School-to-Work

Synopsis

Pennsylvania’s Keystone Commission on

Education for Employment in the 21 st Century

Findings and Recommendations

Released December 2001

     The Keystone Commission was established by the Pennsylvania legislature in February 2001 to investigate and solve two problems identified by PA business leaders:   1) not enough workers have basic skills in reading, writing, and math; and 2) skilled workers are leaving PA.   The report, written by appointed Commission members representing business, government and education constituencies, presented 44 recommendations that would reinvent Pennsylvania’s education system so that schools produce workers needed for regional businesses.

The Commission identified 25 occupations with the highest projected rate of growth by the year 2005.   Based on this list of jobs, the Commission concluded that:

  •   27% of the jobs will require only a high school diploma and limited    additional training
  •   30% will require 2 years of post secondary training
  •   43% will require four or more years of post secondary education

      The 44 recommendations of the Keystone Report are the blueprint for the School-to-Work (STW) education and business system that is supposed to meet the employment needs of Pennsylvania’s businesses by training students according to the above proportions.   The following is an overview of the education system that will be created in Pennsylvania if the Keystone Commission recommendations are implemented.

STW will be embedded in all grades.

      Starting in Kindergarten, elementary children will begin to explore and identify their work related interests and abilities through classroom assignments, speakers and trips to work places.

      The middle school years will expose children to career exploration.   Extensive career units requiring hours of class time will be used throughout the school year.   By 8 th or 9 th grade, children will begin to choose their academic and technical courses based on the career plans they have developed in grades 5, 6, 7 and 8.

By 10 th grade, “after evaluating their individual interests, aptitudes and labor market projections,” students will start working toward their selected career.   In the report, Tech Prep is extolled as the preferred model with students simultaneously taking classes and working at their intended occupation.

The Report recommends:

•  requiring schools to have “ comprehensive career centers” and

   specially trained “ career counselors ” who work with children

   from kindergarten through high school.  

•  requiring the Commonwealth to enact comprehensive statewide

   standards on career education and work .

•  requiring school district strategic plans to allow teachers across all

   grades to work together to implement this seamless system of

   education.

High schools will be drastically affected.

      Recommendation #21 is critical – it endorses “implementing a curriculum model in which academic , vocational and technical education occur within an integrated context.”

      The commended STW model is the Keystone Central School District’s “21 st Century High School”   in which ALL elementary and middle school students go through an “extensive preparation and exploration program” which leads to selection of a “career pathway” by 9 th grade.   The students are sorted into the following career pathways:

  1.   Business / Technical / Computer science
  2.   Engineering / Manufacturing
  3.   Health / Human Resources
  4.   Environment / Agricultural Management
  5.   Arts / Communications

Each student’s future education and training is based on his/her choice

.  

(The Keystone Report is vague in describing what students will experience in this new STW high school.    As seen in other states, however, students will be funneled into classes and work experiences that provide basic foundational skills and technical skills needed for a job.   In addition to classes in basic math and reading, students will take classes that relate to their career path.   For example, students in a “Health Services” path will take math and science classes; whereas, students in “Arts and Communication” will take more English classes.   Students will also job shadow, have part-time jobs, and work during the school day.   Districts in the Pittsburgh area already have students “working” in local businesses one or more days a week to acquire job experience instead of attending classes.)

Vocational-Technical Education will be expanded.

      Historically, vocational-technical   education has been a strong but limited component in Pennsylvania’s high schools.   Vo-tech programs have often been considered second rate when compared with traditional high school curricula.   STW proponents hope to elevate the stature of vo-tech programs to that of a college education by:

•  increasing student enrollment to a predetermined percentage

•  developing core skill standards for specific jobs and an

   appropriate assessment tool to measure the attainment of these

   standards for high school students.   Those who prove to be

   proficient will receive certificates.  

•  increasing the number and quality of vo-tech teachers who will be

   needed to train more vo-tech students.

      With stronger vo-tech schools and staff in place, the report recommends that middle and high schools “engage in an aggressive marketing strategy geared towards parents and students to promote the importance of vocational technical education to the economic development of Pennsylvania.”    (Note:   The good of the student is not mentioned, just the good of economic development.   The students are seen as economic capital – as human resources.)   ALL students will be encouraged to consider vo-tech.   This appeal to ALL students is very important because the job projections made by the Keystone Commission reveal that more than half of high school students will receive the limited training available through programs like those offered at vo-tech schools.

