One of the pillars of Gov. Pat McCrory’s education agenda is the notion that students must be trained for the jobs employers need. He argues that the education system doesn’t do that, and something needs to change.
He has declared this week Students@Work Week. Students@Work is a program that connects schools and businesses, giving students a chance to shadow professionals and get a sense for what kinds of jobs might be open to them in the future. This week, about 22,500 middle school students are being offered the chance to go to work. It’s not just about future jobs. It’s also about lowering the drop out rate, McCrory says.
“The Students@Work initiative focuses its efforts on middle school students because middle school is a crucial time for dropout prevention. We need our middle school students to be exposed to as many career possibilities as they can be at this point in their lives,” McCrory said.
In other McCrory and education-related news, Education Week recently spotlighted McCrory as being one of only two governors in the country to connect the economy with global education.
One was Democratic Delaware Governor Jack Markell, who talked about the importance of language education.
Education Week said the following of McCrory and North Carolina:
“Meanwhile, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory (R) held up a world history teacher as an example. ‘A key part of any jobs plan is a quality education so students can be competitive in a global economy. Connecting his students to the greater world is the mission of Garinger High School history teacher James Ford.’ Garinger High School, just outside of Charlotte, is a globally focused school and alumni member of Asia Society’s International Studies Schools Network.”