports local employers’ pipeline efforts and student post‑secondary planning.

"Job shadows are really our bread and butter," Bulge told the board, noting single‑day exposures often lead students to internships and college credit pathways that improve persistence and graduation rates. The board did not take a funding vote at the meeting; the request was presented for the board’s consideration in upcoming budget work.

Bulge spoke on behalf of Kirkwood’s Workplace Learning Connection. The presentation included quotes and written testimonials attributed in program materials to Preston Valdez, service department manager at McGrath Ford, and to counselors and parents from local schools; those testimonials were read into the record by Bulge.