The focus of the talk was different in that it dealt with how IBM is working in Corporate Citizenship / Socially Responsible Investing, or "whatever you call it," as Stan stated simply. The majority of the talk was about a way to change the education system to prepare students to start filling the gap of jobs going unfilled due to a lack of available skills in the workforce.
P-TECH
IBM has become very involved with the initiative at the P-TECH High School in Brooklyn. This is a 3-way partnership between IBM, the local College and the Department of Education.
What is P-TECH? Their website shows:
Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) is a new type of school that brings together the best elements of high school, college and the professional world.
P-TECH has an innovative grade structure of 9-14. Students can begin taking college courses in 10th grade and they graduate with a High School Diploma, an Associates Degree and a qualified record of skills.
Each student is paired with an IBM mentor and is part of a 4-5 member team competing against the other teams on some project-based topic. Curricula is taught more about how you can use it to bring value to a problem that you and/or your group is trying to solve.
Early College Model
The Early College Model is currently being looked at in North Carolina to solve the same skills gap.
With another P-TECH school ordered up in NYC and 5 in Chicago, maybe the Wake County Schools, Wake Tech and some big employers in the area can look at the P-TECH model as well?
More Information
For more information about P-TECH and the issues Stan Litow discussed this morning, a good resource is this article in the US News and World Reports: "U.S. Needs New Educational Model for Economic Growth"
IBM released a playbook designed to outline "how to develop an innovative grades 9-14 school that connects education to economic development and good-paying jobs."
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