Eight states have joined forces to find the best ways
to help connect high school students to a postsecondary education that leads to
a full-time job. The Pathways to Prosperity Network is trying to develop a
“gold-standard model” for states to use, identifying lessons learned and policy
recommendations that are useful, according to a report in eCampus News.
The State Progress Report 2012-14,
released by Jobs for the Future and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, found
that while job availability differs from region to region, the health-care
industry, information and computer science, and advanced manufacturing are areas
of growth in all eight states and only require two-year degrees.
The report noted that career information should be
provided to students in middle school. It also found that important “levers” in
each participating state included work-based learning experiences; allowing
students to earn college credits in high school; bringing together employers,
high school, and community colleges to provide work-based learning opportunities;
and creating cross-sector state leadership teams to make work-based learning
opportunities possible.
“The states we are working with are committed to
destroying once and for all the old notion that some kids need to prepare for
college while others are being prepared for careers,” said Robert Schwartz, who
helps lead the network. “They understand that, in the 21st century, all young
people need to be prepared both for some form of further education and a
career.”
