Our schools have picked up the catch phrase "College and Career" a lot over the past few years. But the words that come after this phrase seem to (more often than not) have a lot more to do with "college" and a lot less to do with "career".
Of course it is important for our P-12 schools to prepare students for college. But our most important responsibility is to prepare students to be responsible and productive citizens. For some students, that means beginning a career soon after high school. In the school systems where I have worked, we have taken this responsibility very seriously. We have a separate school building that is our Career and Technology Center (CTC). Students spend part of their school day at their regular, comprehensive high school and the rest of their day at the CTC. This school holds classes that teach students trades and prepare them for certification requirements in these various trades. We also have courses and programs in our regular comprehensive schools that give our students some initial training and learning in various fields.
College is important more today than it has ever been in the future. But we know that college isn't for everybody. I'm glad our public schools have continued their traditions of finding ways to prepare all students for their futures; whether they may college or CAREER.
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