Statewide Education Summit
April 18, 2008

NEW DIRECTIONS IN EDUCATION, THE WORKFORCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Panel Summary

Susan Bonesteel, Director, State Services, National Center for Educational Achievement

“How do we expand the wonderful programs we have to reach all students?  82% of our kids do not complete a degree and are entering college without a career focus.  Are we serving all students?  In the past, we never imagined that high wage jobs would be outsourced.  We need to address this population as the movement from high school to post-secondary education is not working.  One barrier to this is the lack of a statewide core system for Career and Technology Education (C & T E).  Until there is a critical mass of C & T E students, this area will not receive the support and respect it deserves and the funding it needs.  We must create a more efficient procession for student through the system.”

Bill Hammond, President, Texas Association of Business

In his capacity with the Texas Association of Business, Mr. Hammond represents the business community in front of the legislature. 

“The mission of the association is to create the best business climate possible in order to bring capital to the state.  In terms of workforce readiness, the current accountability system is not productive and is failing everyone.  Low expectations are harsh bigotry in Texas.  Our standards are very, very low if we are expecting to produce college or career ready students.  The standards do not mean anything and are not acceptable to the business community.  Employers are not happy.  We need to be honest about where we need to be so we can actually get there.  We must establish career/college standards and hold everyone accountable.  It is unfair and wrong, and we have a moral imperative to do better.  Efforts are being made to involve Chambers of Commerce in this effort but if we continue like this, the economy and the state will suffer.”

Doug Ridge, Director, Employee Initiatives, Texas Workforce Commission

“What makes you great is what forms your reputation, and you can lose your reputation by not reinforcing those qualities.  You must determine your expertise and build on what your region does really well.  We have a truly global economy today so systemic change should be based on what we do well.  The world is flat in terms of undifferentiated skill sets.  Skills education and economic development are all interrelated but there is a real disconnect between receiving a diploma and workforce readiness.  We must shift from a rules base to an information transfer approach.  We must use technology to deliver information to remote areas, and let students lead the way.”

Phil Schlechty, CEO, The Schlechty Center for Leadership in School Reform

“We have a choice to make – do we make the present system better or create a new system that is better?  We have the wrong system for education.  In the past, we didn’t expect much of a high school graduate.  College preparation did not compare to workforce readiness.  Texas is way ahead of the curve compared to many states but we are all still way behind in general.  We cannot test for the standards; we need a different means to assess students.  Assessing kids is not the same as assessing schools.  We need an audit system to determine whether schools are working rather than testing every student in a shallow way.  We have done what all bureaucracies do – we’ve chosen the cheap and efficient way to state assessment.  Texas, Florida and California are the three states that set the agenda for public education.  Whatever is going to happen will happen here first.  We need a new system to meet higher standards rather than an old system to meet lower standards.”