Yesterday, the Chicago Public School (CPS) Board voted to close 49 underperforming and under enrolled elementary schools in the city. Reforming Chicago’s public education system has been a priority for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his critics were in full force after yesterday’s announcement.
While collecting data for the “Transparency & Accountability” section of our 2012 Leaders & Laggards report, I discovered that Texas’s online institutional resumes, while a bit bland in delivery, were worlds better than the higher education data most states provide their students. The state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) collected and reported the percentage of graduates from two-year institutions who were employed the following fiscal year as well as transfer rates to four-year institutions.
The United States is losing ground. Between 1880 and 1980, we were a world leader in wage parity, productivity, and technological innovation. Our country gained, on average, about one year’s worth of education per decade. As a nation, we were out-educating and out-performing the world. But something happened, and we began falling behind other nations.
Over the last two years, TNTP (formally The New Teacher Project) has trained, evaluated, and certified teachers. What sets its programs apart from others is that they are the first organization to certify teachers based primarily on their performance in the classroom. This is pivotal!
In the Institute for a Competitive Workforce report Help Wanted 2012: Addressing the Skills Gap, to which I was privileged to contribute, business and education leaders shared their visions for ways in which both sectors can collaborate to provide our nation with the 21st century workforce it needs. The bottom line: America is falling behind other nations in having the educated workforce it needs to remain competitive.
As part of a growing national movement to prioritize science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) began a targeted effort to improve the quality, access, and real-world relevance of STEM education across all grade levels. Now in its fifth year, the STEM Robotics Challenge (SRC) offers an afterschool program called “Robots Rock and STEM Rules” in 50 elementary, middle, and high schools.
This Friday, April 26 marks the thirty year anniversary of the landmark report, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. Written by President Reagan’s National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at Risk shone a spotlight on the mediocre performance of the country’s education systems and provided a much needed wake-up call to the American people.
The business community has a lot of interest in how the nation’s education system is performing. After all, companies are the eventual consumer of the education system. So, does business believe our education system is living up to its potential? No. To be successful, businesses need to constantly adapt to change. However, our education system remains stuck in the 1950s.
A new survey about employer perspectives towards postsecondary learning and student success was released by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The report analyzes employer priorities for student learning to ensure success in a 21st century economy.
The Obama Administration has finally released their budget and thus begins the flurry of chatter in the District. One area of particular interest is the President’s proposal for moving forward with student loan interest rates. Beltway politicos have been confident that if any higher ed policy has potential for moving forward, the interest rate is the golden ticket.
The Central Florida Education Summit will be hosted by the Central Florida Partnership and sponsored by the Orlando Regional REALTOR Association, in partnership with the National Chamber Foundation, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, and the Central Florida Public School Board Coalition.
U.S. News STEM Solutions 2013 will bring together business, education and government leaders who have long recognized the need to connect the dots between STEM education and careers. Adding to last year’s successful conference format, the second edition will give more dedicated time for these leaders to interact and collaborate.
