Betsy DeVos Education Conference: expanding technical education in student curriculum

Secretary Betsy DeVos answers questions posed by South Carolina Super Intendant Molly Spearman regarding technical education and the department of education's new policies

On April 8th Betsy DeVos with Super Intendant Molly Spearman explained how the department of education's new policies included in the planned 2020 Federal Budget would help schools.

Betsy DeVos(Left) and Molly Spearman(Right)

   DeVos and Spearman both discussed at the Conference new flexible policies for schools and how technical education was going to be implemented in them. Many of the new policies DeVos planned to include funding for in the 2020 Federal Budget addressed these issues directly. Spearman took a more positive outlook on the new changes being implemented compared to the House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing in March. The main question explored in the conference was: how will these new(or better funded) policies benefit students and schools?

   Spearman goes straight into the main topic of the conversation by bringing up that in February, DeVos visited Brockington Elementry in South Carolina. The interesting thing about this specific school was that 92% of the students were in poverty and previously the school had been the lowest scoring in the state. DeVos and Spearman both noted how far the school had come recently in light of new South Carolina policies. More specifically, DeVos said that she enjoyed the high energy atmosphere and admired the school's leadership and its ability to acknowledge problems and solve them effectively. DeVos went on to explain that these are the things she likes to see and aims to help introduce similar environments in schools country-wide.

Taken by Bristow Merchan - Betsy DeVos working on robotics with students from Brockington Elementry in SC

   The other school DeVos visited was one of South Carolina's career and tech centers. DeVos said that she thought centers like this were very important because they encouraged more learning outside of traditional K-12 schools and opened up multiple paths for students to take with their education. These paths and opportunities included apprenticeships and partnerships with employers so teachers and students could get more experience in other industries and workplaces. This is an important step towards expanding away from the norm of going to a college and getting a degree which Spearman said that many teachers and parents presently believe is the best route.

   On the note of more technical education, Spearman brought up the re-implementation of Perkins 5. DeVos explained that instituting it would mean more flexibility and a more heavy expansion of technical education in regular schools. DeVos then brought up that states could take up to $5 million in federal tax credit to put towards 501c organizations. This means more sponsorships from 501c organizations for schools. Students would get more access to transportation between centers and would get more learning opportunities like a rural Mississippi school that got access to an AP Physics program taught by an astrophysicist that was previously unavailable due to school's size and location.

   Finally, teacher development became the main focus of the conversation. DeVos brought up that many teachers she talked to believed that a lot of the teacher training and workshops they received were irrelevant and useless. She then went into how new proposals under the 2020 Budget would allow teachers to focus more on their own personal professional development. This included new mentorship programs for senior teachers and paths other than administration. This is important for students because these new programs could attract more people to the teaching industry helping close the desperate need for more teachers in the workforce and promoting higher quality in teachers.

    Spearman near the end of the conference brought up a very important point: "It takes a while. It is not something you can change overnight. It really takes awhile..." It is important to know that there isn't a one size fits all solution to this, DeVos wants states to have more freedom and flexibility to solve problems unique to their state. Whether you agree with either of them or not, DeVos puts a very important message out: states should be trying new things because the old system isn't working well enough.

What are 501c organizations?

Organizations, usually charitable or partakes in sponsoring other programs, that receive federal tax exemptions and occasionally state ones based on the discretion of the state.

What is Career and Technical Education(CTE)?

Education focused on a career path based around applied sciences, skilled trades, and modern technology. Usually involves job shadowing and opportunities for people to get better versed in industries and available apprenticeships. Is often offered in middle schools, high schools, and community colleges.