Multiple Pathways Conference Was Refreshing
By: Steve
Lots of our advocacy work here in Washington involves meeting with other organizations. Washington seems to have more meetings per capita than most places and unfortunately, many of these events involve speaking with like-minded people who work in the same “silos.” In this era of change, I have to wonder how much we are accomplishing if we only continue to “preach to the choir.”
I attended a “Multiple Education Pathways Learning Exchange” meeting hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor this week that breaks this mold. The event brought together labor, education, workforce and other practitioners from different sectors to communicate with each other about what is working in their communities to help educate disadvantaged students. “Multiple pathways” in this meeting meant different routes to get these students through the education pipeline and into good jobs. There were folks from mayors’ offices, school districts, Chambers of Commerce, labor and education agencies, community based organizations and other fields. The great thing about the meeting is that it brought groups together that don’t normally work together, or which do not always work well together in a seamless capacity.
You will be happy to hear that career and technical education was prominently featured at the meeting and that there was lots of interest on how to leverage CTE to support these populations. The CTE breakout session room was “bursting at the seams” (I’m sure we violated fire code!) and there was lots of energy and interest from attendees. Many asked good questions related to applied learning research, career pathways and early college programs. Later in a luncheon session featuring business leaders, Martin Bean with Microsoft Corporation was asked to give his “elevator speech” to convey what is needed to improve education today. A key part of his message focused on the importance of incorporating CTE in all of education, presumably so that more students are engaged in learning and better prepared for the workforce.
I met lots of good contacts at this conference and connected with some education colleagues that I see at all of the other meetings I regularly attend (okay…so I guess connecting with others in the education “silo” isn’t all bad.) I spoke to a lot of local practitioners in workforce, youth and labor programs concerning the value of CTE and noticed that ACTE’s issue briefs which I had left on the “give away” table were all gone after the first day. There is a lot of interest in CTE – that is for sure. I hope this meeting concept of working outside of the normal silos will be replicated and supported at the state and local levels. It helped give me some good contacts and ideas related to ACTE’s work.
November 14th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
That sounds great, Steve. But I have to wonder … we all talk about how great integration between these different silos is. Why is it so hard to start working more in concert? Is it because DOL and Dept of Ed are such big bureaucracies?
November 14th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
The Departments of Education and Labor serve important purposes, but just as communication/working together could be imporved at the local level, it could also be improved at the state and federal levels. This meeting was aimed at breaking down the silos. Both Departments have made good strides but more can be done.