98. Supporting Work Readiness and Learning With a Purpose

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Does a high school diploma make kids ready for the workforce? The answer is no. Sure, they have knowledge of history and geography. But high schools don’t teach the relevant, saleable skills that graduates can take to the workforce.</span> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Students either have to go to college or learn a skill.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What if our youth learned a skill in high school? A skill that got them ready for work and that they actually wanted to learn about? That’s the idea behind West-MEC, a career and technical education district in Arizona. This week on the podcast, I’m thrilled to bring you West-MEC’s superintendent, Gregory Donovan. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Greg’s passion for allowing kids to fit into their own boxes, instead of fitting everyone into the same box, really shines through. He supports relevance in education and making sure kids (and the public) know that there are so many different pathways one can take in any given industry.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before you encourage your students to apply for college, listen in. College alone is not enough. Nor does everyone need to attend college, and not everyone wants to. Let’s make that okay, because it is! </span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">About Greg Donovan:</span></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gregory J. Donovan serves as the Superintendent of Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC) public school district #402, the Career and Technical Education District (CTED) currently serving twelve school districts primarily in Western Maricopa County. Donovan has served as Superintendent for fifteen years, the entire history of the CTED. Ten years prior to that position, he was with Northern Arizona University’s Institute for Future Workforce Development developing and implementing statewide Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum and facilitating teacher development. He also worked at the Arizona Departm