People often applaud vocational education in theory, provided it is “for someone else’s kids.” Those kids are most kids, and a false promise of college success does more harm than good. We owe them our focus and the best pathway that we can construct—one that carries them as close as possible to the destination their […]
Under the new proposal, students would have to choose one of seven options to show they are ready for work or higher education, including completing a pre-college curriculum, industry certification, dual-credit course, career pathway course or 500 hours of work experience. Other options include receiving a benchmark score on certain tests or an industry certification. […]
To give students experience flying larger drones, educators at Duval High School near Washington, D.C., got creative. Federal Aviation Administration security restrictions limit unmanned aeronautic flights over sensitive locations. "We are building an addition to the school that will allow us to fly drones inside" says Christina Howland, coordinator of the four-year Aerospace Engineering and […]
Embedding language instruction into CTE programs can help close what some educators see as an "opportunity gap" faced by students learning English. And participating in the hands-on projects of CTE can be an effective way of accelerating language acquisition. In October 2017, 30 percent of the students in Boston Public Schools' CTE programs qualified as […]
Districts are cultivating college and career readiness programs by allocating more resources to guide students, by building new partnerships and by focusing efforts beyond high school. Tennessee recently expanded and rebranded its statewide career and college readiness initiative as Tennessee Pathways, which now focuses on K8 in addition to high school. Part of that effort […]
Math understanding at the elementary and middle school levels has increased over the last 30 years, but has stagnated in high school. In its 2018 report "Catalyzing Change in High School Mathematics" The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has issued a call to action to drastically change the way math is taught so that […]
America's economy and our public schools are inextricably linked. In Colorado, growth industries such as advanced manufacturing, information technology (IT) and aerospace have strengthened our economy and provided the foundation for innovation and investment in our communities. To continue supporting high levels of growth and success, we must ensure that our education system is preparing […]
Dozens of high schools across the nation are adding competitive video-gaming as it becomes one of the fastest-growing activities in both K12 and higher ed.
On July 1, Cheryl Logan begins her tenure as superintendent of Omaha Public Schools, Nebraska's largest school district. Logan will lead 8,000 staff members and serve a student body where nearly 16 percent are ELL and 75 percent qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Logan also faces a $15.8 million budget shortfall, the result of […]
Two years ago, the Mehlville School District in suburban St. Louis passed a tax levy that included dedicated funding for professional development and strategic plans focusing on middle school STEM programs. For Tina Plummer, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning in Mehlville, that meant implementing the STEM Innovator program with Discovery Education, where staff had […]
