A Critical Decision: Choosing Someone to Lead Our School System
As our search for a new Director of Schools comes down to the finalists, it is important to know as a Chamber member why this decision is so important to business and industry in our community. This simple answer is workforce development, but as we dive a little deeper into that, you have to understand that this position is what drives the future of each and every youth in our community.
The 4 year college completion rate hovers around 35% and has changed little in the past decades which means 65% of our youth will need skills in excess of high school completion, and a school director drives this ambition for success. This drive of success is less about college but more about career readiness as college is merely a pathway toward a job and most people, if they know that there is a 65% chance of falling of the path, will choose the 65% route of success.
It is also important to see what our candidates view as success as to me, each individual child’s success isn’t determined by a standardized test or a grade of a C or above; their success is measured 10-20 years after graduation. Are they self sustaining and a contributing member of a community. Unfortunately we love to measure the immediate results of memorization and fail to examine the long term effects of education’s long term success. My most recent recount of my high school education is that I’m sure glad I learned about parallelograms instead of learning to do my taxes. It sure has come in handy this parallelogram season. This is a simple idea that bad or useless information in leads to wasted time and a lack of useful life skills coming out.
As you watch the candidates through this search for a new director of schools, picture who sets your child up best for future success whether it is in the courtroom, boardroom or behind a welding mask. Each student, regardless of the knowledge we pump into them, should be pushed to be the best version of themselves and as parents, educators and leaders, doing any less is doing a disservice to the student and our future workforce.