Because the future won’t wait for U.S…

Very few countries are retooling their education systems for the age of automation. The United States trails 8 other countries, including Estonia and Canada, according to a new study affiliated with The Economist magazine.

The coming age is different from automation technologies we’ve grown accustomed to, the report warns, because intelligent technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence can go well beyond assembly-lines, replacing blue AND white-collar jobs.

The coming sea change requires countries to invest in policies and plans to help their people take advantage of the opportunities the technologies represent (as well as brace against mass job losses).

If this sounds like a call for greater STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the U.S., that’s because it is. Only the highest ranking nations have begun preparing future workers through school curricula and teacher training—the U.S. isn’t among them.

Longtime readers can attest to our concern over the importance of STEM education for students today. Our most ambitious event yet, the Block By Block Party, was all about STEM skills. In fact, just this week, Mayor Kenney joined us at West Philadelphia’s School of the Future for the inaugural Turing Tech Grants Awards.

The Turing Tech Grants, using proceeds from last year’s blockbuster STEM event for kids, are designed to boost crucial tech skills in district schools. The winning schools were Julia DeBurgos E.S., Samuel Gompers School, John B. Kelly E.S., and Laura W. Waring P.S.

It’s just the beginning for our tech grants program but this week’s announcement, coinciding with Philly Tech Week, couldn’t have been better timed.

As Mayor Kenney noted, thanks to these grants, “there could very well be a future headliner for Philly Tech Week sitting in a Turing Tech Grant classroom.”

75% of District Leaders predict tax hikes

It’s that time of year again. Graduations, end-of-year activities, and kids’ sports are coming to an end. School district activities should be winding down. But this may actually be the busiest and most stressful part of the school year–budget time. Districts have completed preliminary budgets for next school year and in a gloomy nod to business as usual, many are facing difficult decisions.

In a recent joint report from several of the state’s leading public education organizations, 8 out of 10 leaders from across the state worry about rising pension costs, more than half are concerned with rising charter school tuition expenses and 1/3 are facing increasing special ed costs.

If that doesn’t worry you, this should: More than 75% of district leaders expect to have to raise property taxes to pay for these state mandated costs.

Some argue that Pennsylvania’s schools are well funded. Unfortunately, the conclusion is based on a faulty premise – our schools are not funded based on what our students need to be college or career ready. More than that, what districts actually receive varies wildly from the average. That average overlooks the fact that local school funding in PA is driven by local economies and taxpayers. The state only contributes 37% to funding PA’s school – far lower than its fair share.

Yes, it’s that time again. 500 districts are searching for ways to educate 1,578,000 students. Let’s make this year one that stops the madness. Ask the state to fully fund the fair funding formula so districts get what they actually need to educate all of our kids.