America’s Emerging
Education System –
and the Perkins Act
Connection
By Hans Meeder
Key Points for Discussion
•
•
•
•
What’s coming and how soon?
How did we get here?
What’s happening now?
How can I play a part?
The Tipping Point
The Three Rules
1. The Law of the Few
2. The Stickiness Factor
3. The Power of Context
3
The Innovation and Adoption Cycle
The Law of the Few:
Connectors, Mavens, & Salesmen
The Rules of The Tipping Point

Making an idea or attitude or product tip
can be done through the influence of
special kinds of people. That’s the Law of
the Few.

It can be done by changing the content of
communication, by making a message so
memorable that it sticks in someone’s mind
and compels them to action. That is the
Stickiness Factor.

But we need to remember that small
changes in context can be just as important
in tipping epidemics (Ch. 4).
The 1st High School Tipping Point
1892. The Committee of Ten
1906. National Society for the Promotion
of Industrial Education (Charles Prosser)
1917. The Smith-Hughes Act (salaries for
vocational teachers and teacher
preparation)
1918. “Cardinal Principles of Secondary
Education”
1959. Conant report “The American High
School Today”
--- the triumph of “differentiation”
Miscalculations in the
20th Century High School Model
 Belief in fixed intelligence and low
expectations, racial and ethnic
prejudices
 Belief in a static economy and slowchanging workforce demands
See “Left Back, A Century of Battles Over School
Reform” by Diane Ravitch, 2000
Moving toward the
Next Tipping Point for
American High Schools
Tipping Point Factors
2001. States Career Clusters Initiative
2002. College and Career Transitions Initiative
2004. American Diploma Project…”Ready or Not”
2003-2004. Department of Education High School Regional
and National Summits
2005. National Governors Association, High School Summit
“American high schools are
obsolete…”
“American high schools are obsolete.
By obsolete, I mean that our high schools,
even when they are working exactly as
designed, cannot teach our kids what they
need to know today. Training the workforce
of tomorrow with high schools of today is
like trying to teach kids about today’s
computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It’s
the wrong tool for the times.”
-- Bill Gates, Founder and Chairman, Microsoft Corp.
What Are the Results?
What happens to entering 9th graders
four years later…
37%
29%
Graduate from
High School
Not College-Ready
Dropout of
High School
34%
Greene & Winters 2005
Graduate from High
School College-Ready
The Silent Epidemic
The Silent Epidemic
Perspectives of High School Dropouts
A Report by
Civic Enterprises, LLC
John M. Bridgeland, John
J. DiIulio, Jr., Karen
Burke Morison
Dropouts Did Not Feel Motivated
Or Inspired To Work Hard
Did you feel motivated and inspired to
work hard in high school?
Was not
motivated
69% /
inspired
Was
motivated/
inspired 27%
Not
sure
4%
Source: The Silent Epidemic, 2006
30
Tipping Point Factor:
“The World is Flat,
A Brief History of the 21st Century” by
Thomas L. Friedman
Globalization
• Version 1.0. 1492 (Columbus) - 1800.
– Key factors-- muscle, horsepower, windpower,
steampower
– Agent of change -- Countries and governments
• Version 2.0. 1800 to 2000
– slowed by Great Depression and World Wars I
and II
– key factors: falling transportation costs, and later,
by falling telecommunications costs – telegraph,
telephones, the PC, satellites, fiber-optic cable,
and early version of the Internet.
Source: The World is Flat, A brief History of the 21st Century
by Thomas L. Friedman
Globalization
• Version 3.0. 2000 to present
– Key factors-- power for individuals to collaborate
and compete globally. Software, applications,
global fiber-optic network
– Agent of change -- Individuals, much more
diverse --- non-Western, non-white
Source: The World is Flat, A brief History of the 21st Century
by Thomas L. Friedman
Friedman’s Ten Flattening Forces
• Fall of the Berlin Wall
• Netscape IPO
• Work flow software
• Open-sourcing
• Outsourcing
Friedman’s Ten Flattening Forces
• Fall of the Berlin Wall
• Netscape IPO
• Work flow software
• Open-sourcing
• Outsourcing
•Offshoring
• Supply-chaining
• Insourcing
•In-forming
•Wireless
“Hey, we are
roughing it
out here!
Only 45
minutes of
IM-ing a
night, you
hear me?!”
Tipping Point Factor:
The College AND Work
Readiness Agenda
Downloadable copy available: www.acteonline.org
Tipping Point Factor,
The Perkins Act of 2006
KEY THEMES:
• CTE Programs of Study
• State and Local Accountability for Program
Improvement
• Tech Prep Accountability and Flexibility
• Economic and Personal Competitiveness
Perkins “CTE Programs of Study”
• Builds on Tech Prep, career clusters,
career pathways, career academies
• State develops in consultation with locals
• Each local district and college must offer
the required courses of at least one
Program of Study…
– (many states will require that Programs of
Study become the rule vs. the exception)
Tipping Point Factor:
State Career Initiatives
Montana Career Fields and Clusters Model
Human Services &
Resources
Environmental &
Agricultural Systems
Business &
Management
Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources
Law, Public Safety and Security
Marketing, Sales, and Services
Government and Public Administration
Human Services
Business, Management, and
Administration
Education and Training
Hospitality and Tourism
Foundation
Knowledge and Skills
•Interpersonal Relationships
•Information Literacy
•Problem Solving
•Critical Thinking
•Teamwork
Communication &
Information
Systems
Finance
Industrial, Manufacturing,
& Engineering Systems
Manufacturing
Arts, A/V Technology and Communications
Transportation, Distribution &
Logistics
Information Technology
