Careers: Seamless Education for a Better Career

Remember when the transition between eighth grade and high school wasn't nearly so seamless? Well, neither do I (TG), but it wasn't for many years.

Unfortunately, that historical antecedent still exists in the form of a huge learning and preparation chasm that separates high school to college and beyond. Fortunately, the game is now afoot to change all that, according to an excellent article in the Arizona Republic. Organizations such as the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, and the Phoenix-based Center for the Future of Arizona, are starting to confront this gap with pragmatic versions of a "reengineered" education system.

Features would include creating flexible education options for students as early as middle school, based upon talents and desires; linking high schools with colleges and universities; five year progams that result in both a high school diploma and a vo-tech certificate; and for advanced learners, programs that enable grads to enter college at sophomore or even junior levels - kind of like AP classes on steroids.

Pulling that off requires three systemic changes: 1) collaborations between high school and post-secondary schools; 2) getting the teachers "on board" (NEA, are you listening?); and 3) funding (you knew it was in there somewhere, didn't you?).

I suspect that over the next decade or so we'll see just this kind of realignment - not because special interests are screaming for it, but because it's a logical evolution of how education and career preparation have to proceed to keep our future workforces motivated and prepared for global competition. "Seamless Education" is a must.

Funding is starting to appear to add some muscle to this concept. One such organization is the the Helios Education Foundation are starting , as they and others are launching grant programs to help organizations such as the Center for the Future of Arizona create pragmatic and attractive pathways for realizing this necessary transition.