The state needs to prepare for a future in which students will need more postsecondary education in order to get good jobs, the incoming state commissioner of education, Randy Watson, told an audience this morning in Kansas City, Kan.
Watson is on a tour of the state and so far, has spoken at 16 “community conversations.”
Before a “community conversation” session with local residents and educators, Watson presented a chart showing the projected educational levels that will be needed in the year 2020, as compared to past years. He said the information is from the Recovery 2020 study.
Increasingly, more postsecondary education and training will be necessary to survive in the future, the chart showed. By 2020, according to Watson and the chart, 71 percent of the jobs in Kansas will require postsecondary education.
More than 100 people gathered at the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools’ Central Office and Training Center at 2010 N. 59th St. to participate in the community conversation. The audience went into small groups to make comments about the future of education that will be given to the state Board of Education for review.
Janet Waugh, 1st District state Board of Education member, introduced Watson. Also in the audience was state Board of Education member Steve Roberts, 2nd District.
“We’re at a critical time in education,” Waugh said, adding that a high school diploma will not be enough in the future to open doors for graduates.
The question is, how is the state going to close this gap, she asked. She said Kansas residents need to work together, bringing together different stakeholders, to address the issue.
Watson encouraged the audience to share their ideas about designing a new system for the future.
He said in order to move from an old system to a new system, this effort is trying to bring everyone together and form a common vision, not a divisive one.
He also added that while everyone may have different opinions, teachers need to be honored.
For more information about the Kansas Department of Education community conversations and visioning program, visit http://www.ksde.org/.
