RE: Workforce Preparation Missing in Action

I thank Fred for his comments regarding the value of career technical education for large numbers of students.  A number of discussants have indicated that the first draft of the Master Plan has given inadequate attention to the needs of non college-bound students and over-emphasized the University of California's "A-G" courses.

We will attempt to better balance the text in the next iteration of the Plan.  There are still two objectives we will contiue to preserve, however.  One is to make every effort to avoid supporting discussion, debate, and planning the assumes college bound OR work bound.  As several discussants have noted, virtually EVERY student is work bound (or should be), with the primary difference one of timing.  The second objective we will seek to protect is that vocational and career technical course are, by definition, not academically rigorous.  We hope to disabuse everyone of that notion by advocating a comprehensive curriculum that is rigorous and challenging.  Students choosing to enroll in career technical courses should not be precluded from subsequently choosing to pursue postsecondary education nor should student enrolling in college prep courses find they are not adequately prepared to meet job responsibilities should they subsequently change their minds about going to college.