The week of February 14-18, 2005 is designated national Career and Technical Education Week. The St. Louis Public School District has been celebrating and delivering programs to help call attention to the importance of technical education training in our rapidly changing world and to highlight the national theme of “Training Tomorrow’s Workforce.”
Each of the magnet, comprehensive and technical high schools in the school district have been conducting planned activities, including classroom demonstrations, poster information, job shadowing, classroom speakers and career fairs. Student organizations are also focusing on leadership development.
A special highlight was a luncheon dialogue on Wednesday, February 16 at the Hyatt Regency Union Station.
The table dialogue among secondary and post-secondary educators, business leaders, students and parents centered around what tomorrow’s workforce should look like and how we should train that workforce academically and technically.
The luncheon speaker was the very talented and successful founder and chairman of World Wide Technology, David Steward. Steward has enjoyed national recognition for his accomplishments and the growth of his company. He lends particular credence and creativity to this critical conversation for the nation and for the St. Louis metropolitan area.
The St. Louis Public School District brings into the educational arena career programs which are academically challenging, state-of-the-art and technically current. These programs are committed to preparing students to enter the world of work or continue with their education and training in a post-secondary setting.
It is impossible today to discuss many of the sophisticated technical areas n engineering, biotechnology, computer networking, database management, robotics manufacturing, etc. n without combining technical training and college. School district technical education programs have been highly successful. Last year’s placement rate after high school graduation was 94% n the highest in the state n with these students moving on to college, a career or the military.
Teaching jobs in Virginia
Loudoun County Public Schools is seeking more than 800 teachers for the 2005-2006 school year. These teachers will help open five new schools, including two high schools and three elementary schools.
Loudoun County Public Schools’ Recruiters will be at the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Friday, February 25 offering letters of intent to highly qualified applicants for the 2005-2006 school year.
On a percentage basis, Loudoun County is the fastest-growing school system in America. Not only is it growing, it is growing with quality. Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III has proposed a salary scale for next year that sets starting pay at $40,000 for teachers.
These are some of the school system’s recent accomplishments:
* For the third straight year, every Loudoun County public school has been fully accredited under Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL’s). Loudoun is the largest school district in Virginia to attain this distinction.
* Since 1987, Loudoun voters have approved 14 consecutive bond referendums. This translates into funding for six high schools, eight middle schools, an intermediate school, 21 elementary schools and 24 renovation projects.
* Loudoun County Public Schools students taking the Standard Assessment Test (SAT) in 2004 recorded an average score of 1059, the highest in the school system’s history. The average score in 2003 was 1054, which also marked an all-time high for LCPS. The average SAT score in the nation was 1026 and the average score in Virginia 1024.
* Sixteen Loudoun County Public Schools students have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. This total is a record number of semifinalists. LCPS had 14 semifinalists during the 2002-2003 school year.
For more about Loudoun County Public Schools and to apply online visit HYPERLINK “http://www.lcps.us” www.lcps.us.
