State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces New Effort to Build
Pathways to Careers by Linking Educators and Business Leaders
SACRAMENTO—Educators and business leaders will come together across the state in coming weeks to share strategies for creating first-rate pathways toward high-growth industries for California's students, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today.
The California Department of Education is working with the California Community College Chancellor's Office, the California Workforce Investment Board, and the Pathways to Prosperity Network to host three Pathways to Prosperity Institutes this month in Sacramento, Clovis, and Los Angeles. Educators, administrators, business, industry, and other agency representatives will be attending these events.
"Partnerships between schools and businesses have the potential to strengthen both, and to give our students the tools they need to graduate ready to succeed in college and careers,"Torlakson said. "These gatherings build on the work we are doing—from the Common Core State Standards to career technical education—to give students the real-world experience they need to contribute to the future of our state and our economy."
Attendees are encouraged to share strategies on how education and industry can work together to create high-quality career pathway programs aligned with the local and regional needs of business and industry. The goals are for educational agencies and businesses to collaborate and create regional career pathways aligned to local labor market needs; integrate academic and career-based learning aligned to high-need, high-growth, and emerging regional economic sectors; and establish effective work-based learning programs between educational agencies and businesses.
Presenters at the Institute will include Jobs for the Future Vice President and Senior Advisor Nancy Hoffman, and Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor of Practice Emeritus Robert Schwartz. The events are at capacity, and registration is closed. However, reporters may still attend.
- December 17, 2013: Department of Health Care Services/Department of Public Health Auditorium,1500 Capitol Ave., Auditorium, Sacramento, CA, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- December 18, 2013: Clovis Veterans Memorial District Auditorium, 808 4th St., Clovis, CA, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- December 19, 2013: Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, 350 S. Bixel St., Los Angeles, CA, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The Pathways to Prosperity Network is a collaboration between the Pathways to Prosperity Project at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, Jobs for the Future, and states. They are focused on ensuring that many more young people complete high school, attain a postsecondary credential with currency in the labor market, and launch into a career while leaving open the prospect of further education.
The Pathways to Prosperity Institutes are part of Torlakson's Career Readiness Campaign designed to support, sustain, and strengthen career technical education in California.
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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction