Article describing the connection of 21st Century Learnign Skills and the impact on skill jobs and the economy.

1. economic and workforce
DEVELOPMENT - K THROUGH 12 EDUCATION ISSUE
By Richard K. Delano and Katherine C. Hutton
everal workforce trends are con-
S verging which could represent a
"perfect storm" for the economic
growth of unprepared communities.
• 21*" century workplace and technical skills have
become more important than land and buildings.
Critical, trained human capital must be developed
through a complex educational system.
• 21*' century workplace skills are becoming as or
more important than basic technical skills.
Educators are starting to recognize this and
determining how to teach these skills.
• The retirement of baby boomers in key occupa-
tions is impacting the job market, resulting in
potentially disruptive labor shortages.
!inMN(S'.|iMii(i.' Ilk an inviduable resource for career academies. High MIUHII •.inJcm^ j
• Many high-tax, high-cost communities will have Cathedral City, CA, were paired with aduh mentors from ihe Coachdla Valley Economic
to "grow their own" critical skilled workers as Partnership who arranged special programs like (his lour of VSC.
their markets become uncompetitive.
• Workforce and economic development is workforce development system, largely vo-tech and
increasingly a K - 12 issue and many communi- On-the-Job-Training, accommodated these needs. Richard K. Delano is
ties lag behind in understanding how business In 2007, the global economy has clearly rede- president of Social
and schoots must work together to make the K - fined the workforce skill set required for the 21" Marketing Services,
12 workforce connection. century workplace. Critical thinkers and problem LLC in Btidgehampton,
This article will focus on workforce development solvers with attainment in reading and math are
New York.
and K - 12 education. It describes a leading high required for high-wage, high skill careers.
school redesign strategy called "career academies" Workforce development must be focused on litera-
and illustrates how economic and workforce devel- cy requirements needed to manage innovation Katherine C. Hutton is
opment organizations are lining up behind this 21^ through teams using advanced communication and economic development
century education redesign strategy. problem-solving skills. Todays workforce develop- manager for the City of
ment system in most communities has not been
Scottsdale, Arizona,
THIS IS NOT YOUR FATHER'S fully mobilized and aligned to produce the employ-
VO-TECH EDUCATION ees with 21" century skills that expanding or relo- and is a Certified
cating companies need and expect. Economic Developer.
Forty years ago, the subject of K - 12 education
would arise in economic development circles when In many communities, business leaders and eco-
discussing school quality for relocating managers. nomic development officials are concerned about
Then, employment demands were focused on line why the educational system can not deliver to the
workers with a reasonably good work ethic. The workplace job-ready employees or college-ready
SMART DEVELOPMENT GROUPS ARE MAKING THE CONNECTION
The career academy is orc oj ihe most successful education-based models for developing the skills required for
today's workjoree and developing a worhforce that meets the needs oj the local business eommunity. The market's
need for high skilled, technaJogy savvy workers and the exodus oj boomers from the workplace sparked economic
developers lo become the ccKal^'St for ihe creation oj career academies. Econoniic developer driven, educator driv-
en, and business partners models oj career academies are examiried with hest practices for building and maintain-
ing a career academy. Career academies are in 2,000 high schools nationwide and are viewed as key to education
reform jor both low perjorming schools and students.
Economic Development Journal / Spring 2007 47

2. students needed for our companies who are • Selection of a successful secondary-school
engaged in global competition and faced with a redesign strategy. Business and education need
retiring workforce. This is particularly challenging to come together around a redesign model
because it is difficult to define and clarify a solution. proven to help educators meet the educational
Employers often blame education in general; col- goals that local, state, and federal authorities
leges blame high schools, who blame middle define for them.
schools, who blame elementary schools, who blame
parents. The education establishment often looks at Coachella Valley Economic Partnership
the business community, wondering why it is nol The Coachella Valley Economic Partnership,
doing more. Business points to the substantial located in the southern California desert, received a
investment it makes in remedial training for grant from the James Irvine Foundation to fund a
employees. career pathways initiative aimed at increasing the
number of talented work force and college ready
CAREER ACADEMIES SUPPORT ECONOMIC high school graduates in three fast-growing business
DEVELOPMENT AND WORKFORCE GOALS clusters. Working closely with its three area school
Career academies differ from traditional academ- districts, it embarked upon improving the future
ic and vocational education high schools by prepar- workforce needed to attract its desired business
ing students for both college and careers. base.
