Keep Building

Now that you have had some time to ponder the bold idea that I left you with regarding parental engagement being tied to student promotion/graduation requirements, I would like to complete that radical thought. For those readers who are not quite on board with legislating parental responsibility when it comes to their children’s education, I would like to remind everyone of some other laws along those same lines. We all are probably aware that there are State laws and local municipal ordinances throughout the United States that govern minor children’s adherence to local curfew times. Most of those laws,  if not all of them, confer fines on parents of minor children that violate those ordinances. Parents are very often responsible for the cost of repairing damage caused by vandalism perpetrated by their children. These are all, I think you would agree, very fair laws. So the question is; shouldn’t parents be held to the same standard when it comes to their child’s education? While I realize that it is somewhat distressing that there is currently a need to even talk about a parental responsibility as important as the education of one’s children, I believe the time has come to address this and other social issues head- on as we move further into the 21st Century.

Moving on to the next important partner in the quest for education reform is the private sector business folks. I will begin by saying that educators have over the last five to ten years have started the conversation, often asking local business people to join the school districts advisory committees and offer students “job shadowing” opportunities. The National “School to Careers” initiative has given some direction to this conversation however; the results have been somewhat sporadic and generally lacking in their impact. Having said that, there have however, been some amazing success stories that need to be recognized. More importantly, we need to seriously discuss how these successes can be expanded on a national level. For example the following programs have been highlighted on the United States Department of Education’s website:

Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH): A Brooklyn-based middle and high school, P-TECH was established in 2011 as a partnership among IBM, the New York City Schools, and the City University of New York’s College of Technology. In 2017, the school will graduate its first class of students who, over six years of study and training in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), will earn a joint high school diploma and associate’s degree in computer information systems and electromechanical engineering technology. P-TECH’s rigorous curriculum was co-designed with IBM, which provides software support, mentoring, and internship opportunities for every P-TECH student.

Reynoldsburg High School: Based in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, this school hosts four “academies” that provide hands-on learning experiences in personalized environments that are aligned with students’ interests. Reynoldsburg recently redesigned the high school to enable greater student choice among the BELL Academy (Business, Education, Law and Leadership); the Health Science Academy; the eSTEM (Environmental Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Academy; and the Encore (Art, Communication and Design) Academy. Mastery learning ensures students gain essential knowledge and skills and strong partnerships with local universities, health providers, local and state government agencies and businesses enhance student learning and expand enriching opportunities.

Loving High School: This New Mexico school serves just under 600 students in a village of 1,300 people. Between 2004 and 2009, the school boasted an average college attendance rate of 60 percent – almost double the national average among rural schools. Loving High School offers dual-credit courses (75 percent of students take advantage of this opportunity) and has gained national notice for its CTE programs. The school specializes in architecture and construction, and – through private and state grants – students are given hand-on experience in building a home. The school also collaborates with nearby schools via videoconferencing – another solution to the challenge of isolation that many rural schools face.

These programs and many others like them are all great except they are spread so far and wide across the country that they are rarely noticed. There is however one important thread that connects the programs that have been successful, and that has been that each school/business partnership is focused on local demands. What skills are important to the industries in those local communities? By partnering with local business, school districts can collaborate on curriculum that is important to their local economies. Then together with a national coalition, education and industry can formulate skill sets that are truly transferable. These partnerships can develop curriculum that focus on relevant skills that can be applied to the industrial challenges of tomorrow, and help to make the United States more competitive in the world marketplace.

There is a catch however; every business small, large and humungous must participate. Each business that employs workers must contribute on some level if this theory has a chance of really working. The argument thus far has been companies say that they do not have the time to spare. My answer has always been that companies can’t afford not to. The value added of giving a minimal amount of time can mean larger profits and wider market share at the end of the day. Once again we are faced with having the courage to do something different. As one who has been intimately involved in the fight to get business involved in education for the past twenty years, I can say without reservation it is time once again to legislate business engagement. The United States Government as well as every individual State has in the past and continues to subsidize business, mostly through tax incentives to move into or remain in a particular area. These subsidies add up to hundreds of billions of dollars nationally each year. While I do believe that these subsidies have been necessary in some incidences in an effort to level the playing field in some industries, I also think that there should be more required of the business than just coming to or staying in the area. They need to be required to become true partners with the communities in which they reside.

Politicians in both major parties have advocated lower business tax rates promising increased economic growth. However, rarely are there any strings attached to these reduced rates rather, it just becomes another corporate giveaway. Once again, state and local governments subsidizing business at a huge price for taxpayers with little or no proven return. Whether or not you agree with corporate subsidies, I think it is fair to say everyone would agree there needs to be additional requirements associated with these large tax incentives. Well then why not a requirement that all business participate in the local school to career consortium and the level of tax incentive given to each individual business be tied directly to their participation. Once corporate America realizes all the good that is derived from their participation in the education of their future labor force, not only from the community contribution perspective, but also from a business/profit standpoint, they will be glad they participated.

Every time we turn on the evening news we hear community leaders talking about how community members need to work together with law enforcement to find ways to prevent the senseless violence occurring in our cities. People are constantly talking about coming together to end poverty or working as one in the war on drugs. However, it has been a long time, if ever, that I have heard people advocating togetherness when it comes to educating their children. It is as if everyone is in denial of the fact that education may well be the solution to many of, if not all, the problems that currently face our nation. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we began to see and hear on the evening news that new legislation requiring all parents and local businesses to partner with their respective school districts to better educate children? And better yet, that it is working!