By: Tim Taylor
Last fall, America Succeeds published “The Age of Agility: Education Pathways for the Future of Work”. The report examines the rapidly changing economy and workforce and calls for a seismic shift in the education-to-employment pipeline that will support agile learning providers and develop life-long learners prepared to succeed in this new era.
Last week, I attended the ReThink Ed conference hosted by the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri. They are also exploring how public education needs to adapt and evolve to prepare our students to succeed in a world where it is expected that up to 85% of the jobs available in 2030 (when today’s kindergarteners graduate from high school) have yet to be invented.
Aaron North, Vice President of Education at the Kauffman Foundation challenged the 300 plus attendees representing teachers, administrators, students, parents and business and community leaders to “ReThink” the high school diploma. He suggested that the schools giving; the students receiving; and the employers using, the diploma as a measure of what someone can do, all recognize it’s irrelevance in today’s society.
Attendees spent the day reimagining what the high school experience would look like if the diploma truly certified that students possessed the knowledge, skills and competencies to be successful in the future.
In an effort to maintain the momentum, America Succeeds has partnered with the Kauffman Foundation and our Missouri/Kansas affiliate AlignED, to host the second of our twelve Age of Agility summits, in Kansas City on June 14. We invite you to join us at a city near you to incubate, innovate and redesign public education to prepare students face the challenges and seize the opportunities of this new era.
April 12: Phoenix, AZ
June 14: Kansas City, MO
July 19: Albuquerque, NM
August 9: Chicago, IL
August 16: Columbus, OH
August 23: Memphis, TN
August 30: Oklahoma City, OK
September 11: Boise, ID
September 27: Little Rock, AR
More dates and locations coming soon!