When you were a kid, your parents would say, “Santa is making a

list and checking it twice.” Well, Santa isn’t the only one.

In an effort to find the best employees, employers are making

lists of which students are serious about school _ and they’re using high

school transcripts to do it. Transcripts tell a prospective employer if a student

had a good attendance record, took tough courses

and showed interest in a variety of subjects.

Students who demonstrate such commitment, enthusiasm

and intellectual curiosity in school are likely to

become excellent employees.

It is all part of an effort by Washington’s

Partnership for Learning to make high school transcripts a worthwhile document

to which students pay attention. The Partnership for Learning, in

conjunction with organizations such as the Association of Washington

Business (AWB), is working to build more accountability into the schools by

letting students and parents know that grades, attendance and good

behavior count.

It’s not unusual to hear some students say, “That subject is so

lame, I’ll never need that stuff when I get out of school.” So they skip

classes, flunk the course or act up in class while their fellow students try to

learn. But when job-hunting students discover that prospective employers

will review their transcripts, their attitude _ and their behavior _ changes

dramatically.

Case in point: In the early 1980s, I was part of a group of employers

in Port Angeles who worked with school officials to motivate students and

create better employees.

We agreed that employers, as part of the hiring process, should

know what a student’s attendance record was in high school. The

superintendent told us that the impact on students

was amazing. Word got around that if you wanted a job at the local bank or

in one of the two pulp mills, you’d better have a good attendance record.

It made attendance in school mean something.

The things that make someone a good student make them a good

employee: Are you willing to learn? Are you dependable? Do you stick

to something and finish what you started? Can you work as part of

a team?

Sounds simple, but you’d be amazed at how many young men

and women today just don’t get it.

Don Brunell is president of the Association of Washington

Business, Washington state’s chamber of commerce. Visit AWB on the web

at www.awb.org.