Some Montgomery County youth say the county school system should offer more opportunities for “Career and Technology Education” and needs to advertise existing programs so people know they exist.
The youth — seven high-school and college students who sit on the county’s Commission on Children and Youth — inspired the commission to send a letter with the recommendations to Board of Education President Christopher Barclay and Superintendent Joshua Starr, according to commission Chair Vicki Stearn.
Non-college bound high-school students are often overlooked, explained Stearn. Programs that do offer opportunities for technical education — like that at Thomas Edison High School — are not well advertised.
“The young people felt most strongly about the marketing and advertising piece,” said Stearn, explaining that the students said they didn’t know technical-education programs existed despite having just come out of the school system.
The commission’s letter suggests that Montgomery County Public Schools partner with area unions and businesses to help fill the educational gap.
The Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County, an area activist group, would also favor “a wider range of educational options,” said coalition member Janis Sartucci.
“One size doesn’t fit all,” she said. “Not everyone needs to go to college or is going to go to college or wants to go to college.”
Because the Commission on Children and Youth is an advisory body, it lacks the authority to implement changes. It relies on the Board of Education to make decisions. Stearn also emphasized that the commission hasn’t issued any recommended actions at this point since it is still developing its agenda for the coming academic year.
Neither Barclay nor Starr responded to requests for comment.
