Preparing Students for the Global Economy

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Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel delivered opening remarks at NBC's Education Nation "Job One Panel" at the Field Museum on May 5. The event brought together business executives and civic leaders to discuss the importance of educating America's students to compete in the global economy, according to NBC.
Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel delivered opening remarks at NBC's Education Nation "Job One Panel" at the Field Museum on May 5. The event brought together business executives and civic leaders to discuss the importance of educating America's students to compete in the global economy, according to NBC.

by Thelma Sardin

Last week, NBCs Education Nation tour stopped in Chicago from May 1-7. The news agency is also sponsoring upcoming tours in Los Angles and Philadelphia. Education Nations purpose is to create a thoughtful dialogue with policymakers, thought-leaders, educators and the public, in pursuit of the shared goal of providing every American with an opportunity to pursue the best education in the world, according to its website. A moderated session at the Field Museum on May 5 was part of the week-long conference.

The session, entitled JOB ONE: PREPARING AMERICA TO COMPETE IN THE 21st CENTURY, featured local business and civic leaders. NBC News Andrea Mitchell and NBC Chicagos Lisa Parker moderated the discussion while leaders deliberated on the needs of a 21st Century workforce and how to best prepare American students for innovative jobs.

Panelists included: Cheryl Hyman, Chancellor City Colleges of Chicago and John Rogers, Chairman & CEO Ariel Investments

Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel delivered the opening remarks for the evening. He said that the session would have not occurred if it were not for Mayor Richard M. Daley and his work with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

We would not be having this discussion if it were not for his [Daleys] leadership in 1995, when he changed the discussion of urban education, he said.

In 1995, Daley gained control of CPS and the Chicago Board of Education from the Illinois General Assembly which allowed him to appoint the agencies leadership teams.

That automatically changed education in the City of Chicago for the better, Emanuel continued speaking of Daleys influence on public education.

Emanuel, who will be sworn in on May 16, also highlighted the work of two CPS schools. He suggested that successful tools that are working at some schools can be applied to them all.

Theres nothing wrong with the Chicago school system that cannot be fixed by whats right with the Chicago School system, he said.

Emanuel used Chicagos Urban Prep Academies as an example. The all-boys CPS charter school which consists of three campuses (Englewood, South Shore and West Garfield Park) held its college signing day for seniors last week. For the second consecutive year, 100 percent of Urban Preps graduating class has been accepted into college.

Emanuel also mentioned the achievements of five students at Kenwood Academy High School. The students are winners of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program (GMS). The GMS is a scholarship awarded to minority students with financial need. It was started in 1999 with a $1 Billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Kenwood has the most GMS winners of any city school in the country. According to its website, GMS selects 1,000 students to receive a scholarship to use at any college or university of their choice.

Mitchell began the moderated session with the issue of the disconnect between jobs and our education system.

Hyman, who is responsible for 120,000 at the City College of Chicago, said that a bridge between our K-12 systems and our community college systems is important to prepare students for jobs in the workforce. She also said that over 90 percent of students entering community colleges are not college ready and that these students end up repeating classes.

We need to ensure our institutions replicate what the industry market is asking for. We need strong ties to the business community and we need to ensure our programs are relevant, she said. Hyman continued that a students education should be a return on their investment once they reach the global economy.

Parker took questions from the audience and posed them to politicians and other leaders who were present. Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon answered how individuals with criminal records can transition back into the job market and seek educational opportunities. She mentioned a Summit of Hope where ex-offenders are getting help obtaining a state ID card, finding employment opportunities and connections with community colleges.

They can gain skills in an area where someone with a record can go to work. Part of it is a matter of matching up the skills and interests with an available job --and community colleges do that particularly well, she said.

The session concluded with Mitchell asking Rogers what he would like to see children learning in classrooms. Rogers said that financial literacy is important but also relationships between business leaders and teachers helps spur innovation in the classroom. It impacts the students so directly when you have better collaboration between our teachers and business leaders, he said.

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