PREP-KC works closely with superintendents, school boards, teachers and principals in the Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., school districts to invest in strategies to improve academic achievement. The ultimate goal is to increase college enrollments and access to high-quality employment among more than 47,000—mostly low-income—students served by these districts.

Kansas City's Metro Outlook study (MARC, 2000), and the CityStates Report (GKCCF, 2002) have identified the quality of urban education as a critical issue. 50,000 students in KC's urban core need to receive a high-quality public education which will prepare them for careers, college, and citizenship.

PREP-KC is a new intermediary organization launched to support the districts as they improve their student achievement trend lines and their students' access to post-secondary education and high-quality employment. Funded by local businesses, civic and philanthropic leaders, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PREP-KC is strategically supported by the Civic Council of Greater KC and the Greater KC Community Foundation. Susan Wally is PREP-KC's Executive Director.

The goal of these new structures will be to deepen the career themes in the districts' Small Learning Communities (SLC). This will mean that teachers and students in these Communities have access to front-edge practices and expectations in WIRED's three industry focal points: healthcare, biotech and advanced manufacturing. While this will be a long-term initiative, the WIRED support will demonstrate the efficacy of new practices such as industry speakers/advisors regularly contributing to SLC lessons, SLC teachers in summer externships in business/industry sites which match their career theme, and internship experiences for SLC students.

All such activity records and data will be collected to determine the scale and level of quality at which the high schools are implementing these opportunities.