At Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA), the Signal Success program came in just in time as we were re-thinking how best to prepare students with little or no real work experience to be successful at a job. CommCorp came in not just with a well-thought out curriculum that responded to students' varying levels of experience, but they offered technical assistance and training to our instructors each step of the way. For some students who were new to the whole world of work, this was life-changing, as they had to make serious adjustments to their own expectations, and realize that the rigor of the curriculum and the expected behaviors showed them that they could rise to the expectations. It helped them to know themselves in a different way, one that showed them they could succeed and aspire for more.

Having a turnkey curriculum that we are all using is fantastic. Having a beginning, middle, and end allows us to give all of our kids the same consistent information I’ve seen young people, with little or no work experience, grow by leaps and bounds.

Having our youth participants go through the Signal Success trainings have helped us ensure that they are ready to enter and succeed on the work place and better understand what is expected of them on the job. They are able to connect the readiness training materials with the real-world experiences they have on the job and are able to make better choices about their careers.

It is a comfort knowing that the youth in all of my programs will be receiving high quality training. The Signal Success training may very well be the first time that our youth get a clear sense of what a career pathway looks like and how their current activities relate to their long term goals.

The Signal Success Curriculum has been an important and timely addition to the vocational and work readiness classes offered at Malden High School. The curriculum is offered in several formats to meet diverse student needs, is engaging and participatory, and teaches youth many of the professional skills most critical to success in today’s workforce. Teaching the curriculum has been a pleasure; it is well organized and has excellent supporting materials. The staff at Commonwealth Corporation have been highly accessible and willing to support staff in customizing material, co-teaching lessons, and training staff. Youth who have participated in these classes and work programs have demonstrated skill gains and many have obtained competitive employment.

Use of the curriculum is an integral component of our efforts to infuse college and career readiness into student learning at Malden High School. The curriculum is written in a clear and concise manner, is informative, engaging and relevant, and the staff at Commonwealth Corporation have gone above and beyond to help staff implement the curriculum, and make adjustments whenever and wherever needed.

The Signal Success curriculum teaches core work readiness skills and language that prepares youth for employment and for life. Youth report that they are more confident and comfortable beginning a job after completed the Signal Success curriculum. Employers report that youth who have participated in a training from the Signal Success curriculum are more prepared and are more successful in their first workplace experience than young people who have not completed the training.

Signal Success’s comprehensive curriculum materials make it manageable to deliver high-quality work-readiness trainings to young people. Multiple versions of Signal Success provide an opportunity for facilitators to customize trainings to the population. For the second year in a row, employer partners have commended the quality of participants in the YouthWorks program. Several partners have reported notable gains in effective communication, dependability, and work ethic. This year, several young people received offers of employment at the conclusion of the program, in industries ranging from finance to education.

Signal Success is a high quality curriculum because it is activity rich and relevant to the work place. Youth are out of their chairs and working together. The breadth and flexibility of the curriculum allows me, as a teacher/facilitator, to tailor a given workshop to reflect the needs and priorities of a group of given youth. The youth are better prepared when entering into a work site and understand the real workplace expectations like communication, punctuality, and attendance.

Many of the youth thoroughly enjoyed the small group teamwork challenges throughout the curriculum. As a facilitator, I especially appreciated the objectives, concrete term definitions, and power points that were provided in each lesson.