Academies provide broad information about fields According to the Partnership's chairman. Bob
such as biosciences, finance, engineering, media, or Marra, "we found ourselves in a situation where we
health care. They weave the career themes into were outgrowing the capacity of our workforce here.
academic curricula that qualify students for admis- It is hard to both fill the jobs that are needed to
sion to four-year colleges or universities and prepare make this economy continue to tick, and to also
them for the associated workplace. Students self attract the new companies we need to continue to
select for the program and are typically moderate or grow. We need to do both."
marginal students in terms of academic perform- With the grant, the Coachella Valley Economic
ance. Studies have found that students in career Partnership is expanding the number of students
academies perform better m high school and are learning in three high wage, high skill pathways that
more likely to continue into post secondar' educa- have been identified as essential to the valley's con-
tion, compared to similar students in the same tinued growth. These pathways are: health, energy
schools. and environmental technology, and multimedia.
Career Academy programs have a number of suc- Career academies are playing a central role in
cess stories in meeting the challenges previously forging the link between the region's business com-
described. Three examples of career academies illus- munity and its three school districts. According to
trate how passionate educators along with business Marra, "career academies are exactly what we need
leaders can build this educational model necessary here in the Coachella Valley because young people
for the demanding 21" century workplace, achieve in the region are looking for something where they
No Child Left Behind mandates, and reduce the can really dig into these career pathways...to see
remediation burden for schools and business alike. what it is like to be a nurse, to be an engineer."
These examples illustrate how relevance and rela-
tionships can drive student engagement and success
and are a clear option to remediation.
Each case is unique but all three build on several
common themes:
• Urgency of the workforce situation. There is no
greater motivator for prompting change than
demand. These three communities realized the
importance of fundamental change.
• Senior-level business and academic engagement.
Certain roles can not be delegated. Leadership is
one of them. In each case, leaders made a per-
sonal commitment.
• Alignment of business, institutional and philan- High school students explore health careers at Eisenhower Medical
thropic investment toward requirements defined Center, Rancho Mirage, CA.
by the school systems redesign strategy. Funding
for effective programs can be redirected within Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
the system toward a set of needs that K - 12 and The goal of Alignment Nashville in Tennessee is
post secondary leaders define. to create a system to bring community organizations
and resources into alignment so that their coordi-
48 Economic Development Journal / Spring 2007

3. nated support to Metropolitan Nashville Public
School's and District priorities has a positive impact
on student achievement and public school success
and the success of the community as a whole.
According to Tom Cigarran, operating board
chair of Alignment Nashville and chairman of
Healthways Inc., "aligning all this good will, people
power, behind strategies of the school system will
have a major impact on the success of our public
schools."
This alignment of support behind Nashville
Metro schools preceded a more recent develop-
ment, the receipt of a $6.75 million five-year Small
Learning Communities grant from the US
Department of Education. The grant provided the
impetus for the creation of the Office of Redesign
and Innovation.
One of this office's main charges is developing
and unplementing plans for the creation of career
academies and other small learning communities in
their comprehensive high schools. The Nashville Brittany Johnson, a senior ai Mesa High School, works on cloning
Area Chamber of Commerce is responsible for eco- Ils.sui'/rdm a fem in ihe school's biotechnohgii academy lab.
nomic development within the region and has
defined target industries that, through Alignment
students are introduced to biotechnology and fol-
Nashville, will assist Nashville Metro's Office of
low a seamless transition from high school to com-
Redesign and Innovation in defining the types of
munity college to universities.
career academies it will select.
Additionally, it was announced in late 2006 that
Mesa School District some Mesa students in the academy will be work-
In Mesa, Arizona, Xan Simonson, a biology ing on a research project that involves decoding the
teacher at Mesa High School, saw the need for train- genome of a bacteria and publishing the results.
ing high school students in biotechnology ioilowing This project is a result of a $900,000 grant from the
the Translational Genomics Institute (TGen) deci- National Science Foundation that will be conduct-
sion to choose metropolitan Phoenix as its home in ed in conjunction with Arizona State University's
2002. Arizona's bioscience efforts were accelerating Biodesign Institute and Polytechnic campus and
at a significant pace with TGen's location decision Mesa Communiiy College.
