WORKSHOP

... prepares them for... a future of adaptability and success in life and their chosen endeavors.

Our Vision is, in partnership with families and the community, create a preK-12 system that serves and supports ALL children  and ensures that EACH child has FULL access to, is engaged in, and obtains an excellent education that prepares them for responsible citizenship and a future of adaptability and success in life and their chosen endeavors.

The purpose of this work session is to begin to articulate and define what the last part of this vision looks like.

A starting point for the discussion must be to look at the future that we are preparing students for. I have attached some background information that will hopefully give us some information that can help sharpen our foundational perspectives.

1. Provided are two documents on "The Future of the US Workforce" The first is a two-page executive summary and the second is a slightly more detailed (still brief) discussion of the limited career prospects for High School Graduates without additional education and training.
2. A Pew Research article "The Future of Jobs and Job Training" offers a look at the future demands on the US workforce with the changing levels of automation.   This is an interesting read that focuses largely on the future of job training.  One quote that is germane to the discussion is "employment is much higher among jobs that require an average or above-average level of preparation (including education, experience and job training); average or above-average interpersonal, management and communication skills; and higher levels of analytical skills, such as critical thinking and computer skills."
3. a McKinsey Global Institute Executive Summary: JOBS LOST, JOBS GAINED: WORKFORCE TRANSITIONS IN A TIME OF AUTOMATION.   This is an excellent report.  Perhaps most salient is the quote from the fourth page of the report: "Even if there is enough work to ensure full employment by 2030, major transitions lie ahead that could match or even exceed the scale of historical shifts out of agriculture and manufacturing. Our scenarios suggest that by 2030, 75 million to 375 million workers (3 to 14 percent of the global workforce) will need to switch occupational categories. Moreover, all workers will need to adapt, as their occupations evolve alongside increasingly capable machines. Some of that adaptation will require higher educational attainment, or spending more time on activities that require social and emotional skills, creativity, high-level cognitive capabilities and other skills relatively hard to automate."