Children from all communities across our Commonwealth have unlimited potential, but that potential can quickly evaporate if not nurtured and supported as they grow into adults. Most start elementary school confident that their future is bright. Yet all too often as young people progress through middle and high school, that spirit of positive momentum and hope is replaced by confusion and doubt that the best paths forward are available to them.
We work and reside in communities that would benefit from a greater focus on preparing students for career paths that can meet current workforce needs. Expanding these pathways is important not only for individual students, but also for our ability to achieve nationwide equity, workforce and economic goals.
This is especially true at a time when clean tech, robotics, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and countless other industries require strong technical skills and offer not only well-paying entry-level jobs but also longer-term career ladders.
As organizational leaders who care about both the future of our young people and the success of our state’s economy, we are concerned about the Commonwealth’s 2022 results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which are their lowest since 2003 achieved. These results reflect declines in almost all school districts in both math and reading skills, with lower levels of proficiency being shown in schools that serve high-need students.
These test results are consistent with feedback from companies that there are not enough qualified candidates to fill positions in today’s complex industries. But with more than $1 billion in federal COVID aid to education yet to be spent, are we acting with enough urgency and rigor to prepare students for careers that can provide family-sustaining wages?
If we are to ensure that today’s students have the knowledge and skills for tomorrow’s career opportunities, we need a comprehensive academic success plan.
Universities, community colleges, apprenticeships, and career certificate programs can all lead to careers in industries that offer economic opportunity. What is clear is that students starting in junior high need information and guidance on how to pursue careers that interest them, as well as equal access to high school curriculum options to prepare them, such as: B. ` courses, vocational training, internships, and courses that offer college credit.
Unfortunately, not all school districts currently offer their students pathways and careers advice that can connect them to opportunities in these burgeoning and well-paying industries.
Across the Commonwealth, there are initiatives like Early College that give students a head start on their future. But these programs are not available in all high schools. We need to expand early college and other pathway programs and ensure they are aligned with opportunities in new and emerging industries — for example, the growing need for life science technicians, researchers, and manufacturing support. In addition, middle and high schools need to ensure that they are able to provide all students with the kind of comprehensive counseling and mentoring that they need.
That’s why an alliance of educational equity groups, representing students, parents, educators and employers, created Student Pathways to Success, a new coalition that believes our education and workforce challenges are intrinsically linked . We can address these challenges by creating stronger connections between what students learn in high school and the opportunities that await them upon graduation.
This is a moment for the new administration of Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. gov. Kim Driscoll and for our new legislature to think and act boldly. Building on recent state efforts to expand early college, vocational technical education, the STEM-oriented curriculum, and other evidence-based programs, state leaders should commit to creating universal student access to a robust system of college and career paths.
The Student Pathways to Success Coalition believes that every Massachusetts high school student should follow a personalized path and have the opportunity to earn college credit, participate in work-based learning, earn industry-recognized credentials, and access dedicated career counseling receive.
Voters are ready to act, according to a Student Pathways for Success poll conducted by Lincoln Park Strategies. Nearly nine in 10 (88%) say Governor Healey needs to make improving education one of her top priorities, with 20% saying it needs to be her top priority.
Reshaping high schools to give students a head start on their future needs to be high on our to-do list to expand opportunity and ensure the benefits of Massachusetts’ economic engine are shared by all.
Jay Ash is CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and former Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. Ed Lambert is executive director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, former mayor of Fall River and former state representative. Cheryl Stanley is vice president of educational programs and advocacy for The Urban League of Springfield.
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