and studies warned of a shortage of a qualified
workforce in this now accelerated industry. CAREER ACADEMIES
Simonson started a biosciences academy pro- It is not enough for business and education to
gram at Mesa High School believing that her stu- want to work together. They need a concrete plan
dents' education should align with the state's bio- built around a well-researched redesign strategy to
sciences initiatives and the increase in demand for make their lime and energy pay off through a
workforce in the biosciences. In three short years, process they can manage. Each of the examples of
the program has grown from her grassroots efforts business and academic engagement is being built
into a singular biosciences career academy in her around the career academy redesign model. Career
classroom to biotechnology programs at three other academies bring together the dual benefits of a
Mesa district high schools and $5.2 million in new smaller learning community where students
labs and wet lab space being built by the district to become part of a family with contextually-rich
support the biotechnology program. career themes that answer the question all high
The construct of the program allows for stu- school students ask at one time or another:"Why do
dents, after two years, to make the transition to a 1 need to know this stuff?"
two-year or four-year program. Mesa graduates may Statistical evidence indicates that career acade-
continue studies at Mesa Community College or mies improve high school attendance, grades, grad-
one of the three Arizona universities. Recent studies uation rates, college going, and economic success
conducted in conjunction with the state of Arizona after high school and college. Career academies are
show an immediate need for qualified bioscience also believed to raise test scores, reduce remedia-
laboratory technicians with demand outstripping tion, and increase English language proficiency.
supply by four-fold. Studies also reveal that the lack Academies can be scaled up to any portion of or all
of skilled technicians coincides with the lack of of the student population.
a true "2+2+2 program" in which high school
Economic Development Journal / Spring 2007 49

4. The balance of this article provides an overview environment proved itself out as enrolled students
of career academies, describes the statistical improved and excelled.
improvement that is possible, and introduces a set In the past three decades, academies have both
of best practices for scaling up and sustaining a net- grown and evolved. There are active career acade-
work of career academies. These "indicators of suc- mies in an estimated 25 percent of high schoots
cess" were developed by Social Marketing Services according to the federal Department of Education.
in 2006 with support from Ford Motor Company The nature of the curriculum has expanded to
Fund and are being adopted by economic develop- include everything from auto mechanic training and
ment agencies, chambers of commerce, and their machine tooling to the biosciences, engineering,
education partners in communities across the coun- finance, and law. Today, academies exist not only in
try. In adopting these best practices, communities inner city schools but suburban schools in relative-
can qualify for a Ford Fund Career Academy ly affluent areas as well. In fact, an increasing num-
Innovation Community (CAIC) status which brings ber of elite high schools are adopting the academy
technical support and modest grants. Career acade- model to improve the college/career choices their
my networks provide a new perspective and rich university-bound students are making.
possibilities for communities regardless of location,
size, or economic condition. CAREER ACADEMIES TODAY
Career academies need to be organized around
trade and professional themes relative to the needs
of and as defined by the community, with students
Career academies differ from traditional academic and self-selecting for application to academies. Most
vocational education high schools by preparing students academies teach between 100 and 300 students in
grades 9 or 10 to 12. Academy students are sched-
for both college and careers. Academies provide broad uled together with a team of teachers each academ-
information about fields such as biosciences, finance, ic year. In the best career academies, the team of
engineering, media, or health care. They weave the academic and career teachers work together to
enrich the academic courses through the integration
career themes into academic curricula that qualify of contextual projects and ihemes. Students
students for admission to four-year colleges or universities enrolled in the academy typically participate in
career-related experiences such as internships
and prepare them for the associated workplace. beyond the classroom instruction.
In 1995, career academy experts and their
respective organizations agreed upon a common
definition for career academies with three critical
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CAREER ACADEMY
components:
The Academy Model was developed in
• Small, safe, and supportive leaming environ-
Philadelphia in 1969 by Charles Bowser, the execu-
ments that are personalized and inclusive of all
tive director of the Philadelphia Urban Coalition in
students.
alliance with the Philadelphia Electric Company
and Bell of Pennsylvania. The goal was to create a • Challenging, rigorous, and relevant curriculum
program that would provide a new paradigm for that prepares students for college, careers, and
students relative to the social and racial discontent- productive citizenship.
ment sweeping the community of Philadelphia and • Collaborative partnerships among educators,
nation at that time. Career academies were imple- parents, businesses, and other community
mented in order to create employment opportuni- resources that broaden learning opportunities.
