Thursday, September 30, 2010
Grand Ledge vs. Holt
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Are We Doing Our Job?
In 1973 there were 91 million people in the workforce. Of those 91 million people, 32% were high school dropouts and 40% were high school graduates. Over 70% of the workforce in 1973 had only a high school diploma or less.
By 2018, the workforce will be 166 million and 10% will be high school dropouts and 28% will be high school graduates.
By 2018, 62% of the jobs will require at least some college.
To put that another way, of the 162 million jobs available in 2018, 103 million of them will require education beyond high school.
Some may argue that a high school diploma or less would still get you a job. But of those jobs available with a high school diploma or less, only 68% are full-time, full-year jobs.
Who is the workforce in 2018? This year's 5th graders are the graduating class of 2018. The high school graduating class of 2018 needs to understand that they will need an education beyond high school to be competitive and to be successful.
Put another way, in 1970 60% of high school graduates and 46% of high school dropouts could look forward to living a middle class lifestyle. In 2007, only 45% of high school graduates and 33% of high school dropouts could look forward to living a middle class lifestyle. The percentages in the years to come of people with a high school diploma or less who will live a middle class lifestyle will continue to decline.
Are we preparing the students in our school district to be competitive and successful?
(This information came from the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University.)
By 2018, the workforce will be 166 million and 10% will be high school dropouts and 28% will be high school graduates.
By 2018, 62% of the jobs will require at least some college.
To put that another way, of the 162 million jobs available in 2018, 103 million of them will require education beyond high school.
Some may argue that a high school diploma or less would still get you a job. But of those jobs available with a high school diploma or less, only 68% are full-time, full-year jobs.
Who is the workforce in 2018? This year's 5th graders are the graduating class of 2018. The high school graduating class of 2018 needs to understand that they will need an education beyond high school to be competitive and to be successful.
Put another way, in 1970 60% of high school graduates and 46% of high school dropouts could look forward to living a middle class lifestyle. In 2007, only 45% of high school graduates and 33% of high school dropouts could look forward to living a middle class lifestyle. The percentages in the years to come of people with a high school diploma or less who will live a middle class lifestyle will continue to decline.
Are we preparing the students in our school district to be competitive and successful?
(This information came from the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University.)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
First Day Update
I spoke too soon in an earlier post about how well the first day of school went. Overall, the day was still a good day.
However, we had some significant problems with transportation this afternoon. We had delays that were unacceptable and that will be corrected.
I understand that parents expect schools to be able to handle basic issues - like transportation - flawlessly. We did not do that today. We will improve.
I appreciate the patience that parents showed today and I commit to making sure that tomorrow, and the days that follow, are better.
However, we had some significant problems with transportation this afternoon. We had delays that were unacceptable and that will be corrected.
I understand that parents expect schools to be able to handle basic issues - like transportation - flawlessly. We did not do that today. We will improve.
I appreciate the patience that parents showed today and I commit to making sure that tomorrow, and the days that follow, are better.
First Day of School
Today was the first day of the 2010-2011 school year.
I visited every school today. Overall, I was very happy with the day. I was at the high school at 7:00 and helped hand out schedules to freshmen students. By 9:00 this morning at Beagle, every student was in their classroom and the halls were quiet. At 9:20, I visited a 4th grade classroom at Wacousta and found them working on math. Kindergarten students were busy in their classrooms when I visited Neff at 10:30. At 1:30 while I was at Delta Center, Principal Averill was meeting with his first, second, and third graders to discuss school rules and responsibilities.
Having said that, there were some concerns that surfaced that we will get fixed. Schedules at the secondary level caused a few concerns. Part of that was a glitch that we discovered in the new student management software. We believe that we have that resolved now and scheduling should be resolved quickly.
On this first day of school we had transportation concerns pop up. Some of these concerns were with the length of some bus rides from certain neighborhoods. We are working on some solutions and should be able to implement them by the end of this week. We also were a bit slow getting away from the kindergarten building today. We wanted to make sure that we had every kindergarten student on the right bus and that took more time that we had anticipated.
Today though, it was good to see teachers in classrooms, students finding their way in the hallways, and parents taking pictures as they sent their sons and daughters to school.
I visited every school today. Overall, I was very happy with the day. I was at the high school at 7:00 and helped hand out schedules to freshmen students. By 9:00 this morning at Beagle, every student was in their classroom and the halls were quiet. At 9:20, I visited a 4th grade classroom at Wacousta and found them working on math. Kindergarten students were busy in their classrooms when I visited Neff at 10:30. At 1:30 while I was at Delta Center, Principal Averill was meeting with his first, second, and third graders to discuss school rules and responsibilities.
Having said that, there were some concerns that surfaced that we will get fixed. Schedules at the secondary level caused a few concerns. Part of that was a glitch that we discovered in the new student management software. We believe that we have that resolved now and scheduling should be resolved quickly.
On this first day of school we had transportation concerns pop up. Some of these concerns were with the length of some bus rides from certain neighborhoods. We are working on some solutions and should be able to implement them by the end of this week. We also were a bit slow getting away from the kindergarten building today. We wanted to make sure that we had every kindergarten student on the right bus and that took more time that we had anticipated.
Today though, it was good to see teachers in classrooms, students finding their way in the hallways, and parents taking pictures as they sent their sons and daughters to school.
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