Why are we leaving so many children behind when educators know now how to get students prepared for a fulfilling and prosperous life? As a participant last week in the 3rd Annual Career Technical Education (CTE) conference, I became angry that we have not kept our eye on the ball. For example, why are there so many Silicon Valley job openings on LinkedIn and other career recruitment sites while the unemployment rate is more than 10 percent?

In a packed room full of employers, educators, school board members and superintendents, keynote speaker Dr. William Symonds, of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, validated what many of us educators have been saying for years: The country and California’s current educational reform movement is not working for our children.

Dr. Symonds asserted that California was the national and global leader after WWII in post secondary education, with our excellent combination of community college, CSU and UC systems. California’s students were the top performers compared with other states and nations in the ’50s and ’60s. However, Symonds said that today we are increasingly failing to prepare our young people for successful lives as adults.

To think we at one time were the pacesetters for the nation and world, yet now our once Golden State is not even bronze or copper when it comes to P-16 education.

Today the US is No. 1 in the world at producing college dropouts, and our 20-24 year olds are increasingly unable to find work. A report from earlier this year called “The Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting The Challenge Of Preparing Young Americans For the 21st Century,” which was written by Symonds and Harvard University’s Robert B. Schwartz and Ronald Ferguson, details the critical nature of the issues.

According the report, high school diplomas used to be the passport to the American Dream for millions of Americans. In 1972, individuals with a high school education or less made up 72 percent of the nation’s workforce. Many of these people could earn a middle-class income from their jobs. In the last 40 years, things have changed markedly. Over the past several decades, the jobs that have grown the most require at least some post-secondary education, especially to maintain the salaries for a middle-class lifestyle.

Symond’s and his colleagues point to the widening gap in salaries for comparative levels of education. In 2008, the medium income for workers with bachelor’s degrees was 65 percent higher than for those with high school diplomas ($55,700 to $33,500). The difference was 73 percent when comparing individuals with two-year type community college degrees with those who dropped out before completing high school ($42,000 to $24,300). The authors predict this trend will increase as demand grows for certain skills not taught nearly enough in the current system of No Child Left Behind.

In a 2006 study titled “Are They Ready To Work,” over 200 employers were surveyed and the results were alarming. The study’s authors said that more than half of America’s high school graduates were “deficient” in oral and written communication, critical thinking and professionalism. In the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Cisco, Apple, Microsoft and other companies have called our current system of education outmoded and obsolete. To the aforementioned list of deficient skills, these companies added problem solving and creativity.

Symonds urged the audience at last week’s conference to become informed about dual apprenticeship models in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria. Our system of education, he said, needs to be broader and present more diverse pathways to success and fulfillment than just graduating with a four-year degree. Symonds added that New Zealand is so serious about the future of its youth and country that it has poured $400 million dollars into career technology, which is the equivalent of the US investing $35 to $40 billion.

Employers need to be intensive partners in public education. Symonds says that the best way for most teenagers to learn is with real world methods, career counseling for every student, integration of work and academics, high-quality teachers in career technology classes and making career technology classes part of A-G requirements for CSU and UC.

By elevating career technology to world-class levels, and with work-based learning, we will be on the proper pathway to rebuild what we have lost in post-secondary education. One of Symonds’ youngest sons goes to the Massachusetts Regional Vocational Technology High School and receives authentic instruction in culinary arts. There is a week of instruction in academics in school and a week in the community with a business in a student’s area of interest. In this example, a BA degree or post-secondary work at a culinary school are options.

The action steps for Silicon Valley, according to Dr. Symonds, are:
- Begin a regional conversation now.
- Engage employers in the work.
- Ensure there is no mismatch between education and emerging employment opportunities.
- Get the Pathways Movement going here now.

I am proud to say that the Santa Clara County Office of Education and Alyssa Lynch ([email protected]) are playing a significant role in this community, with many business and education partners to make the next steps a reality.