If We Can Measure It, We Can Improve It:
Greater Houston’s Education to Workforce Pipeline
HOUSTON, TX – The report card on greater Houston’s education to workforce pipeline is public. Although we get gold stars on job creation, and made incremental strides in middle and elementary school achievement, there is serious work to be done to make the region locally sustainable and globally competitive.
Center for Houston’s Future – The Region’s Think Tank - released its latest data and yearlong peer reviewed study on key sustainability and competitiveness indicators for the greater Houston region to an audience of nearly 350 attendees at the 2012 Indicators Symposium on Friday, February 10, 2012 at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
This year the focus is on Human Capital Development and Education – Childhood, K-12, and Workforce Preparedness. “The reason for gathering all these statistics about our community is simple: if you can measure it, you can improve it,” said Center President and CEO, Catherine Mosbacher.
The Symposium chaired by Welcome Wilson, Sr. and sponsored by KBR, featured panel discussions with special guests Ramon Gonzalez (Founding Principal of The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology, a Brooklyn middle school success story); Bryan Hancock, (McKinsey and Company), an expert on the economic impact of the achievement gap in America’s schools, and luncheon keynote address by Patricia Sullivan, (Education Solutions Executive, IBM) exploring the use of technology for improved learning in the classroom.
Other national experts and local big-picture thinkers discussed the results of the study, the real-world challenges and practical solutions to improve education in the eight-county region. The Community Indicators Report, along with the Symposium, offers new ways to understand the greater Houston area in a regional, national and global context and measure our progress towards sustainability and competitiveness. (Complete Symposium agenda with additional speakers attached – their power point presentations can be found on www.centerforhoustonsfuture.org.)
Center President and CEO, Catherine Mosbacher explains, “By conducting these annual studies on sustainability and competitiveness since 2007, the Center for Houston’s Future broadens access to information, encourages public debate and dialogue, builds consensus, and helps to develop shared solutions. The unvarnished facts about how the region stacks up – from our talent gap in the workforce to successes and shortcomings in our schools - is key to making the successful transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a high-tech knowledge-based world today.”.
Key findings from the report:
Needs Improvement
* Estimates project that there will be as many as 62,000 new jobs in education, nursing and STEM careers in the next four years. However, the region’s higher education institutions are not producing enough qualified graduates to meet this demand. ¹
* Almost half of entering college freshmen require developmental courses to catch up with peers, and of those freshmen who are college ready, only 60% graduate or persist in college after 3 years. ²
* Students lagging at critical benchmarks along the education continuum, e.g. third grade reading, coupled with the region’s 71% high school graduation rate, means that fewer students are in the pipeline to succeed in college and career. ³
* Only 53% of greater Houston ninth graders are passing Algebra I, a ‘gateway’ course that is a strong indicator of their ability to succeed in more advanced math and science coursework. ⁴
* In 2010, only 48% of third grade students in the greater Houston region were reading at the commended Level, with an even lower percentage for economically disadvantaged children.⁵
* 40% of children ages 0-5 served by the Early Education System in greater Houston are in child care programs or homes that are less rigorously regulated and whose teacher education credentials are considered minimal.⁶
Making Progress
Disparities still persist along the education pipeline, based on economic disadvantage. In the past 10 years, gradual improvements have been made in key areas:
* 53% of ninth graders successfully completed Algebra I in 2010, up from 34% in 2000
* 48% of third graders are reading at commended level, up from 25% in 2003.
Center for Houston’s Future, The Region’s Think Tank, is a 501 c(3) non-profit organization that plans strategically for the region, strengthens the base of diverse business and civic leadership, and informs people about – while engaging them in the necessary groundwork for the region’s global future. To learn more, visit www.futurehouston.org.
¹ FSG Social Impact Consultants, 2011
² Texas Education Agency; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
³ Texas Education Agency
⁴ Texas Education Agency, Children at Risk Analysis
⁵ Texas Education Agency, Children at Risk Analysis
⁶ 2009, US Dept. of Health and Human Services; 2009, Collaborative for Children Qualified Early Childhood Database
Community Indicators Report 2012 Program
8:00am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am Welcome
James Calaway, Chair, Center for Houston’s Future
Welcome Wilson, Sr., Honorary Chair of 2012 Community Indicator Symposium
Former Chair, University of Houston Board of Regents
Charles Lyons, Vice President, Quality, Health Safety & Environment, KBR
8:45am Breakfast Panel: Education & Global Competition
Moderator: Brian Hancock, Principal, McKinsey and Company
Panelists:
Ramon Gonzalez, Founding Principal, The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology,
South Bronx, NY
Dr. Renu Khator, Chancellor, UH System and President, University of Houston
Scott McClelland, President, HEB Houston
Dr. Steve Murdock, Professor of Sociology, Rice University
9:50am Break
10:00am First Morning Panel Session: morning panel repeated
Middle School: Challenges Abound
Moderator: Alice Aanstoos, Regional Vice President, AT&T
2012 Indicator Report: Dr. Scott Van Beck, President, A+ Challenge
Panelists:
Ramon Gonzalez, Founding Principal, The Laboratory School for Finance & Technology,
South Bronx, NY
Henry Booth, Former Principal, Natalia ISD, San Antonio, TX
High School: Partnerships Matter
Moderator: Dr. James A. Johnson, Director, Transport Market, Infrastructure &
Minerals, KBR
2012 Indicator Report: Dr. Robert Sanborn, President & CEO, Children at Risk
Panelists:
LaShonda Bilbo-Ervin, Principal, Booker T. Washington High School for
Engineering Professions
Jorge Arredondo, Principal, Stephen F. Austin High School
Workforce Preparedness: Creative Ideas for Education-Business Partnerships
Moderator: Dan Duncan, Vice President & General Manager, Oil and Gas Division, Siemens
2012 Indicator Report: Dr. Catherine Horn, Associate Professor, University of Houston College of Education
Panelists:
Rod Herrick, Vice President & Site Manager, Industrial Park, Bayer Material Science LLC
Trisha Wooten, Senior Workforce Development Consultant, UTMB
12:30pm Luncheon and Keynote Address
Catherine C. Mosbacher, President & CEO, Center for Houston’s Future
Patricia Sullivan, Education Solutions Executive, IBM
Technology in the Changing Classroom
1:45pm Afternoon Panel
Early Childhood Development: Getting it Right from the Beginning
Moderator: Dr. Frazier Wilson, VP, Shell Oil Company Foundation
2012 Indicator Report: Carol Shattuck, President & CEO, Collaborative
for Children
Panelists:
Lynn D. Barnes, Founding School Leader, KIPP Coastal Village
Katherine von Haefen, Senior Program Manager, United Way of Greater Houston
K-5: Early Learning & Loving It
Moderator: Misty White, Executive Director, Reliant Energy Foundation
2012 Indicator Report: Dr. Keith Haffey, Executive Director, Accountability & Research, Spring Branch ISD
Panelists:
Ida Ford, Principal, Burton Elementary School, Fort Bend ISD
Dr. Susan Landry, Director and Founder, The Children’s Learning Institute
Talent Dividend Panel: Increasing College Graduation Rates by 1%
Moderator: Alan Thomson, Senior Partner & Managing Director - Houston, Boston
Consulting Group
Panelists:
Eyra Perez, Executive Director, San Antonio Education Partnership
Dr. Lee Holcombe, Director, Higher Education Policy Institute, Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board
Dr. Cathy Brigham, Director of Curriculum, Dean of Faculty, Council for Adult &
Experiential Learning
3:00pm Conference adjourned
Power Point presentations can be found at www.centerforhoustonsfuture.org.