Pop quiz: The best way to solve the Colorado Paradox is:
a. Focusing on improving high school graduation rates.
b. Getting more kids to college.
c. Having more kids complete post-secondary credentials (like certificates, apprenticeships and associate and bachelor’s degrees).
d. All of the above.
I’ll be personally reviewing your scores, but if you’re familiar with this paradox of having one of the most highly skilled workforces in the country but not graduating enough Colorado kids to meet our need for skilled workers, you know we’re taking an all-of-the-above approach to education.
As our students—our future workforce—head back to school, we’re seeing more and more programs focused on making sure that once they graduate, they’re ready for whatever comes next. Here are a few of the programs we’re watching:
Trading on new skills. Emily Griffith Technical College started classes at its new College of Trades and Industry this week. Though the school has been teaching trades like welding and water quality management for nearly 100 years, the move to a 50,000 square-foot building at 1205 Osage St. will allow the school to educate more students in a state-of-the-art facility.
Sitting in the cockpit. This week students are also starting at the Wings Aerospace Academy—a middle and future high school charter founded by Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum to prepare students for careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. The school has a strong focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and will blend hands-on experiences with online learning.
Preparing for the next step. Districts around the state are focusing on careers. Poudre School District (PSD), which serves students in northern Colorado, offers career and technical education (CTE) classes to its student. I’ve written about CTE before and what I think is so valuable is that it allows students to try out careers—ranging from accounting to nursing—to get a feel for what the work will be like and prepare them for that next step, whether it’s going to college, an apprenticeship program or right to work.
We know that in five short years 74 percent of jobs in Colorado will require some education after high school. We’ve got work to do to ensure that we’re creating a pipeline to meet those needs, and, as you can see from these few examples, many schools around the state are helping us do just that.
Kelly Brough is the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.