Teamsters Participate in U.S. Department of Education 2nd Annual National High School Leadership Summit

On December 2 and 3, 2004, two representatives from the Teamsters' Education Department participated in the Second Annual National High School Leadership Summit sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The summit attracted more 1100 individuals most of whom were education leaders from school systems across the United States—from school superintendents and commissioners to school principals to teachers. In addition, state and local business/education partnerships, national, state and local chambers of commerce, national, state and local business/industry coalitions, and governance and advocacy organizations participated in this meeting. Staff members from various federal governmental agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, and the U.S. Department of Labor were also actively involved in the summit.

The event was aimed at continuing the U.S. Department of Education’s Preparing America’s Future High School Initiative (PAF:HSI), the goals of which are to:

• Equip state and local education leaders with current knowledge about high schools through special forums, print and electronic materials, and targeted technical assistance;
• Develop the expertise and structures within the Department of Education to provide coordinated support and outreach toward helping state and local education systems improve high schools and youth outcomes; and
• Facilitate a national dialogue to raise awareness about the need for reform in American high schools.

The keynote presenters included: The Hon. Rod Paige, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education; The Hon. Mark R. Warner, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Chair of the National Governors Association; Neil Howe, co-author “Millenials Rising: The Next Great Generation,” Principal, LifeCourse Associates, Great Falls, Virginia; Dr. Ioannis Miaoulis, President and Director of the Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts.

A stakeholder forum in which state and local business/education partnerships, state and local chambers of commerce staff, national, state and local business/industry coalition staff, and governance and advocacy organizations were asked to identify: (1) promising trends for involvement in improving high schools and (2) key challenges for action at the school, district, state, and national levels. Teamsters and other advocates were most interested in promoting contextual learning.

For example, Teamsters had an opportunity to speak about the IBT’s Skills For Tomorrow project’s and Teamster affiliates’ award-winning programs’ successes in reaching out to high school students to teach them about the world of work.

Some of the promising trends in education that promote stakeholder involvement include the following:

• Literacy across subject areas;
• Open discussion of adolescent issues;
• Advisory boards for career clusters;
• Continuation of school-to-work programs;
• Mentoring program in classroom and at worksites;
• Work-based learning such as job shadowing, apprenticeship, etc.;
• Summer camps—business & education partnership;
• Job fairs and career fairs; and
• Industry certification programs.

Some of the challenges identified by forum participants include the following:

• The leadership role of business;
• Long-term relationship with business;
• Business and education speaking different languages;
• The need for business to see its role as a stakeholder in education—preparing the workforce;
• Overcoming turfism—business & education should have mutual respect for each other;
• Broadening the outlook of high schools—looking at the global economy; and
• Being prepared for the changing demographics.

Teamsters are committed to making a difference with America’s schools and youth. Thus far, the Skills For Tomorrow Project has enabled the union and its affiliates to reach more than 40,000 students throughout the United States.

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