Coalition prepares Arizona graduates for college and careers

High school students are gearing up for the days after graduation. As some begin to explore college courses, others are thinking about careers.

However, a high school diploma does not always mean they are fully prepared for an actual job, college, or the world they encounter.

A new Arizona coalition is here to help students realistically prepare for the day after high school graduation. The program focuses on “four-core” futures that every Arizona graduate should be ready to face: enrollment, employment, enlistment and service, and entrepreneurship.

These futures are supported by eight essential competencies combining academic knowledge, durable human skills, and digital fluency to work toward future-proofing students.

Chad E. Gestson, Executive Director of NAU’s Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss how graduates can be adaptable while facing a rapidly changing economy.

“…it’s not the end of a journey, it’s something really important in Arizona,” Geston said, “… I’ll tell you one thing that we’ve learned over the last couple of years that we don’t have division on, and that’s our children.”

The coalition has spent over a year traveling the state, hearing from parents, students, educators, and employers, to find out what students need to be ready when they leave high school.

“The economy is changing, society is changing, students need to be ready to thrive,” Geston said.

Geston emphasized that as society and the workforce change, the state needs to ensure that education evolves with it.

“We hear all the time from business and industry, we need a future-proof economy,” Geston explained, “…the only way we will get that is if we have future-proof graduates ready for what comes next.”

Geston discussed that as society becomes more technological, students need to be prepared for this digital world.

“…so you’ll start to see full alignment around eventually even having tough conversations about standards, assessment, graduation requirements,” Geston said, “…these are really difficult, yet important conversations that Arizona must have in the coming years.”