A one-hour webinar, "College and Career Readiness for Youth: The Role of the Chambers," is available for free viewing on the website of the Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE). Recorded September 19 in Washington and cosponsored by AEE and the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, it features the following presenters:

• Rob Ivry, Senior Vice President for Development and External Affairs, MDRC
• Chris Mead, Senior Vice President of Member and Sponsor Relations, American Chamber of Commerce Executives
• David Rattray, Senior Vice President of Education and Workforce, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
• Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education

Nearly one-third of the nation’s high school students fail to graduate on time, and too many of those who do graduate with a high school diploma are in need of significant remediation if they go to college. Many chambers and their members are concerned about the impact this will have on the nation’s future workforce.

To positively influence the workforce pipeline, chambers of commerce members and businesses have taken a proactive role in providing students in their community with expanded learning time and opportunities to help prepare them to graduate from high school ready for college and a career. Specifically, many chambers serve as intermediaries to connect schools and businesses to help provide students with learning opportunities, such as contextualized learning, job shadowing, internships, and summer jobs and expand where, when, how, and through whom learning can be delivered. The webinar explores ways chambers can meaningfully engage in extended learning opportunities within their communities.