(co-author, The CareerAcademy Toolkit)

Democrats are in the process of realigning educational reform to their beliefs. Their main goal is to move students out of schools which are failing students and which parents would not willing send their children. However, the real challenge for Democrats will be not to bow to political pressure to do things the way they have always been done, especially in Washington.

President Obama’s education initiative, Race to the Top, with a $100 billion increase in general federal aid to education, has been accepted by both parties all across the nation. His top two conditions for Race to the Top funding are charter schools (could be career academies at the high school level) and teacher merit pay. In fact, Arne Duncan, was probably chosen as Secretary of Education, because in Chicago he opened numerous charter schools.

These charter schools at the high school level, if they are structured as career academies, advocate thoughtful action for social justice, encourage parental choice, decrease the high school drop out rate, and endorse accountability by producing more students who are both ready for career and college. All of these initiatives that Democrats favor can be found in the current career academies.

The first initiative is advocating thoughtful action for social justice. All students should have equal opportunities in their education, but the space between the have and have-nots is ever-widening, even in schools. Career academies have both policies and teachers who care about all students along with a structure and curriculum in place that promotes student engagement, both in school and in the community. (For curriculum, read Sticky Learning, another book co-authored by Sandy Mittelsteadt.)

Parental choice is the second initiative. Because career academies are a school-within-a-school with a specific career theme or focus, academies must compete for students and make their program both attractive to students and parents in order for a student to elect to attend a particular academy. Competing academies have both improved the educational experiences and broadened the opportunities for their students.

Not dropping out of high school is another advantage of students who attend an academy. A more positive way to state this is that academy students are more apt to graduate from high school. Students in academies attend high school more often, probably because students elect to be in an academy, so they are more agreeable to attend school. The more students stay in class, the more they are motivated to learn. The more motivated students are, they more they are engaged in learning. The more engaged students are, the more they learn. This, them, becomes a circle: the more they learn, the more they are motivated to learn more. Students who graduate from high school are generally encouraged to attend college or post-secondary learning. This brings us to the next initiative.

The fourth initiative is that career academies endorse accountability by producing more students who are both ready for career and college. Students who feel they are college ready make an effort to attend college or receive post-secondary learning. Students who immediately go to work are more ready to learn and comply with company policy and any additional training that the company supplies.

Because career academies work is the major reason Democrats like career academies! They may require more time and resources in order to be successful, but Democrats feel career academies are well worth the effort. They are a time-tested strategy that results in more students who are successful in the real world.

If you are interested in learning more about career academies, contact Sandy Mittelsteadt at sandra.mittelsteadt or 661.900.8922. Sandy had been working with career academies from the local community level to the national level. She knows all aspects of career academy development, along with curriculum that produces learning.

Reason Number Two: Your school wants to connect the rigor of college-prep courses with the relevancy of the “real” world. If the “real” world context is embedded in the classroom, students are motivated to learn.

Reason Number Three: Your school wants to consider high school reform efforts that are inclusive of all students including high achievers and those at–risk for failure. Schools should not be tracking students. All students are smart in some way, so teachers need to help students figure out how they are smart and can succeed with the “smarts” they have.

Reason Number Four: Your school wants to find proven methods of increasing attendance and graduation rates. Academies support students and make them feel welcome and valued. Of course, students who feel wanted stay in school.

Reason Number Five: Your school wants to build partnerships among educators, employers, parents, and community leaders. Most business leaders don’t know to “get their arms around” a high school, but, these same leaders know how to connect with a health academy or an engineering academy.

Reason Number Six: Your school wants to implement strategies that increase teacher job satisfaction and effectiveness. Teaching can be a lonely profession when a teacher closes the classroom door. Most teachers love being part of a team and sharing ideas and strategies with other teachers.

Reason Number Seven: Your school wants to build a sense of belonging and well-being among its students. Think of the career academy as a gang – except this is a positive gang. Why do students join a gang? The answer is to belong and be accepted.

Reason Number Eight: Your school wants to find proactive ways to decrease discipline problems and prevent violence. Again, students who feel welcome and accepted don’t need to cause discipline problems to be noticed.

Reason Number Nine: Your school wants to challenge students to perform at their full potential. Because career academies are a school within a school, teachers know each individual student and can challenge students to a higher level of achievement.

Reason Number Ten: You want to do all that you can to prepare your students to succeed in the workplace and to assume roles of responsible citizenship. Teachers in a career academy generally have more autonomy and can accomplish more than the regular high school teacher or counselor or administrator.

When you are ready to start a career academy, go online to www.brightfuturespress.com and order a copy of the definitive how-to guide: Career Academy Toolkit: A Think It Through, Get It Going, Make It Happen Planning Guide for Career Academies and Other Types of High School Small Learning Communities by Sandy Mittelsteadt and Diane Lindsey Reeves.

Research increasingly supports the idea that bigger isn’t necessarily better when it comes to educating teenagers (or people of any age for that matter). The simple truth is that too many students are now attending “super-sized” high schools and they become lost in the mast of students. This trend promotes students being isolated, alienated, and disengaged. This, in turn, leads to school becoming boring, meaningless, and frustrating. There is no connection between what the students learn in school and what they experience in the “real” world. And this is just as likely to be true for potentially high-achieving students as it is for those at-risk of failure.

