By Chelsea Diana
BOSTON -- With a new poll showing that more than two-thirds of Massachusetts' employers report difficulties finding employees with adequate skills, Greater Lowell and Fitchburg-area employers, educators and policy-makers agree the solution lies in K-12 schools.
"Many students still need developmental education when they get to community college," said Carole Cowan, president of Middlesex Community College. "It's gotten better but it's still an issue."
According to a study released Monday by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, the state needs a major overhaul in how it educates its students to produce more workers with the skills to succeed in the technologically driven economy.
The study included a MassINC Polling Group survey that found 69 percent of the 334 employers polled said it was difficult to hire employees with appropriate skills. Eighty-four percent said school systems require moderate to major changes.
Although Massachusetts ranks as one of the top for schools nationally, the study said the state ranks behind other nations' schools, such as those in Germany, Israel and Singapore that have recently reformed schools to compete internationally.
Cowan said that MCC works closely with Lowell Public Schools to develop tutoring programs to prepare so students for are ready to enter college.
MCC also has a strong industry-advising network that helps create curriculums aligned with industry standards to better prepare students for today's jobs.
"To advance, we need a partnership with public schools and a constant conversation with industries," Cowan said. "We can't take our eye off the ball if we want to compete globally."
The 120-page report titled, "The New Opportunity to Lead," outlined a 20-year vision for Massachusetts' elementary and secondary school system to help close the preparedness gap.
Sir Michael Barber, a British educator who works with Pearson Education, a publishing and assessment service, said Massachusetts' leadership in technology has put it at a disadvantage since school systems cannot keep pace with the fast-changing skills needed in the state's workplace.
"The system is doing a good job of 20th-century education and employers want 21st-century education," Barber said in a phone interview.
The report offers suggestions to improve school districts, including opening more charter schools, universal pre-K, giving schools more flexibility in hiring staff and extending the school day.
"There are many places in the state that do well, but lots of people know that doing well isn't good enough," Barber said, paraphrasing the words of a colleague.
Mitchell Chester, the state commissioner of elementary and secondary education, called the study's recommendations "provocative."
In particular, Chester said he is interested in the recommendation to initiate a school district redesign competition that will lead to new models consistent with growing school autonomy.
"We have 350 different school districts in the state," Chester said. "Some of them are more rural or more urban with different needs and district designs, so giving more autonomy would help."
While he said some of the recommendations would be easy to follow, Chester warned that others are foreign to the state's traditional education system, including the suggestion for statewide teachers contracts.
Still, he said, change is necessary.
"Not only are we the top educator in the country, but we are competitive internationally as well -- to keep looking forward is in no way a diminishment," Chester said. "We just need the right set of reforms to make sure we don't become complacent."
Daniel M. Asquino, the president of Mount Wachusett Community College, agreed.
"No system is perfect, we always have to move ahead," Asquino said.
In particular, Asquino said the state must pay more attention to urban centers, such as Lowell, where many students need developmental math help.
The Greater Lowell Workforce Investment Board, a collaborative which connects employers, educational institutions and officials to better develop the local workforce, offers improvements where schools can fall flat.
Gail Brown, the director of the board, said they try to do needs assessment with area businesses and align those needs with education providers to find what businesses really need.
To improve the system, Chester said the state needs to better expose students in middle and high schools to career opportunities by bringing workers to schools and have students visit employers.
"It's important for us (Massachusetts) to always move forward and not be complacent," Chester said. "Massachusetts has a strong system and improvement is in reach."