RESOLUTION TO ADVANCE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS FOR ALL STUDENTS

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has established as a national goal that every student should graduate from high school ready for college and career, regardless of income, race, ethnic or language background, or disability status, to be achieved in part by expanding linked learning approaches which include:

·         Rigorous academic curricula aligned with entrance requirements for public institutions of higher education in the states; and

·         An integrated career and technical education component organized in structured, sequenced courses in career pathways in high-pay, high-growth, or high-skill industry sectors and aligned with the Common Core Academic Standards and standards for 21st Century skills; and

·         High-quality work-based learning components that connect students to real employment and real adults, aligned with academic standards and career pathway sequences; and

WHEREAS, a strategy for accomplishing these objectives was developed at the conference’s Fall Leadership Meeting: Developing Next Generation Leadership in Cities Through Workforce Development; and

WHEREAS, in President Obama’s State of the Union Address, he announced "a new challenge to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy" and stated that "we’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math -- the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there now and will be there in the future”; and

WHEREAS, research demonstrates "that integrating work-based learning into a comprehensive educational program can address students’ diverse learning styles thereby enabling them to learn and master skills and competencies through problem-solving; add relevance to academic curriculum by linking classroom learning to real world applications; expose students to career options that can motivate and inform their decision-making; and promote psychological and social development via adult interaction" (NRC, 2004; Benard, 2004); and

WHEREAS, work-based learning opportunities include an array of programs linked to career technical course sequences and integrated with academic subjects, including mentoring, school enterprises, virtual apprenticeships, job shadowing, intensive internships, work experience and community classrooms that are an essential component of any comprehensive educational program of study, bringing relevance to academic programs and building skills to prepare students for 21st Century jobs in a global economy,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference of Mayors endorses the President’s high school redesign and career academy initiatives, with the objective of delivering comprehensive systems of linked learning for all students; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports H.R. 3154, the Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act, by Rep. Thompson (R-Pennsylvania); and

BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls upon Congress to reauthorize the Perkins Act to provide expanded support for high-quality career pathways that are integrated with academic subjects and connected to work-based learning in order to ensure college and career readiness for all high school graduates, and to align the Workforce Investment Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act and any waivers there from, Race to the Top, and other related policies with the objective of expanding these comprehensive linked learning pathways; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that mayors will provide critical support for work-based learning aligned to college and career pathways, including, as appropriate in individual cities, the coordination of afterschool and out-of-school municipal and civic programs to incorporate work-based learning, the support of intermediary organizations to assist schools and employers with the connective infrastructure for work-based learning, and incorporating into contracts with municipal vendors a provision for high-quality work-based learning opportunities connected to linked learning pathways.