The progress of our children’s education paints a picture of our workforce for years to come. While it is crucial that the school district focus on the core subjects tested by TVAAS and TCAP such as reading, math, and science, we should not forget about additional learning opportunities that prepare students for the workforce.
College, Career, and Technical Education (CCTE) courses, when aligned with workforce opportunities present in the locality in which the school district operates, can provide significant benefits to students who are seeking an alternative route to traditional postsecondary education. For instance, if Memphis has an abundance of employers with available positions in the field of coding, it would make sense for MSCS to provide as many CCTE courses related to that field as possible—courses like those offered by our good friends at CodeCrew, both in- and out of school, for students across the cradle-to-career spectrum.
The offerings, however, must make sense for our communities and the totality of our economy. Not all CCTE opportunities are equal; that is, the district should prioritize pathways using Tennessee SCORE’s Credential Impact Framework as a guide, focusing on credentials that are stackable, in demand, and lead to living-wage careers, like the coding example above. Careful planning and cooperation between the school district, employers, and instructors/institutions are key to creating a strong plan that connects K-12 education to the workforce.
Dr. E. Lenora Hogan, the new Director of College, Career and Technical Education at MSCS, joined us last week for a tour of Southwest Tennessee Community College. We visited programs in Nursing, Emergency Medical Services, and the Southwest Entertainment Production Initiative (SEPI), and discussed dual enrollment, industry-recognized credentials, and work-based learning. The goal: tighten alignment so MSCS students can ladder from CCTE courses into Southwest/TN College of Applied Technology (TCAT) credentials and apprenticeships with fewer barriers.
To support that alignment, the state publishes Career Cluster Justification documents, one for each cluster, that include statewide numbers by career cluster, programs of study, and individual course enrollments, along with labor-market outlook and program sequencing. These are public on the Tennessee Department of Education’s CCTE page and can be used to benchmark MSCS offerings against statewide participation and demand.
It is these kinds of innovative partnerships that will benefit our students and economy for years to come. We look forward to continuing this work with our school district, institutions of higher education, and workforce partners to align job training with 21st century jobs in Memphis to improve economic mobility for families in Shelby County.
