In the photo, Fairfax County Public Schools teacher Michele Anwyll (top, left) presents March 6, 2020 about the Emerge online program at a gathering of career and technical education (CTE) department chairs from Fairfax County, the nation’s seventh-largest school system.

Each year, Michele Anwyll’s students at Annandale High School in Fairfax, Virginia take the Workplace Readiness Skills Assessment (WRS Assessment).

The 100-question, multiple-choice exam gauges a student’s understanding of resumes, cover letters, email writing, applying for jobs, life in an office setting and professional etiquette.

Despite Anwyll’s best efforts and curriculum-driven instruction, her students have historically struggled on the exam with a pass rate around 65 percent. Students must score a 75/100 to complete the exam.

In the 2019-2020 academic year, Anwyll, a family and consumer sciences (FACS) teacher, used Emerge, our comprehensive online program that guides students through a series of activities that cover email etiquette, resumes, cover letters, job interview prep and more.

When the students sat for the WRS assessment, Anwyll saw a significant improvement.

Out of 147 students who took the exam through Anwyll’s classes, 133 have passed (the remaining 14 are allowed to retake the exam).

That’s a current pass rate of 90 percent.

“Emerge is full of information that aligns with the needs of my own classes in gourmet cooking and the topics covered on the WRS Asssessment,” said Anwyll, who has taught for 11 years after she left the professional world to become a teacher. “The activities have built-in scaffolding, use simple, clear language and even feature a language tool that translates and reads the text in 18 languages, including Spanish and Mandarin.”

To earn a standard high school diploma, it’s now mandatory for all students in Virginia to obtain a career and technical education (CTE) credential, which can be an industry certification, a state licensure examination, national occupational competency assessment or the Virginia WRS Assessment.

Now Anwyll, who teaches a large percentage of international students who are English language learners (ELL), has the resource she needs to ensure students not only pass the WRS Assessment but do so at a high rate.

As well, middle school teachers use Emerge curriculum to teach foundational skills in workplace readiness. Read about the inspiring work done by Mary Lynn Thurman and Trevon James at George M. Hampton Middle School in Prince William County, Virginia.

“Emerge is a perfect fit in FACS courses and for CTE pathways, in general,” said Fairfax County FACS Program Lead Reggie Morrone. “The material provides students easy-to-follow exercises that support literacy and leadership skills. Students develop confidence in their ability to learn and communicate as they pursue college and career opportunities.”

And for schools that use learning management systems (LMS), Emerge integrates with Canvas, Blackboard, Schoology and a host of other popular LMS programs.

The integration means Emerge embeds into a school website, and students do not need a separate username and password to access and complete Emerge activities.

“I finally have a workplace readiness curriculum I can trust in which my students can independently work on their own,” said Anwyll. “More than that, Emerge helps my students graduate on time and conduct themselves professionally in the business world and in settings that require professionalism.”

Ready to explore Emerge for your own school or district? Request a 30-day free trial today!