02/29/2016
National Meeting on Strengthening Career Development in American Education
NCDA, the Global Pathways Institute, the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation were the sponsoring organizations of a meeting focused on making career development a central priority in American education. Sponsoring organizations with members on the program steering committee include ACT Inc., ACTE, America’s Promise Alliance, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Governors Association, and the State Directors of CTE Consortium.
The day-long meeting was held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Headquarters in Washington, DC on February 22, 2016. Cheryl Oldham, Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, welcomed the group, and Bill Symonds, Director of the Global Pathways Institute, provided an overview and purpose of the meeting. Keynote presenters included Alma Powell, Chair, America’s Promise Alliance; John Engler, President of the Business roundtable; Dr. Tony Evers, Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction; Brandon Busteed, Executive Director of Gallup Education; and Chip Blankenship, CEO of GE Appliances. Panel presenters included David Reile, NCDA President-Elect; Jason Tyszko, Director of Education and Workforce Development, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Crystal Bridgeman, Senior Director of workforce development programs, Siemans Foundations; Leo Reddy, Executive Director, MSSC; and Scott Solberg, Associate Dean for Research, Boston University.
250 participants, leaders of business, education and government organizations, engaged in discussions and reported suggestions and recommendations for strengthening career development in schools. Discussion group facilitators and recorders included NCDA leaders and members Cynthia Marco-Scanlon, Deb Osborn, Rebecca Dedmond, Rich Feller, Mike Marlowe, Marilyn Maze, Deneen Pennington, Niel Carey and Phil Jarvis. The oral reports from the discussion groups reflected positive and wide-spread support for strengthening career development in American education, including qualified career counselors and technology in each school to support the development of individual career/learning plans. The enthusiastic support of business and other community organizations was noted in the reports. The discussion groups’ reports will be compiled and featured in a white paper/action plan which will be developed by the meeting steering committee. NCDA representatives on the steering committee are David Reile, Mark Danaher, Ray Davis and Niel Carey. The steering committee will hold follow-up planning meetings at the Global Pathways Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 2-4 and in conjunction with the NCDA conference in Chicago, IL, June 29-July 2, 2016.
This meeting, with the strong support of the NCDA Board and Executive Director Deneen Pennington, and the active and enthusiastic support of NCDA Presidents (current, past and future) Mark Danaher, Cynthia Marco-Scanlon, David Reile and Paul Timmins, provides convincing evidence of the results of NCDA’s extensive and effective communication and collaboration with a number of business, professional and government organizations. As the action plan from the meeting is developed and implemented, it will be a powerful tool for helping NCDA members and leaders achieve their mission of facilitating the career development of individuals across the life span.
For more information, please visit www.ncda.org or contact Deneen Pennington, NCDA Executive Director, at dpennington@ncda.org
Read more... in Career Convergence.
