73. Breaking Barriers for Our Students and Our Future with Stanley Litow

It’s all too common that our high school graduates go on to college unprepared for the rigor of the college classroom. Or that they go into the workforce without the tools and knowledge they need to succeed. It’s costing everyone dearly--from the cost to our industries to train new graduates to even those graduates’ future incomes.

Stanley Litow, today’s guest, has a solution. And it’s one that’s been growing since its inception as a single school in Brooklyn, NY in 2011. Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) has since grown to 240 schools in 12 states and 28 countries and has helped to close the achievement gap among some of the most undereducated youth.

On this episode, Stanley explains the philosophy behind P-TECH, how it supports schools, students and industry, why it saves us all money, and what we as educational leaders can do to help support models like this.

 

About Stanley Litow:

Stanley S. Litow is a Professor at both Columbia and Duke University. At Duke University, he also serves as Innovator in Residence. Stan is the author of The Challenge for Business and Society: From Risk to Reward and co-author of Breaking Barriers: How P-Tech Schools Create a Pathway from High School to College to Career.

He previously served as President of the IBM International Foundation and as Deputy Chancellor of Schools for the City of New York. Before his service at IBM and the NYC public schools, he served as President and Founder of Interface and as Executive Director of the NYC Urban Corps, operated out of the Mayor’s Office.

He has served on multiple Presidential and Gubernatorial Commissions and in addition to his service on the SUNY Board of Trustees; he also serves on the board of Roosevelt House and the Citizens Budget Commission.

Stan helped devise the innovative school to college to career program called P-TECH, as well as the IBM Corporate Service Corps, often referenced as the corporate version of the Peace Corps.

He has received multiple awards for his community service, from organizations such as the Anne Frank Commission, the Martin Luther King Commission, and the Center for an Urban Future as well as the Corning Award from the New York State Business Council.

Jump in the Conversation:

[2:00] Stanley’s journey of contributing to society

[6:15] Challenges in education today

[7:21] How P-TECH is working to change that [12:12] How P-TECH is set up [19:01] The cost of remedial courses for high school graduates [20:13] The financial benefits of completing college [26:16] What’s the next step [28:17] How P-TECH influences high school curriculum [33:49] Getting buy-in from key stakeholders [37:48] How to get businesses to say yes to teenage interns [50:42] Stanley’s magic wand [52:28] Maureen’s takeaways
Link Stanley’s book: Breaking Barriers: How P-Tech Schools Create a Pathway from High  School to College to Career P-Tech website Barack Obama Book: The Barack Obama Biography Email Maureen Maureen’s TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools The Education Evolution Facebook: Follow Education Evolution Twitter: Follow Education Evolution LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution EdActive Collective Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids Micro-school feature on Good Morning America The Micro-School Coalition Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition LEADPrep