Successful Practices Network What Does College and Career Ready Mean? Syracuse City School District Blue Ribbon Task Force September 13, 2012

Successful Practices Network “College and Career Ready” --the new vernacular regarding high school graduation

Successful Practices Network In his Address to the Joint Session of Congress on February 24, 2009, President Barack Obama stated: “I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma.”

Successful Practices Network  National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center)  Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Achieve  ACT  and the College Board “common core of standards that are internationally benchmarked, aligned with work and post- secondary education expectations, and inclusive of the higher order skills that students need…”

Successful Practices Network April Governor David Paterson and former Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills signed an agreement to participate September the first draft of the national College and Career Readiness Standards were released for public feedback.

Successful Practices Network “…We are pleased that both college and career readiness have been considered as the standards were developed and view this work as foundational in the effort to address the full range of academic, employ- ability and technical skills that students need to be successful.” Janet B. Bray, Executive Director of the Association for Career and Technical Education stated,

Successful Practices Network “What knowledge, skills, and dispositions should students have when they graduate from high school? Should our expectations be the same for all students? Dr. John King, Jr., Sr. Deputy Commissioner (Memo to College and Career Ready Work Group, 2011)

Successful Practices Network : New York State Commissioner of Education, Dr. John B. King, Jr. “To implement these critical goals, the Regents are looking to leverage every area of strength we have. That’s why the Board and I continue to examine how we can best utilize Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs to further our reform goals and ensure college and career readiness … CTE is critical to making certain we meet that responsibility. “ (King, 2012, NYS School Boards Association)

Successful Practices Network The Image of CTE CTE is still widely perceived as vocational education, a great program “for somebody else’s child, because my child is going to college.”

Successful Practices Network Even with high demand for qualified workers, many of our college graduates are unable to find work commensurate with their education.

Successful Practices Network Are They Really Ready To Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce 2006 by The Conference Board, Inc., the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families, and the Society for Human Resource Management

Successful Practices Network “The future U.S. workforce is here—and it is woefully ill- prepared for the demands of today’s (and tomorrow’s) workplace.” Study by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management

Successful Practices Network ►Surveyed over 400 employers across the United States ►Articulate the skill sets that recently hired entrants need to succeed in the workplace. Among the most important skills cited by employers: Professionalism/Work Ethic Oral and Written Communications Teamwork/Collaboration and Critical Thinking/Problem Solving

Successful Practices Network The results of this study leave little doubt that improvements are needed in the readiness of new workforce entrants, High School Graduates are: “Deficient” in the basic knowledge and skills of Writing in English, Mathematics, and Reading Comprehension, “Deficient” in Written Communications and Critical Thinking/Problem Solving, both of which may be dependent on basic knowledge and skills, “Deficient” in Professionalism/Work Ethic, and “Adequate” in three “very important” applied skills: Information Technology Application, Diversity, and Teamwork/Collaboration.

Successful Practices Network Critical Thinking/Problem Solving, a “Very Important” Skill “Deficiencies” in Critical Thinking/Problem Solving may be related to earlier findings that over half the employer respondents (53.5 percent) report deficiencies in Mathematics, and more than a third (38.4 percent) report “deficiencies” in Reading Comprehension Skills Gap Report—A Survey of the American Manufacturing Workforce, November National Association of Manufacturers, Manufacturers Institute, and Deloitte Consulting LLP. Rosow, Jerome M., Casner-Lotto, Jill; and Hickey, John V. Participation, Achievement, Reward: Creating the Infrastructure for Managing Continuous Improvement, Part II: Achievement, Work in America Institute.

Successful Practices Network Employers Place Responsibility on Educational Institutions and New Entrants Pawlowski, Brett, Notes from the 2005 Business Education Network Summit, October U.S. Chamber of Commerce, DeHavill and Associates.

Successful Practices Network For CTE to Flourish Educational Leaders Must develop and reinforce with both rigor and relevance the academic standards that are tested on state assessments by embedding and reinforcing these skills in CTE courses find meaningful ways to equip students with the competencies that employment requires

Successful Practices Network “Strong academic skills and the ability to apply those skills to solve real-world predictable and unpredictable problems and situations has become a minimum requirement for the vast majority of American jobs.” Dr. Willard Daggett, Ed.D. International Center for Leadership in Education

Successful Practices Network Career and College Readiness 2012: Defined CTE TAC of NY To be college and career ready, students in NY should have preparation in three major skill areas: core academic skills, employability skills, and technical, job specific skills, which allow them to transition seamlessly to an entry level position and/or a postsecondary credentialing program, (e.g. apprenticeship, licensure, community or four-year college). In order to make this happen students should: Possess the specific academic skills appropriate for, and which are foundational to, the career they wish to pursue Be able to apply academic skills to situations in an increasingly sophisticated workplace and society Develop individual college and career plans with academic core requirements and course choices appropriate to their plans Explore and understand the academic and skill requirements for their selected career cluster

Successful Practices Network Thank you.