Architecture and Construction
Health Sciences
Health Science
Science, Technology, Engineering &
Mathematics
 English
 English I
 English II
 English III
 English IV
 Academic Transfer
 Advanced Placement
 Early Entry
 Math
 Pre Algebra
 Algebra I
 Geometry
 Algebra I
 Algebra II
 Algebra II
 Trigonometry
 Pre-Calculus
 Calculus
 Academic Transfer
 Advanced Placement
 Early Entry
 Earth Science
 Biology
 Biology I
 Chemistry I
 Chemistry I
 Physics
 Anatomy/Physiology
 Academic Transfer
 Advanced Placement
 Early Entry
 American History
 Geography
 American History
 Geography
 World History
 Academic Transfer
 Advanced Placement
 Early Entry
 Career Cluster Exploration
 Input Technologies/
Keyboarding
 Other Career Exploration
 Advanced Computer
Applications
 Cisco I,II, III, IV
 Computer Applications
 Computer Graphics
 Computer Programming
 Desktop
 American History
 Economics
 Government/Civics
 Modern Problems
 Psychology/Sociology
 Electronics I, II, III
 Interactive Media and Web
Design
 Intro to Information
Technology
 Multimedia Introduction
 Network Systems
 Art/Music/Theatre
 PE/Health/Wellness
 World Languages
 Speech/Communications
 Art/Music/Theatre
 PE/Health/Wellness
 World Languages
 Speech/Communications
 Art/Music/Theatre
 PE/Health/Wellness
 World Languages
 Speech/Communications
 Academic Transfer
 Advanced Placement
 Early Entry
 FBLA
 Cooperative Education
 Service Learning
 Skills USA
 Career Days
 Internships
 Career Interviews
 Job Shadowing
 Career Research
 Website Development/
Maintenance for Community
Organizations
 Mentorship
 Part-time Employment
 Animation
 Business Technology
 Adv/Business Tech
 Commercial Art I, II
 Computer Repair
 Graphic Design
 Develop Web Pages
 Yearbook Staff
 Participate with School
Multimedia/Video Projects
 Volunteering
Electronic Tools for College and
Career Planning to…
•Help Students Create Individualized Plans AND
•Build awareness of the full spectrum of post-secondary
education and training opportunities
Tipping Point Factor:
Policies that Recognize Integrated
Academics
• 10 Interdisciplinary courses that meet state
requirements for academic course taking.
• Carefully merged academic and career-oriented
content.
• Meet Geometry standards: Computer-aided
drafting/geometry; and Construction geometry.
• Meet Life Science standards: Agri-biology; medical
science; nutritional and food science.
• Meet Economics standards: Business economics;
consumer economics.
– Source: Kentucky State Department of Education,
www.education.ky.gov/KDE/default.htm
Tipping Point Factor:
Increasing recognition in the general
education community
Tipping Point Factor:
State Initiatives
• California. 2005. S.B., $20 million in new CTE
funding, 2007. $32 million in new CTE funding
proposed. Governor’s CTE Summit.
• South Carolina, 2005. Legislature approves
Education and Economic Development Act.
– Offers academic standards within “career majors” for
every student.
– Every student will create an individual plan for
graduation and beyond.
Tipping Point Factor:
State Initiatives
• Washington State, 2006. State legislature
recognizes CTE as part of collection of evidence
for alternative form of WASL assessment.
• Florida, 2006. State legislature approves “A++”
Plan.
– High school students will select an area of interest as
part of their personalized education and career plan.
– Students will earn four credits in a major area of
interest.
Tipping Point Factor:
Schools That are Getting It Done
Polytech High School
Woodside, Delaware
High Tech High,
San Diego, California
Granger High School
Granger, Washington
“si puede” – “It can be done”
Why Link High School Redesign
to Career Cluster/Pathway Strategies?
• In a new global context, America’s preparation system
must be highly effective and efficient, reaching ALL
students with high quality.
• Today’s workplace demands cross-cutting skills and
adaptability – flexible career preparation is usually
preferable to narrow job training.
• Helps change the perception of old “voc-ed” –
attracting more students, including those who consider
themselves “college-bound.”
Why Link High School Redesign
to Career Cluster/Pathway Strategies?
• Opportunity to master academic content by applying it
to real-world contexts – 21st Century Skills
• Stronger personal motivation for students to complete
high school and work toward college attainment with a
personalize plan.
“I got you the
iPod that I
promised you,
and for your
convenience,
I’ve welded it to
the lawn
mower.”
Creating a New Hybrid of CTE with
College Readiness Expectations
Heterosis/Hybrid Vigor:
“the possibility to
obtain a ‘better’
individual by combining
the virtues of its
parents”
What Do We Want for Our
Students and Schools?
• Rigor
– Where we believe in the ability of students to
learn at high levels and make every effort to get
them there
• Relevance
– Where we engage students in their passion for
learning and life
• Relationships
– Where every youth knows he or she matters to
someone
Which One are You?
• Connectors
People with a special gift of bringing the world
together – SOCIAL GLUE – SPREAD MESSAGE
• Mavens
They accumulate knowledge and have the social
skills to start word-of-mouth epidemics – DATA
BANKS – PROVIDE THE MESSAGE
• Salesmen, They persuade us
• The Message – Stickiness
• The Context - Policy
“Few will have the greatness to bend
history itself; but each of us can work
to change a small portion of events,
and in the total of all those acts will
be written the history of this
generation.”
-- Robert F. Kennedy
For more information about presentations
and state and local consulting services,
contact:
Email:
Hans@MeederConsulting.com
Web:
www.MeederConsulting.com
What is the Impact in the
Colorado Classroom?