Proposal to redesign high schools to boost results, workforce

(Dec. 12, 2007) Could re-designing Connecticut’s high schools both improve student’s academic performance and help build a skilled workforce in the state? A group of the state’s top educators and businesspeople, including CBIA and led by State Department of Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan, thinks it could.

It’s been apparent for some time that Connecticut students are not performing as well as they should academically — a critical problem that is affecting not only their futures but the state’s economy, which depends on having a steady supply of skilled workers.

Finding a solution to this problem has not been easy. But since last summer, Commissioner McQuillan has been meeting with an Ad Hoc Committee on Secondary School Improvement to find a way to address the challenge.

The committee of superintendents, school officials, business leaders and higher education representatives has proposed a solution that includes a redesigned 24-credit curriculum. This core curriculum will include courses covering the skills needed in today’s global economy. It will also include end-of-course exams and other performance-measuring tasks as well as a senior demonstration project.

Last week, the Board of Education approved the committee’s recommendations and gave the green light for a proposed “listening tour” and cost analysis of the project. During the tour, the committee will meet with various public, private and business organizations to discuss the proposal and make sure all of the most pressing concerns — including the high achievement gap, failure rates and lack of a skilled workforce — are being addressed.

Officials hope these recommendations can help both reduce the number of Connecticut students exiting the state’s high schools ill-prepared to succeed in the labor market, and help state regain its footing in an increasingly competitive, global economy.

CBIA supports the recommendations as a good first step to bring the state of Connecticut closer to other states that have already moved ahead in preparing their youth for the future.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Jesmin Basanti at 860-244-1929 or basantij@cbia.com.