Sacramento, CA – Un nuevo estudio del Centro sobre Educación y la Fuerza Laboral de la Universidad Georgetown (‘Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce’), en colaboración con JP Morgan Chase, muestra que los trabajadores sin un título de bachillerato todavía pueden conseguir un buen empleo, pero eventualmente necesitarán un grado de asociado o un certificado profesional para seguir adelante.

En California casi dos tercios de trabajadores no terminaron el bachillerato, de acuerdo a un revelador reporte recién dado a conocer – pero sólo 37 por ciento tiene un “buen trabajo”.

Los investigadores del Centro Georgetown en Educación y la Fuerza Laboral (‘Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce’) hicieron equipo con JP Morgan Chase para estudiar qué tipo de trabajos ayudan a desarrollar una clase media sólida, que se define como la que trabaja en empleos que pagan desde 35 mil dólares al año, con una media salarial de 55 mil.

Neil Ridley, Director Estatal de Iniciativa en el Centro Georgetown en Educación y la Fuerza Laboral (‘Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce’) y coautor del estudio, dice que desde 1991 un total de 34 estados, incluso California, han agregado trabajos buenos para empleados que no tienen terminado su grado de bachiller.

“Los buenos trabajos para empleados sin grado de bachiller han sido cada vez más para trabajadores con una educación más allá de ‘high school’; así que últimamente han sido sobre todo para trabajadores con grado de asociado.”

El estudio también encontró que California perdió 424 mil buenos trabajos en manufactura desde 1991, pero creó más que eso en servicios especializados como atención a la salud y en servicios financieros.

La investigación muestra que la lucha por agrandar la clase media depende de la habilidad de cada estado para armonizar las destrezas de la gente joven que está entrando a la fuerza laboral, con las crecientes necesidades de la industria.

Kathy Booth, investigadora asociada senior en WestEd, organización nacional sin fines de lucro y enfocada a los asuntos de educación, dice que ya no es suficiente trabajar duro y ser “bueno con las manos”; ahora todo mundo necesita poder dominar la tecnología.

“Ahora todo ese trabajo se hace por medio de programas de computadora. Así que no puedes tener alguien que sólo es bueno con el martillo o con la lija. De hecho tienen que poder programar digamos una computadora que corta formas complicadas en diversos materiales. Así que incluso cosas que pensamos que son ‘empleos de cuello azul’ realmente exigen que la gente tenga una educación más avanzada.”

Chauncy Lennon, titular de iniciativas laborales en JP Morgan Chase, dice que los bachilleratos deberían impulsar a sus estudiantes hacia campos que sean muy demandados y con sueldos altos desde sus edades tempranas.

“Los estudiantes podrían empezar a desarrollar las habilidades que necesitan a partir del 9º grado y podrían graduarse de “high-school” luego de haber hecho un programa de estudio relacionado con esas habilidades – y comprender qué caminos buenos existen para el mercado laboral o para algún tipo de opción post-secundaria en un colegio comunitario u otro tipo de capacitación.”

California ha estado invirtiendo cientos de millones de dólares en programas de aprendizaje, una estrategia de ganar-ganar diseñada para evitar que los estudiantes abandonen el colegio comunitario.

El reporte está en: GoodJobsData.org.


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Educators and public school advocates are pushing back on a measure which would consolidate state-funded services that have been an important part of schools in rural Iowa for generations. Some state lawmakers said the funding could be used more efficiently.

Area Education Agencies have been the go-to place for educators in rural Iowa when they need state services at the local level, in all 99 Iowa counties. House Bill 2612 would consolidate the agencies, outsource some of their services and give the state oversight of them.

Mike Owen, deputy director of the group Common Good Iowa, said the agencies have been critical resources for generations.

"The Area Education Agencies have been a very valuable regional system that helps school districts, large and small, with various services that they can't really do on their own," Owen explained. "From special education to media services, to professional development of teachers."

Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed the measure, said it will provide a more efficient way to spend the state's education dollars. It is scheduled to take effect July 1.

The battle over public school funding has been playing out on a variety of fronts in Iowa, which enjoys a reputation for some of the best-quality public education in the nation. The state recently enacted a private school voucher program, paid for with state dollars.

Owen sees consolidating the Area Education Agencies and outsourcing some of the services they provide as another step in the wrong direction for Iowa's K-12 classrooms.

"It's total disrespect to locally elected decision-makers for schools," Owen contended. "One more example of how education, unfortunately, is being used to pit people against one another, when it is really a unifying value for Iowans."

There are nine Area Education Agencies in Iowa. The State Department of Education will assume oversight of all of them.


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The solar eclipse has sparked more interest in science and technology, especially among young people.

But the saying, 'You can't be what you don't see,' is a reality for youth of color considering a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math career.

A 2024 Black Girls and STEM Report indicates this demographic aspires to become astronauts, engineers and more -- but a lack of Black representation can dampen their enthusiasm.

Crystal Morton is the founder and director of the Girls STEM Institute, which offers courses for girls ages 7 to 18.
She said the emphasis is on relevant cultural content and careers for girls who might not otherwise have access to these experiences.

"That might be doing a session on the science of Black hair," said Morton, "looking at different products to understand the science behind how that product is made, and what's in that product or how it may be impacting them. So, we make our own products. You can be able to look at a label and say, 'Hey, I should be able to pronounce what I'm putting on my skin, or in my hair.'"

She said the students quickly get the connections.

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics says about one-third of STEM workers are women. But Black workers make up only 18% of the 35 million people employed in STEM fields.

Morton said the Institute's Saturday programs are in partnership with the Indiana University, Indianapolis School of Education. And in the summer, volunteers engage with students about careers in aviation and medicine.

As a former math teacher, Morton said she believes early exposure to this information is key, and said kids begin showing their curiosity as early as third grade.

"Understanding how things happen with technology, that they all need to have different mathematical levels of understanding," said Morton. "They need to have computational thinking skills, because that's the way this world is moving. And I believe that they do have it -- if you just sit back and watch them play, you see the problem solving happen."

A report on Indiana's STEM education priorities shows the number of undergraduate degrees is up since 2015, but the number of STEM-related degrees awarded hasn't moved much.

Hispanic and Black students earn between 3% and 5% of those STEM degrees. They make up 6% and 9% of the state's population, respectively.

In the past four years, the way New Mexico children are taught to read has undergone a major shift. Following passage of a state law in 2019, the state's elementary teachers have received training in "structured literacy" and the science of reading.

Research shows kids learn to read when they are able to identify letters or combinations of letters and connect those letters to sounds. But teaching that skill is not always intuitive.

Severo Martinez, Literacy and Humanities director, said there are more than 500 elementary schools in the state, and the two-year training occurs while teachers continue working in the classroom.

"Teachers of any discipline, they're teaching literacy skills, still -- even if they're a math teacher, if they're a science teacher, if it's social studies -- if you can't read, you can't do any of the assignments in any of those classes," Martinez explained.

In addition to boosting the number of students achieving reading proficiency, the program aims to reduce the number of students who require special education services.

This school year, the Public Education Department launched a reading challenge -- encouraging students to become "Superhero Readers" and "level up" their reading scores. Martinez even wrote a book for students focusing on the rich cultural diversity and history of New Mexico. He hopes it will all combine to make them proud adults -- eager to make a positive contribution to the world.

"With the Level Up Reading Challenge, we want to motivate students and supporting them in understanding the 'why' it is so important to learn to read and write - because that's going to open up a world of possibilities for them into the future," Martinez continued.

To catch common disabilities that stall reading proficiency, Martinez says New Mexico now requires that first-grade students receive screenings for dyslexia by the 40th day of the school year. Starting this summer, the Public Education Department will also offer tutoring to make sure all students achieve reading competence.


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