2019 February Colony Magazine

Is University the Only Route After High School?
James J. Brescia Ed.D
SLO County
Office of Education
Superintendent
The question we should
be asking is “How do
we best prepare students
for life after high school graduation?
Last year I was fortunate
to be invited to present some of
my current educational research
at a symposium hosted by Cambridge
University in the United
Kingdom. In 2015, I lectured at
Oxford and was reminded of how
similar our educational challenges
are both internationally and
domestically. At this conference
I was co-presenting with my colleague,
Dr. James Gentilucci. Our
research on “Successful Recruitment
Strategies for Teachers” was
commissioned by the California
County Superintendents Educational
Services Association.
We addressed an audience from
America, Europe, Asia and Africa
on the importance of thoughtful
recruitment and retention of educational
employees. London is
facing a similar shortage of educators
as we are in California.
One path the European, African,
and Asian countries have already
implemented is aggressive Career
and Technical Education (CTE)
in secondary schools that include
teacher education. Just a month
prior to the Cambridge symposium,
I attended a local conference
hosted by the California
Department of Education on the
importance of CTE pathways
in our schools. My attendance
at this conference and the 2015
Oxford symposium served to
further strengthen my commitment
to our county-wide efforts
in securing CTE funding for local
schools throughout our county. I
am honored to have our local assemblyman
Jordan Cunningham
and state senator Bill Monning
also supporting these efforts in
the state legislature.
Education in the United States,
and across the globe, continues to
experience challenging times. We
would be wise to remember that
according to current data one out
of three Americans (33 percent)
report attaining a bachelor’s degree,
and 12 percent reported
and advanced degree such as a
master’s, professional, or doctorate
degree. Almost nine out of
10 Americans (88 percent) attained
a high school diploma or
General Equivalency Diploma
(GED). Educational attainment
continues to vary by age, sex, race
and Hispanic origin, nativity, and
disability status. While we here
in America continue to navigate
our way through federal and state
mandates that impact our classrooms,
our leaders must include
CTE as a piece of the educational
puzzle.
Ask a puzzle master and you
will be advised that instead of
taking a wild stab at the puzzle,
see if you can identify a good
strategy that will lead to an acceptable
solution. Similar to the
puzzle master’s advice, I believe
that CTE is a key piece of the
educational quest for student success.
As we face an ever-changing
Continued on PAGE 27
Future Careers. Locally Grown.
"It's been really great learning new
things, and having a teacher who is
willing to bring us opportunities like
this."
Grace - Student, Templeton High
School
www.SLOPartners.org
Watch the Video @San Luis Obispo County Office of Education YouTube
24 | colonymagazine.com COLONY Magazine, February 2019