Cynthia Laroche, Part II by Joan Reissman When you’ve been working with students for a long time, you meet many different personalities. Once in a while, a student stands out. Cynthia Laroche is one of those students. I first met Cynthia in 2013 when she was a student at Cambridge
Old Year, New Year, New Decade. Same Story. by Gary Kaplan For readers of education and workforce journalism, the turn of the decade was neatly bracketed by two articles that summed up the year’s main themes: low student performance and labor shortage. First was a New York Times piece on
by Eileen Wedegartner, Blended Learning Specialist It goes beyond quantitative data points Measuring “college readiness” is quite the conundrum. Some say it is about test scores, class rank, SAT and GPA. But I think it goes beyond those quantitative data points. While they are all important indicators of skill, there
The skills gap persists by Gary Kaplan, JFYNetWorks Executive Director Labor Day weekend kicked off, appropriately, with the national Employment Report. It was underwhelming. Job and wage growth held their sluggish pace. Commentaries ranged from “steady as she goes” to “more noise than signal” to “disappointing though hardly catastrophic.” A
Labor Shortage Continues 99% of Jobs Go to College Graduates by Gary Kaplan, JFYNetWorks Executive Director “There are no jobs for high school diplomas.” The May jobs report reiterates a theme we have been hearing with increasing urgency: the shortage of skilled labor. The current 4.3% unemployment rate is a
It’s Time for Madison Park To Get Some Respect by Gary Kaplan The Boston Globe Magazine’s recent article on vocational education (School of Work, 10/2/16) came down like a ton of raw concrete on Boston’s Madison Park Technical Vocational High School. One commentator blamed Madison Park for “vocational education’s tarnished
Workplace Skills Then and Now: The Lesson of Inland Steel by Gary Kaplan “Sorry, son, we can’t hire you. You’re overqualified.” Thus ended my career as a steelworker. The place was Inland Steel in East Chicago, Indiana. The time was the 1970s. I was looking for an interim job while
Readiness through blended learning reaps benefits for all students. by Eileen Wedegartner, Blended Learning Specialist Since joining JFYNetWorks as a Blended Learning Specialist last fall, I have had the opportunity to visit many schools and interact with many students. Despite my many years of experience in the classroom and additional
2/29/16 – Boston Globe published a letter to its editor by Gary Kaplan, Executive Director of JFYNetWorks and David Driscoll, former Massachusetts Commissioner of Education in response to the 2/17/16 piece ‘As boomers retire, growth may slow’ by Deirdre Fernandes. Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Driscoll’s published response found here. Your
College Ready – Ready for Life | College and Career Readiness VIDEO by Patti Parisella, JFYNetWorks Fiscal Director JFYNetWorks announces the release of its new video, “College Ready – Ready for Life”. This video complements our redesigned website. Together, they are the cornerstones of our rebranding campaign introducing the new
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