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CHAMBER of COMMERCEWWW.MONTCLAIRCHAMBER.COM FEBRUARY 2009

EDUCATING THE TECHNOLOGY GENERATIONKiiri';a:J.·'fi\.t4@a~~E

"Awesome panel!" "Excellentprogram!" These were just some of thecomments made by audience membersfollowing our Business EducationSeminar at John's Incredible Pizza onJanuary 22.

More than 60 educators, businesspeople and community members enjoyeda buffet lunch while attentively listeningto a panel discourse on Educating OurFuture Work Force. Four distinguishedarea educators presented their thoughts on .the effects of the current economy and SB Co. Superintendent of Schools Dr.Gary Thomas speaks at the Chamber event

changing demographics on education inthe local community.

Dr. Virgil Barnes, Superintendent of the Ontario-Montclair SchoolDistrict and a former business owner, called today's kids, "The ConnectedGeneration," referring to their iPhones, iPods and other modes of electroniccommunication.

"The challenge is commUIricatingwith these kids," he said. "Buildingconnections between what they are doing in their lives and in school isessential."

Dr. Barnes advocates outcome motivated School BusinessPartnerships for today. "The new (partnership) model is sharing experience,"said Dr. Barnes. "The value to the school is an investment in the children andtheir future."

Dr. Gary Thomas, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools,descnbed it as a Business Labor Partnership, giving the example of takingstudents to a real CSI lab where they worked with law enforcement officers ona theoretical case. "They used trigonometry to analyze blood spatter," he said."The students become very engaged when learning with real-worldapplications and it shows students what could be in store for them in thefuture."

This real-life opportunity was made possible for high school studentsby the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools' Alliance for

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(Continuedfrom page 1)Education program. Students have also implemented algebra when workingwith firefighters, electricians and plumbers. "When kids are engaged using alltheir senses, they're probably going to learn more," said Dr. Thomas. He addedthat students build positive relationships with community servants throughthese learning experiences and that teachers are able to draw examples fromthem all year long.

The Alliance for Education also partners with faith-basedorganizations, community leaders, government and others to provide afterschool programs that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.Currently, there is a shortfall of competent workers in these areas. Communityleaders are brought into the classroom through reading programs and parentsare supported and encouraged to get involved in their children's education."With parents' support, we can go farther than we imagined," said Dr. Thomas.

Mathew Holton, Superintendent of Chaffey Joint Unified High SchoolDistrict discussed the challenges and difficulties of preparing students for the21st century and the impact of technological and demographic shifts. He saidthat China will soon become the number one English-speaking country in theworld and that India has more honors students than America has citizens.Technology will progress so swiftly that educators will have difficulty keepingstudents abreast of current information and the top 10jobs of 2010 didn't existfive years ago.

"The Chaffey District must currently prepare students for jobs thatdon't yet exist," he said, ''to use technologies that haven't yet been inventedand to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet." By request, Mr.Holton's entire power-point presentation is detailed on pages 11&12.

Demographically, the Chaffey Joint District is now composed of 79%ethnic minorities and many students who face language problems. "We musttrain our students to compete globally with India, China and other countries,"said Mr. Holton. "How do we prepare the students in high school to competeon this level? We won't stop. We'll continue to do everything we can for ourstudents so that they can compete."

Dr. Henry Shannon, SuperintendentiPresident of Chaffey CommunityCollege discussed the positive economic impact of community colleges onsociety. "You want to stimulate the economy?" he asked. "Support communitycolleges. You've got to have an educated workforce."

Dr. Shannon said that the local economy is 896.6 million dollarsricher annually because of Chaffey College. "Community College reduces thecrime rate," he said. "Students see their annual pay increase by $164 per yearfor every credit completed at Cbaffey."

Dr. Shannon added that many important jobs are filled byprofessionals who were trained at junior colleges. "The first responders likepolicemen and firemen are most likely graduates of community college," hesaid. Nurses and computer teclmicians are examples of other communitycollege graduates who fill jobs that are vital to our community, said Dr.Shannon.

By Veronica James, Membership Coordinator

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