This project team will study how professional skills, competencies, and on-the-job performance in career-connected learning settings can increase economic mobility. The researchers will work with over 20 high schools from the Cristo Rey Network that predominantly serve low-income students of color. The schools employ a novel Corporate Work Study program that provides all students a tangible work-based learning experience one day per week at a local corporation. These experiences are accompanied by a school-based curriculum that focuses on professional skills and competencies, along with college preparation. The team will examine long-term outcomes, including college enrollment and persistence, employment, earnings, and credit report data.

Data Sources 

• Data: Administrative application and student records from Cristo Rey Network, including detailed work-based learning records and competencies, and National Student Clearinghouse postsecondary enrollment and completion records
• Mobility Outcomes: Employment, earnings, debt, and credit data from a large credit bureau