INFORM® Journeys and the Classroom of the Future Bring Visibility to Career Pathways at Summit Discussion
San Diego, CA – September 22, 2016 – Local education and business leaders met at the first annual Career Pathways Summit, hosted by the Classroom of the Future Foundation and INFORM Journeys, to help combat the challenges San Diego County schools face in preparing students to become college and career ready.
With an evolving college and career landscape, coupled with an average student-to-school counselor ratio of 800 to 1 in California, students are increasingly overwhelmed and lack the support needed to plan their future. The summit addressed the need for a regional approach to connecting education to the world of work, and how San Diego schools can improve in the arena. Summit attendees also discussed the following:
- How to achieve a collective social impact by helping students better prepare for college and career(s).
- Professional best practice research on career pathways, work-based learning, and linked learning approaches currently being used in classrooms.
- How educators can help students discover their strengths, weaknesses, and interests for potential careers and navigate their way to those opportunities.
Rob Atterbury, Director of District and Regional Support at ConnectEd was the keynote speaker at the summit, followed by a panel of local business and education leaders who debated a range of high interest topics, such as what it’s like to implement programs that prepare students for college and career. Panel members included: Peter Sibley, CEO, INFORM Journeys; Tina Ngo Bartel, Director of Business Programs and Research, San Diego Workforce Partnership; Richard Barrera, Board Member, San Diego Unified School District; Keith Nuthall, Principal, Del Lago Academy; and Rob Atterbury, Director of District and Regional Support, ConnectEd.
Included in the Summit were three breakout sessions that addressed building a regional career pathways system, preparing teachers for the career pathways expansion and a demonstration of the Journeys platform, which will help students navigate their college and career destinations.
“INFORM Journeys is creating a tool that will help students visualize their career path and supports their skills and interests,” said Peter Sibley, who has led the Journeys effort. “We believe Journeys is a game changer when it comes to providing students and educators the support they greatly need for educational and career pathway decision-making. This Summit has only heightened those beliefs.”
“By working together more closely, San Diego’s education and business communities have made significant progress towards expanding career pathways for our students and preparing them to be our future workforce,” said James Wright, Chief Executive Officer of the Classroom of the Future Foundation. “If we want our economy to be strong and our workforce to be skilled we must continue to invest in work-based learning that inspires local students to pursue opportunities in priority sectors like clean tech and information technology.”
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ABOUT INFORM JOURNEYS
INFORM Journeys is a division of San Diego based EDmin, Inc. EDmin is dedicated to helping every student have access to an interactive learning map with detailed directions to life’s possibilities. Journeys will provide learners of all ages a “voice and a choice” on their path to reach their academic and career goals. For more information, please visit www.informjourneys.com or follow INFORM Journeys on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
ABOUT THE CLASSROOM OF THE FUTURE FOUNDATION
The Classroom of the Future Foundation (CFF) advances public education throughout San Diego County by inspiring business, community, and educational leaders to support, create, and adopt innovative learning practices. CFF believes that educating our children with 21st century and beyond technology will prepare them to thrive, and keep San Diego economically strong in a global marketplace. For more information, visit www.classroomofthefuture.org.
Media Contact:
James Wright
(858) 292-3685
james@classroomofthefuture.org