Education vital to community’s economic success

Education equals economic development.

Consider demographer James Chung’s measure of four-year degree attainment as a key indicator of community success.

Or Wichita’s recent ranking as one of the Brookings Institution’s “Top Five” metro areas for advanced industries with a heavy concentration of STEM workers.

Or Wichita State University’s bold commitment to the Innovation Campus that will develop and build the community’s job clusters and diversify our economy.

Underlying every measure of our community’s future economic success is the education that will prepare our young people for jobs and opportunities that don’t yet exist. In Kansas, our future lies with the more than 486,000 students – 92 percent of our state’s children — who count on Kansas public schools to prepare them for 21st-century success.

Economic success gets its foundation in a child’s first three years of school. Walk into any Wichita Public Schools primary classroom and you will see children focused on the development of literacy skills.

We know that students from homes of poverty are exposed to 30 million fewer words by the time they enter school, and that if a student from a home of poverty can’t read on grade level by third grade, they are 13 times less likely to graduate by age 19 than a proficient reader.

The next time you have the opportunity to read to a child, share a book with a class of young readers, or ask a child about their favorite book, know that you are impacting economic development and educational success at its foundational point.

Success continues in elementary schools with students being challenged by real-world problem-solving opportunities.

Science fairs in our STEM schools require not only experiments, but research and public presentation of their solutions, which creates curious and capable learners.

Environmental experiments allow young scientists to see how our ecosystem is intertwined.

Young scholars use their knowledge of literature to succeed in the annual “Battle of the Books” competition.

Tech-minded students develop robots to solve task-specific challenges, then use language and presentation skills to explain their solution.

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) at the middle-school level exposes students to pre-engineering and technology learning opportunities using hands-on lessons in science, technology, problem-solving and math.

The AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program challenges students in all disciplines to begin thinking about college and careers, focuses on study habits and note-taking skills, and creates real-world learning and problem-solving opportunities. Both PLTW and AVID continue at the high school level in Wichita.

Economic and workforce development foundations are further enhanced in Wichita’s high school classrooms, where more than 63 percent of all students will take one or more technical education classes this spring in academic areas such as advanced engineering, health care, bio-medical science, culinary arts, communications, manufacturing, business, and fire science.

These same students are challenged by rigorous core academic courses, acclaimed fine arts opportunities, and extra-curricular activities that develop teamwork, communication skills and real-world problem-solving opportunities – all qualities that business leaders tell me are vital for their young employees.

Education equals economic development. In Wichita, in Kansas, and across our country, the success of our public schools will be vital to the success of our communities.

Our district, and those across the Wichita area, will gladly welcome you into our schools and show you first-hand how our resources are being used wisely to prepare students to be future leaders.

This story was originally published February 18, 2015 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Education vital to community’s economic success."