Compounding these trends is that quite often the school structure, focus, and curriculum are just as outdated as the school size. In fact, the typical American high school looks a lot like it did when the parents of today’s teens went to school: same schedule, same grading scale, same subjects, and same calendar. This system worked fine during the industrial era when one-third of students went on to college, another third found well paying jobs with a high school diploma, and even drop-outs and low achievers stood a chance of finding gainful employment.

However, that’s not the case today. It’s a new world out there. Powered by ever-changing, mind-boggling technology, today’s students enter a workplace where information is power, where jobs require highly technical skills and knowledge, where a solid education is the key to getting anywhere. Now, more than ever before, education must prepare lifelong learners who are ready to succeed in the workforce.

The good news is that you don’t have to reinvent the entire educational system to enjoy the benefits (and there are many) of career academies. It’s more a matter of redefining the high school experience. Starting right where you are, using resources you already have, and common sense ideas about the way education should be.

Thus, career academies are an idea whose time has come. In career academies across this nation, we see students who want to come to school; teachers who want to teach; and communities and employers who reap the benefits of well-prepared graduates ready to take on the world.

That’s the big deal about career academies!

To address the high school drop out rate and improve the number of students graduating from high school, educators, policymakers and community business leaders are supporting the strategy of career academies in high schools. Career academies are not the latest fad; they have been around for at least forty years. Career academy experts know what works and what doesn’t. The Career Academy Toolkit is a book that describes the process of creating and establishing a career academy in great detail.

So what are the benefits of these career academies? They are that students have improved high school attendance, additional earned credits, higher grade point averages and graduation rates, and are more career and college ready.

The first benefit of career academies is improved high school attendance: Because students elect to be in an academy, they are more apt to attend school. The more students stay in class, the more they are motivated to learn. The more motivated students are, they more they are engaged in learning. The more engaged students are, the more they learn. This, them, becomes a circle: the more they learn, the more they are motivated to learn more.

Motivation is one of the major keys to the success of academies. Academies do several motivation strategies, such as integration of the curriculum between both academic and technical courses. Now students not only learn the knowledge, but they have the opportunity to apply it. We, at Bright Futures Press, call this “Sticky Learning.” Because academies have partnerships between the academy and the community, students can then go into the “real world” to see how their learning truly fits there. This is exciting for students and reinforces the classroom learning.

Additional earned credits by students in a career academy is the second benefit. Based on benefit number one, students who stay in school tend to earn more high school credits and the more high school credits students earn; the more they are apt to graduate.

Another benefit is higher grade point averages. Students need credits to graduate and students who stay in school earn the credits to graduate. Students on the path to graduation have more self esteem and have improved motivation to learn more, which increases their grade point averages. Students who graduate from high school are generally encouraged to attend college or post-secondary learning.

The fourth benefit is that students are more career and college ready. Students who feel they are college ready make an effort to attend college or receive post-secondary learning. Students who immediately go to work are more readily to receive company policy and any additional training that the company supplies.

Now let’s discuss the cons of career academies. There are three major cons to career academies. One is that they are more expensive to establish and implement. The second is that they are difficult to schedule, and lastly, they require partnerships between education and the community.

Career academies work! They require more time and resources in order to be successful, but they are well worth the effort. They are a time-tested strategy that results in more students who graduate on time ready both/or for a career or college. If you are more interested in career academies, contact Sandy Mittelsteadt at sandra.mittelsteadt or 661.900.8922. Sandy had been working with career academies from the local community level to the national level. She knows all aspects of career academy development.

Resolution #1: Resolve to get the word out about your career academy to the local community. Start tweeting or blogging. Write an editorial for your local newspaper or have your students write articles and submit them on a regular basis. Create a public service ad.

Resolution #2: Resolve to communicate more to your school and district administration. Remind them on a regular basis what your career academy is doing–especially your successes.

Resolution #3: Resolve to energize yourself by learning more about the subject matter of your career academy theme. Go on a teacher externship for a day and connect with a new business or community partner.

Resolution #4: Resolve to energize your classroom by adding a sticky learning curriculum activity. Do this by adding a discovery learning activity to your curriculum. Make sure it is up to date and is relevant to both your subject area and the academy theme.

Resolution #5: Resolve to integrate your curriculum in a small way. Find a particular concept important to your subject matter, but make sure the application of that concept integrates with another subject. For example: if you are an English teacher, have your students write a resume in your class instead of the business class. If you are a biology teacher, team up with the art teacher to have students create a sample cell with art materials. If you are a history teacher, have students team up with drama students to “act out” an event in history. A foreign language teacher could team up with the English teacher in a Medical Career Academy to teach the 20 more common medical terms in Spanish, French, etc.

Resolution #6: Resolve to invite a guest speaker to your classroom. Be sure and prep the speaker so they know what to expect when speaking to high school students.

