Schools must develop new approaches to prepare students for jobs in changing local workforces, superintendents say.
District leaders from around the country will gather this week to compare notes on how to build partnerships with local industries, provide students with experiences linked to future careers, and navigate new developments with artificial intelligence.
It’s all part of a growing emphasis on work-based learning and career and technical education that more students are demanding and that can help them finish high school with a professional credential and potential job connections.
Such strategies are a key focus of the annual National Conference on Education, hosted in Nashville by AASA, the School Superintendents Association, from Wednesday to Saturday. The theme of this year’s event is “the future is ready,” with speakers focused on “embracing innovation and equipping students, staff, and community with the tools and essential skills they need to thrive in a fast-changing world,” the organization said in a news release.
The discussions come as public schools seek to prove their value in a world of increasing education options and help students plan earlier for future careers.
“It’s really about making sure that all students have a pathway,” said Kristine Gilmore, AASA’s chief leadership and learning officer and a former superintendent. “It’s not only about learning the best research, but seeing districts that put it into practice.”
Among the sessions:
- Leaders of the Sheridan, Wyo., district teamed up with a coalition of districts and a community college to allow students to earn English/language arts credits for work-based learning experiences. The credit allows a wider variety of students to participate, helping schools reach disengaged students who may benefit from hands-on learning, leaders said.
- Superintendents from Pennsylvania and California integrated financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and “life skills” into their schools’ curricula.
- Leaders from the Delavan-Darien School District in Delavan, Wisc., partnered with local employers to give students out-of-school experiences. For example, students interested in the trades partnered with local contractors to remodel a farm house.
- Administrators from Talladega County, Ala., schools created a career pathway for students interested in cybersecurity careers.
- Superintendents will share how to build career-connected learning programs in rural schools.
Superintendents collaborate to rethink career readiness
College- and career-ready efforts not only prepare students for the future, they also help them remain engaged in the present, said Nick Polyak, the superintendent of the 3,500-student Leyden Community High School District north of Chicago, where students select coursework that aligns with a menu of possible career pathways and earn professional credentials before graduation.
“We all know that for kids, they need that hook to what they are passionate about,” he said.
Polyak serves on a cohort of superintendents that has met for months to develop action plans, self-assessments, and recommendations for districts interested in helping students connect their education to future careers, and nurturing traits like resilience and relationship skills. That cohort is part of AASA’s Public Education Promise, an initiative that also includes separate working groups focused on student-centered learning, business and community partnerships, measuring success, and recruiting and retaining employees.
Polyak seeks to offer districts lessons that are flexible enough to apply to their own local contexts. In his district, students show great interest in skilled manufacturing jobs that are plentiful in the region, but other communities will need plans to connect to their own local industries and identify needs, he said.
“We live in one of the most advanced manufacturing hubs in the country, and kids can go earn six figures if they want right out of high school,” Polyak said. “The program we are running here makes perfect sense, but it might not make sense in the next district over.”
He will co-lead a conference session Thursday on how superintendents can navigate challenges and steer their districts through change.
Working groups from the Public Education Promise have already started sharing resources with AASA members, Gilmore said, and more will come after the conference.
“We hope that people leave with pieces they can put into action immediately,” Gilmore said. “It’s really about identifying who is doing great work and making sure we can scale that work across the country.”
