Employer Info

Young people need to know that there is a correlation between working hard in school and finding a job - - whether that job is in a Fortune 500 company or in the stockroom of a local retail store. They need to know that attendance, punctuality, attitude and effort count, and that nothing succeeds like hard work. Employers can reinforce these messages by asking young adult job applicants for high school performance records.

School Counts! will help students understand that school performance is important and will help develop a more highly- qualified workforce.

The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce is working with local school districts and the New Jersey Department of Education to insure the success of the School Counts! program.

What you can do . . .
  • Sign up to be a School Counts! Employer
  • Use the School Counts! Certifi- cate as one of the criteria used to evaluate high school job applicants. ? Encourage other companies to participate in and support School Counts!
  • Allow your company to be identified as a School Counts! Employer in media releases an on the School Counts! webpag (www.schoolcounts.org).
Targeted Businesses
  • Retail Stores
  • Restaurants
  • Banks
  • Supermarkets
  • Mall Merchants
  • Fast Food Chains
  • Large Companies with entry-level positions
  • Any company that hires high school students or graduates
Make sure School Counts!
A recent survey conducted by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce asked over 600 corporate Presidents and CEOs if they thought that using high school perfor- mance records when hiring young adults would motivate student performance. Over 80% of the respondents said yes, and the overwhelming majority of those believed such a process would have a great deal of impact on student achievement.

The Public Agenda, a nonprofit think tank in New York, interviewed over 5,000 graduating high school seniors. Fully 50% of those young adults stated that they would have worked harder in school if they thought that a potential employer would be using some form of high school record during job interviews.

In areas of the country where similar programs have been in place for a number of years, tangible results have been noted: the failure rate of entry-level employees has hit an all-time low, new employees progress through apprenticeship programs with less remediation, and enrollment in advanced mathematics classes in local schools has doubled. School Counts! is a state-wide initiative that encourages employers to use high school performance records as one of the criteria used to evaluate high school job applicants.

Employers can ask for the School Counts! credential during an interview, which certifies that an individual has:

  • obtained a grade of 'C' or better in every course
  • achieved a 95% attendance and punctuality record
  • completed high school in eight consecutive semesters
  • taken more than the minimum graduation
The Business Coalition for Educational Excellence (BCEE) at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce advocates for policies and implements programs that advance education reform. Hundreds of businesses across the state are involved in and support BCEE initiatives.

NUI Elizabethtown Gas is proud to be the statewide sponsor of School Counts!

NUI Elizabethtown Gas is also a sponsor of the New Jersey Clean Energy program. Learn more about energy-saving practices for your home or business.

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