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The world is constantly changing in ways we cannot predict, and research shows that 65% of elementary school students today will someday work in jobs that don’t even exist yet. It’s crucial for schools to prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce.

During the edLeader Panel “The Competitive Advantage: Prepare Students for Life and Work,” Freebird McKinney, former teacher and current Director of Partnerships at Participate Learning, spoke with Dr. Keith Parker, Superintendent at Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools (NC), Francesca Ver Ploegh, Assistant Superintendent of Magnet Schools at Albuquerque Public Schools (NM), and Jonathan Wren, Director of Magnet Schools at Metro Nashville Public Schools (TN), about how schools can help students build career readiness and develop advantages they’ll need to succeed in the working world.

Consider Your Resources

Depending on the area, schools will have different resources to offer students. Schools in rural areas can work with colleges and the greater community to create pathways that offer students the skills they need for the workforce; for example, strong language skills that will allow them to access different educational and career opportunities. They can also coordinate necessary transportation that students in rural communities might not otherwise have access to.

Metro areas, on the other hand, may be able to offer magnet schools to give families freedom of choice for students to find the education that’s best for them. And, culturally diverse urban areas can offer Dual-Language Immersion (DLI) programs to help students build language skills, which, in turn, boost graduation rates.

Reimagine Traditional Education

Preparing for a constantly changing world and an unforeseeable future means reimagining traditional education. By developing clear pathways that start with kindergarten and go through high school, families and students find the schools and programs that are right for them. They can look at what different school clusters offer to see which ones have what they’re looking for and where the different pathways lead, building a sense of momentum and giving schools a stronger identity.

Early exposure to college courses helps students develop critical-thinking skills, and DLI programs help develop multilingual skills. In addition, visiting different schools in other areas lets students see what the world has to offer, providing them with more options and getting them engaged and excited to learn.

Start Early

Student success happens when there’s early exposure. Starting from middle school, schools can expose students to college, career, and CTE, allowing them to develop knowledge and interests that guide them towards specific pathways right when they enter high school.

Exposing students to language and STEM programs early on prepares them for new and changing career fields. Pathways that start as early as kindergarten let students build confidence in different skillsets, opening up more opportunities that they’ll feel comfortable pursuing.

Find Your Champions

Innovation can be difficult. Funding and stakeholder investment can be hard to come by. By finding teacher and leader champions who can share their stories, victories, and professional development at the district level, schools can build enthusiasm for new ideas.

Working with community partners, families, and other stakeholders gets people invested in programs by giving them a voice in the kinds of skills that students—the future workforce—should have. By partnering with community groups, education becomes a community project, further fostering connections.

Schools must be open to new ideas in this fast-changing world if they want their students to be ready for life after graduation. Listening to their interests and concerns and helping them build important skills can direct students towards the pathways that will benefit them. While no one can predict the future, schools can give students what they’ll need to face any challenge tomorrow might hold.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, The Competitive Advantage: Prepare Students for Life and Work, sponsored by Participate Learning.

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Join the Community

College, Career, and Life Readiness is a free professional learning community where educators can receive and share information about how to prepare students for college and careers.

Since 1987, Participate Learning has partnered with schools and districts to prepare students for career readiness. Through cultural exchange, dual language programs, and global learning initiatives, we help students develop bilingual fluency, problem solving, and critical-thinking skills, empowering them to collaborate, adapt, and apply their learning to real-world challenges in any career path they choose.

Article by Jon Scanlon, based on this edLeader Panel