      The report also suggests expanding Tech-Prep.   It is even suggested that students get half-tuition scholarships to complete certificates or degrees in exchange for a commitment to work in the state for one year for every year of scholarship granted – a financial incentive especially appealing to low-income students.  

      While vo-tech education has provided an appropriate alternative for many high school students, the aggressive expansion and marketing of vo-tech curricula to ALL students changes the thrust of traditional high school education.  

Community colleges will be central.

      It is clear that community colleges will play a dominant role in providing workforce development.    The state’s 14 community colleges will become hubs for training workers.   Recent high school graduates, along with adult workers who need additional training or re-training, will attend programs at community colleges.   Businesses will be encouraged to partner with community colleges for specific training and re-training services.

A blend of public and private money will pay for this STW system.

      State and federal money will be part of the funding.   Formulas will be re-written to provide money to entities that provide job training.   Post secondary institutions that do not train students for a job may not get funding

      The Report recommends that the Commonwealth offer financial incentives to graduates of Pennsylvania post secondary schools who fill local jobs.   For example, student loans would be repaid for graduates who work in a high demand job in Pennsylvania for a minimum number of years.

      Although the Keystone Report is short on specifics, businesses will be expected provide services and money needed to train students and retrain employees to maintain a constant pipeline of trained workers.

An expanded bureaucracy will make it all happen.

      The Commission suggests enlarging the existing State bureaucracy to implement and manage this new educational system.   The following new department and offices are identified:

1.      The Keystone Office for Education for Employment in the 21st

         Century   (KOEE21C) will be at the helm.   It will -

•  Determine workforce needs

•  Develop policies to be implemented through the General

   Assembly, Governor, and Agencies

•  Develop certification processes for teachers and students

•  Evaluate success of programs

•  Establish a web site

•  Publish reports

•  Recommend methods of funding

•  Determine foundational skills and skill levels wanted by employers

2.      The Department of Community and Economic Development will

         implement plans to encourage young workers to stay in Pennsylvania.

 

3.      An Office of Career and Technical Education will “develop a means by

         which career and technical education is linked with elementary and

         secondary education.”

4.      An Office of Community, Business and Education Partnerships will be

          established within the DOE.

Directors for these new offices will probably be appointed and

not subject to accountability by the public or our elected officials.

The education system is directly responsible

for specific development of the workforce.

       A series of recommendations calls for the development of a comprehensive system controlled by the state Workforce Investment Board, already in place by Executive Order 1997-7.   Using the Team PA Workforce plan, all the various agencies involved in workforce development will be coordinated into a streamlined, all-powerful, non-elected system.

Conclusion

       The plan described in the Keystone Commission Report clearly establishes School-to-Work in Pennsylvania – merging education, business, and government.

 

Key Quotations from the Keystone Commission Report

“The Commission finds that the concept of workforce development and education are interconnected and must be appropriately coordinated in order to produce a workforce prepared to meet the challenges of a highly competitive and rapidly changing economy.”   (p. 62)

“…by the end of the next decade, the education landscape will bear little resemblance to what we see today.”   (p. 22)

Defined as a critical issue: “promoting a seamless system of elementary, secondary and post secondary education; and, coordinating workforce development and education.”   (p. 3)

The Commission wants “to encourage the business community to play a leading role in the education of Pennsylvania’s future workforce.”   (p. 48)

“The Keystone Commission report should serve as an initial blueprint for building a unified system linking workforce development and education.”   (p. 62)

 

CEO Commentary

      The Keystone Report is based on the false premise that STW will solve the educational problems noted by businesses.   Curricular changes, including the use of phonics and traditional math, will correct the deficiencies of high school graduates.   Indeed, STW is a takeover of education and the economy.

      Looking into the future of a STW world reveals the ramifications of such a system:

•  Education will be reduced to skills training with the system

   determining which workers will go through life with just enough

   training to fill their job and which workers will be chosen for further

   training.  

•  Businesses will determine qualifications for jobs and the requisite

    training level of each worker through coordination with the

   Workforce Investment Boards.  

•  The number of Americans who will think, as individuals, using

   the resources of a well balanced education to contribute to all

   aspects of business, family life, culture and citizenship will

   shrink .  

STW is a path America should not follow.

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