Resolution #7: Resolve to be more thankful. Write a short note to three people (another teacher in your academy, a student, and a community partner or parent) recognizing a specific act of kindness to you or the academy. .

eford

KANNAPOLIS — In the dark days after Pillowtex closed in 2003, N.C. Sen. Fletcher Hartsell convened a meeting of business leaders and legislators in Kannapolis to deal with the aftermath of the largest layoff in state history.

More than 4,300 people in Rowan and Cabarrus counties had lost their jobs, and Hartsell, who represents Cabarrus County, wanted his committee to figure out how to prevent it from happening again.

"We learned lessons, but we never re … READ MORE

When thousands of British children were evacuated to the relative
safety of makeshift boarding schools during World War II, innovative
teachers made up for the lack of textbooks and other traditional
resources by using project-based learning to effectively teach
history, literature, science, and math.

In more recent days, study after study has found compelling evidence
that it is an effective way to engage students, cut absenteeism, boost
cooperative learning skills, and improve test scores.

Even though project-based learning has been advocated by brilliant
educators, tested by time, and validated under the scrutiny of
academic research, there has never been a better time to put it to use
in classrooms at every level and with students of all ages.

Why?

According to Sandy Mittelsteadt and Wally Holmes Bouchillon, authors
of a new book called Sticky Learning: A Make It Real Planning Guide
for Engaging Students in Project-Based Learning, project-based
learning becomes a springboard for launching incredibly effective 21st
century “sticky learning” experiences when it blends four key
ingredients:

1. Integrated curriculum

2. Action-based inquiry

4. Real world application

To order copies of Sticky Learning Toolkit, go online to http://www.brightfuturespress.com/Item186/Sticky_Learning.aspx.

The articles and initiatives are everywhere. People from all walks of public and private life are calling for adults to step up and teach kids the basic, relevant life skills they will need to have independent, productive and fulfilling lives as valued members of the workforce.

In speeches he gives across the country, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, underscores the need for marketable skills training. In one speech, entitled, ‘Getting the Skills to Compete,’ Gutierrez said:

“If there is one piece of advice you can give people today, it is to increase your skills. The bottom line is that when you have more skills, you’re making more money…It could be a vocational skill. It could be an electrician’s skill. It could be the skill to fix air conditioners. Something. But you need skills.”

Well-known MSNBC.com career columnist Eva Tahmincioglu, wrote in a recent essay titled ‘Tough Love: Help your Grown Child Get a Job:’

“Is there a twenty-something unemployed kid lying on your couch?

If so, you’re not alone. Quite a few parents write me about their struggling adult children, many who are fresh out of college, who just can’t get on the right career path or any path at all.

Many found the professions they had hoped to break into weren’t as easy to break into. Others haven’t quite figured out what it is they want to do, biding their time in the rooms they grew up, in waiting for the career fairy to show them a sign.”

And Paul Graham, the successful computer entrepreneur and philanthropist, delivers a popular speech to new graduates entitled, “What You’ll Wish You Had Known” that includes this sage piece of advice:

“If I were back in high school and someone asked me about my plans, I’d say that my first priority was to learn what the options were. You don’t need to be in a rush to choose your life’s work. What you need to do is discover what you like. You have to work on stuff you like if you want to be good at what you do.”

But how do adults open kids’ eyes to the wide world of exciting jobs there are to choose from? How do they excite kids about their schoolwork and connecting-the-dots between the subjects they love and finding a fulfilling career? Most adults only have their own narrow career paths to draw from, so the ways in which they can help their child discover his or her unique calling is narrow too.

Two former human resources marketing executives, Melissa Kerlin and Susan Schneider, co-founders of Tailwag Studio, Inc., have recently published a line of very creative career exploration and employment preparation materials that address these challenges. Their ‘CareerWise, Grow Up. Get a Job.™” materials help kids explore, prepare and become excited about joining the work-a-day world by discovering their inherent talents, interests and natural abilities.

Kerlin and Schneider developed these products after working for almost for almost 20 years apiece as ‘behind-the-scenes’ executives for agencies that provided recruitment and retention programs for employers across the country. They helped create employment brands for companies ranging from Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft and Nokia to Jack in the Box, The Walt Disney Company and AOL.

They frequently heard from hiring managers that new graduates are not prepared with basic work-world skills such as how to articulately discuss their career goals or why they should be hired. Nor are they comfortable with basic employment practices such as job interviewing and discussing a compensation package.

Kerlin and Schneider decided to apply their experiences to the development of materials that are based on what employers wish kids knew and thought about before they enter the workforce. It is a perspective that is very different from that found in most career exploration/employment preparation materials.

CareerWise Grow Up. Get a Job. materials also help kids hone reading, writing, presentation, research and interviewing skills and help them become familiar with the employment worlds’ jargon, practices and employers’ expectations. The exercises and activities do not ‘spoon feed’ kids any answers. They have to figure things out for themselves – an important life skill in itself.

Besides helping kids understand the reality of what employers’ expectations are in the real world, CareerWise Grow Up. Get a Job. materials get parents and kids sharing dreams, plans, hopes and fears. They help everyone plan for the day when kids can leave their parent’s nest with the confidence and skills to go out and feather their own.

Visit www.GetCareerWise.com for more information.