Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State researchers are playing a key role in developing an education plan to meet state work force demands in the 21st century.
The university's Research and Curriculum Unit is partnering with the Mississippi Department of Education and other state groups to design and implement a plan titled "Redesigning Education for the 21st Century Workforce."
"The plan still is mostly in a conceptual phase," said Shelly Bock, assistant director of the unit. "Our staff meets monthly with MDE staff and the state Board of Education Subcommittee for further development of each piece of the redesign."
The Mississippi Department of Transportation, state teachers, industry experts, and the Institutions of Higher Learning's University Research Center also are participating in the effort, which will examine the delivery of work-force education courses in the state.
"Improving the lives of Mississippians requires more than redesigning high schools," said state Superintendent of Education Hank Bounds.
"If we want all students to graduate high school and succeed in the 21st century and beyond, we must work collectively with local education agencies, business and industry, postsecondary and institutions of higher learning, and the statewide work-force development system," he added.
Bounds, IHL Commissioner Tom Meredith and Wayne Stonecypher, executive director of the Mississippi Board for Community and Junior Colleges--or their representatives--are leading a series of meetings across the state this fall to focus attention on work-force training issues and the proposed redesign plan.
Begun Aug. 22, the 25-city "Trailblazer Tour" sponsored by Mississippi Economic Council will conclude Dec. 12 in Jackson.
On Oct. 3, the tour visits the Golden Triangle. Stops include a Rotary Club luncheon from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Columbus Country Club and 3:30-5 p.m. at MSU's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, located in the Cochran Park just north of campus.
"The RCU helped develop the overall concept for the redesign plan," explained Bock. "We specifically researched and fleshed out the Seven Mississippi Career Pathways, based on the current job demands in Mississippi as identified by IHL."
The pathways include health care; agriculture and natural resources; construction and manufacturing; transportation; business, management and marketing; science, technology, engineering and math; and human services, fine arts and the humanities.
Bock said the RCU also joined forces with teams of Mississippi teachers to revise and strengthen technology-preparation Discovery Courses for seventh and eighth graders; and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) applications curriculum framework for ninth graders.
"All are a part of the redesign plan," she said.
The RCU, directed by Patti Abraham, operates as an arm of MSU's Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development.
"Mississippi State is making a major contribution to the future of Mississippi," said RED Vice President Colin Scanes. "Our goal is to see the university continue to develop its research capabilities, strengthening its ability to contribute to the state's economic growth."
For more information, contact Bock at 662-325-2510 or sb18@ra.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.