ties for students in Philadelphia's disadvantaged eth- Several institutions support schools, districts, and
nic groups and income groups while providing local businesses in developing career academies in their
employers with a qualified entry level workforce. communities. The Career Academy Suppon Network
The original academy model reduced the scale of at the Cal Berkeley's Graduate School of Education
a high school student body into smaller learning (http://casn.berkeleyedu/), the National Career
communities - a school within a school. Course Academy Coalition (www.ncacinc.org), the National
work is coordinated around a career theme and Academy Foundation (www.naf.org), and Career
designed to prepare students with a full curriculum Academies (http://www.careeracademies.net) provide
that supported the student in their career endeav- resources, infonnation, advice, and support for
ors. This in-school effort was coupled with the cre- career academies to utilize, access and contribute. An
ation of a linkage between the schools and area integral value to academies is the absence of hard
employers - proving employers with a skilled, local- rules for their creation, development, and manage-
ized workforce. Students self selected themselves ment. Academies are designed to comply with local
for the program; additionally, the students were typ- standards and policies defined by state education
ically at-risk or marginal students. The academy departments and local school districts. While this
50 Economic Development Journal / Spring 2007

5. design model is Ilexible, its success rests on funda- MDRC, a non-profit, research organization based
mentals that must exist: in New York, determined that career academies sub-
• Common planning time for academy teachers to stantially improved the labor market prospects of
discuss their students and how to integrate aca- young men, a group that has experienced a severe
demic courses. decline in real eamings in recent years. Through a
combination of increased wages, hours worked, and
• Academy leaders should be provided release
employment stability, the young men in the Academy
time to plan the activities of the academy stu-
group earned over $10,000 (18 percent) more than
dents and build external relationships.
those in the non-Academy control group over the
• Academy students should be scheduled together four-year follow-up period. The sample of 1,400 stu-
to the extent possible and consistently taught by dents are 85 percent black and Hispanic. Full results
the academic team in at least two academic can be obtained at: http://www,mdrc.org/pub!ica-
courses. tions/366/overview. html
The next horizon in career academy evolution is
the creation of high-quality, integrated curriculum STRATEGIES AND BEST PRACTICES
units. These units should be designed to teach The best practices in career academies were
appropriate academic standards for academic teach- observed in how education and external partners
ers through contextually based projects built are working together in active career academy com-
around the career pathway. munities. The more successful career academies
programs exist, the more defined the best practices
STATISTICAL EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS are - providing a stronger foundation for developing
The academic challenges and need for change in a more effective design for and more effective career
today's high schools is pan of today's social and academies.
political fabric. Low graduation rates and college- The strategies and best practices identified in
going rates are only two of the fault lines in public career academies serve as the underpinning for the
education. The promise of career academies can be Ford Career Academy Innovation Community (Ford
measured by accounts from several career acade- CAIC) recognition program designed to support
mies. Active since 1969, roughly 10 percent of academy communities. This Ford Motor Company
Philadelphia's students attend 34 career academies. Fund hopes, through its actions, to increase the num-
These students regularly achieve a 90 percent grad- ber ol students engaged in career academies and to
uation rate with 60 percent moving on to college, sustain the students' career academies.
year after year.
By focusing on communities and not on individ-
A study of Bay Area, CA, career academies by ual schools or districts. Ford Fund believes busi-
Maxwell and Rubin found that students enrolled in ness, civic, and educational leaders can be engaged
academies had the following success compared with in the shared objectives of workforce and economic
non-academy students in the same schools; development. In 2005, Ford Fund proided the
• GPA nearly .5 of a grade higher resources to determine strategies for building and
• Test scores 30 - 40 percent higher sustaining career academies and best practices for
career academies to provide guidance and informa-
• Drop out rate 50 percent lower
tion to existing and emerging career academy
• 8.2 percent more continue to two- and four-year programs.
colleges
• 15.9 percent more go to four-year colleges 12 Best Practices for Scaling Up and Sustaining
In the Sacramento City district, a Gates/Carnegie Career Academy Networks
grant supported a district-wide system wherein 1. Ensure the Establishment of a Career
nearly all students learn in small leaming commu- Academy Master Plan.
nities and career academies. What makes the fol- Career academy success requires the creation of
lowing results particularly impressive is that all stu- a master plan that sets forth career academy
dents, not just those who self select, learn in acade- annual and five-year growth goals. The master
mies. We have the opportunity to observe the career plan should be advised by economic develop-
academy "effect". ment and community infrastructure needs and
developed with the participation of the external
2000/01 2004/05 and education partners.
Dropouts 24% 14%
2. Look to the Career Cluster Framework to
Graduation Rate 79% 84% Prioritize and Standardize Career and
Suspensions 1,852 1,292 Technical Education
Expulsions 44 5 The State Directors for Career and Technical
Students sitting Education have organized all job specialties into
for the SAT 718 1.489 81 career pathways and 16 career clusters that
Economic Development Journal / Spring 2007 51

6. provide a useful framework for prioritizing a district provide conflicting communication
career academy theme selection and helping channels and unneeded competition within a
students decide on career pathways. The frame- district lor business attention.
work provides the opportunity to clearly and 7. Prioritize Eunding Sources to Expand the
visually explain the workplace to parents, stu- Number of Career Academies and Increase
dents, educators, and business people. the Quality of Existing Career Academies
3. Aim High - Seek out Growing Array of Direct Perkins monies, small learning commu-
Academically Challenging Career and Tech nity grants, and foundation funding to launch of
Curricula new career academies. Invest available new
Take advantage of new developments in aca- funding toward the expansion of your career
demically rigorous curricula. Ford Partnership academy system.
for Advanced Studies and Project Lead the Way 8. Look to Growing List of National Career
are excellent examples. Dubbed "new CTE", Academy Supporters - Look for Resources
these challenging new curricula provide a real from National Employer Associations
opportunity to both integrate contextual con-
A growing set of National Employer Associations
tent in academic courses and teach 21" century'
and leading businesses are supporting the career
workplace skills.
academy high school redesign strategy, providing
4. Make Sure Career Academy Entrepreneurs a community with a set of prospective partners.
Are Part of Master Plan
9. Develop Career Academy Marketing Plan
Career Academy Entrepreneurs are hired by the
Everyone in the community needs to know
district or the local business community to
about the academies...parents, students, busi-
fundraise for the career academies and ensure
ness leaders and educators, particularly early in
business participation. As career academy net-
the academy's evolution. Great marketing plans
works evolve, these entrepreneurs also balance
reach down to elementary and middle schools,
support among academies and offer business a
are presented in a variety of languages, and sup-
single point of contact.
port academy visits by younger students.
5. Use Career Academy Evaluations for
10. Maintain Business Leaders Engagement
Continuous Improvement
Keep business leaders at the table alter the mas-
A career academy evaluation rubric will ensure
ter plan is constructed. They have a vital role to
academies are successful. Academy leaders use
play in creating a sustainable "culture" for acade-
the rubric to guide improvement. On-going
mies. Great career academy networks need on-
evaluations also serve as a professional develop-
going, steady leadership from companies who
ment tool for academy leaders, their administra-
understand the value of staying involved with
tors, and the business advisory community
educational leaders who value their commitment.
6. Centralize Magnet, Choice, Small Learning
11. Understand, Defend, and Fund What Makes
Communities, Career Academy and Career
Career Academies Special
Technical Education Operations under
One Leader Develop a funding plan to ensure key academy
ingredients remain a part of the career academy
A career academy system should align all Career
such as common planning time, release time for
Technical Education and choice programs under
academy leaders, professional development, and
a single district leader to focus reform energies priority scheduling. The improvement in gradu-
toward a unified set of goals. Networks have ation rates and all other measures is ultimately
failed because multiple points of contact within worth the minor "diseconomies of scale" which
Career academy success requires the creation of a master plan that sets
forth career academy annual and five-year growth goals. The master plan should be advised
by economic development and community infrastructure needs and developed with the
participation of the external and education partners.
52 Economic Development Journal / Spring 2007

7. are likely when large, efficient, but often failing
schools evoive into career academies,
A carefully designed plan provides students with
12. Ensure Career Academy Provides Students
with College Credit a clear path to their future by ensuring that each
A carefully designed plan provides students high school career academy is affiliated with a
with a clear path lo their future by ensuring that
post-secondary institution that will reward students
each high school career academy is affiliaied
with a post-secondary institution that will with college credit. Encouraging close bonds between
reward students with college credit. high schools and post secondary is a primary strategy
Encouraging close bonds between high schools
and posl secondary is a primary strategy in in addressing our cycle of remediation.
addressing our cycle of remediation.
CONCLUSION not making smart choices about the career choices
when they go to college. The examples noted here
Workforce and economic development are likely provide solid evidence that business and education
to face some of their most serious challenges in the can unite around a high school redesign model that
next 10 years as the baby boom retires and global both prepares students for smart college and career
competition grows. A 21'' century US workforce choices and prepares a workforce locally that busi-
ready to meet this challenge is unlikely io evolve nesses can count on. ^
Irom a 20"' century school system in which so many
students are failing and even successful students are
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Economic Development Journal / Spring 2007 53