<\/p>\n
Education leaders Dr. Chad Wilson (left), Dr. Scott A Menzel (middle) and Dr. Eric Leshinskie (right) spoke on the State of Education at the June 4 \u201cState of Education: Strategies for Education, Business, and Community Success\u201d event, hosted by the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Spenser Lee\/Staff)<\/p>\n
The state of education in Scottsdale is strong, according to three local leaders who gathered this month to assess it. But all three agreed the landscape is changing fast, and that staying strong will require adapting to meet it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The panel, hosted by the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce, brought together leaders from the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD), Scottsdale Community College (SCC) and East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) to discuss the forces reshaping local education \u2014 from artificial intelligence to declining enrollment to a post-COVID-19 generation still finding its footing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More than five dozen business leaders, educators and community members attended State of Education: Strategies for Education, Business, and Community Success to hear about the system shaping the incoming and future workforce. The event was moderated by Paradise Valley Mayor Mark Stanton and sponsored by First Things First, Arizona State University and First International Bank and Trust.<\/p>\n
The workforce pipeline<\/p>\n
All three panelists framed their institutions not just as schools, but as the engine behind Scottsdale\u2019s workforce, explaining that each level of the education system plays a distinct but connected role in preparing students for local careers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
SUSD Superintendent Dr. Scott A. Menzel said the foundation of the workforce pipeline begins with full, well-resourced schools. He discussed the district\u2019s proposed $375 million bond measure \u2014 on the November ballot \u2014 as an investment in the broader workforce the district helps produce.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo ensure property values for homeowners, to ensure quality workforce for the employers that are in Scottsdale, you must invest in the infrastructure,\u201d Menzel said. Using those investments efficiently is just as important, he added, pointing to the closures of under-enrolled schools.<\/p>\n
To better align district offerings to Arizona\u2019s workforce demands, SUSD partners with EVIT, a Career and Technical Education school district offering more than 50 programs aligned to specific industries, including healthcare and skilled trades.<\/p>\n
Those two fields are seeing some of the strongest demand in the Valley, according to EVIT Superintendent Dr. Chad Wilson, who outlined programs that place students on career paths before leaving high school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students interested in pursuing a Registered Nursing (RN) degree can begin EVIT\u2019s Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program in high school and earn preferential placement into the school\u2019s newly authorized RN program, an 18-month associate degree that can ladder to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at ASU.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A similar pathway exists for students interested in the skilled trades, where EVIT operates as a Department of Labor-designated apprenticeship hub, placing students in real work environments before they graduate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Through those programs, students can graduate high school with credentials that give them industry access without the debt that often comes with postsecondary education.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A similar benefit exists at SCC, President Dr. Eric Leshinskie said, where most students graduate without debt, avoiding what he called \u201cthe worst combination\u201d: high debt and no employment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur data shows we are truly training the workforce for Maricopa County,\u201d Leshinskie said. \u201cOur graduates stay in the area, our graduates work in the area, and our graduates contribute to the growth of our economy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Additionally, Leshinskie said the college is seeing a number of adults return to re-career, reskill or refresh in some manner, and will play a significant role in reskilling or retraining adults in changing industries in the next decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, when folks think of community college [\u2026] historically we have been a transfer college. The primary reason students came to us was to \u2018get their gen-eds out of the way, and then I’ll go ahead and transfer to one of our state universities or other partners.\u2019 But we’re seeing that shift happening tremendously,\u201d Leshinskie said.<\/p>\n
He added that class offerings have become more flexible post-pandemic, providing returning adults the opportunity to take courses on a flexible schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adjusting for AI<\/p>\n
One of the industry changes panelists discussed was the introduction of AI, explaining that it is dampening demand in some professions and reshaping roles in others. Each said their sectors are adjusting curriculum and structure to prepare students for a workforce increasingly shaped by the technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Menzel explained that although AI technology allows fewer people to produce more work at a faster pace, humans can\u2019t be taken out of the loop completely. AI may, however, shrink demand, creating a pain point for new graduates looking for work, Menzel said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before they reach the workforce, it\u2019s important students are taught how to leverage AI without becoming overdependent on it, Menzel said. \u201cThe biggest risk is offloading the productive struggle that students need in order to cement their learning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At the district level, SUSD has moved from a simple red-yellow-green framework for AI use to a more nuanced five-color scale \u2014 driven, he said, by students who wanted clearer guidance on when and how they could use AI in their education.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leshinskie also predicted that AI will significantly reshape support roles in higher education within the next decade \u2014 from tutoring to financial aid advising.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly think that in 10 years each student is going to have their learning assistant, something of that nature,\u201d Leshinskie said, adding that he doesn\u2019t believe instructors will be replaced, but that the support networks around them will look very different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SCC is responding to the AI boom the best way it knows how, with education. In April, the college announced the launch of its first AI certificate program \u2014 Foundations of Applied AI, a nine-credit certificate program teaching students to use the technology ethically and responsibly in professional settings.<\/p>\n
Over at EVIT \u2014 which serves high school and post-secondary students \u2014 Wilson said technology programs are being largely affected by AI, adding that schools and organizations aren\u2019t pushing for coding and cyber security programs as much as they were six or seven years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He believes a vast majority of the CTE district\u2019s offerings will be impacted by AI in a positive way, but not eliminated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it’s 150 degrees in Phoenix during the summer, you want an HVAC technician that’s going to climb up onto your roof and get your air going,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
At the district level, EVIT uses AI as a tool behind the scenes. Because a majority of the district\u2019s instructors come from their industries rather than a pedagogy background, EVIT has leveraged AI to help its instructional specialists bridge that gap. Those specialists \u2014 who are trained educators \u2014 use the technology to design lesson plans and professional development in ways that resonate with tradespeople who have never been trained as teachers.<\/p>\n
A generation in transition<\/p>\n
The next generation entering the workforce is more isolated, values-driven and less prepared for the realities of work than past generations, according to the panelists.<\/p>\n
Leshinskie said students arriving now at SCC are part of the COVID generation, less practiced at collaboration and teamwork than those who came before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now at our campus we’re seeing a population, particularly that 18- to 24-year-old, that right now is just trying to refigure out how to engage with others and to work as part of a team to solve problems,\u201d Leshinskie said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet despite those challenges, Leshinskie said he has been struck by how many students are motivated by impact over income, with many weighing job offers against their personal values.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wilson said the challenge goes beyond social skills. While students show up eager and engaged in their programs, he said, many don\u2019t fully grasp what it takes to turn that passion into a successful career. \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be unenjoyable, but being successful means you have to work hard,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To build some of that understanding, EVIT requires uniforms daily in every program and enforces a strict attendance policy, mirroring common workplace expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s kind of those underpinnings of us trying to build capacity for them to understand that work \u2014 not only does it matter for the dream that they have, but it matters that they understand what that really looks like,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIt’s no longer an elective and a nicety, it’s a requirement to take your passion, make it a purpose, and then ultimately get the paycheck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite all of the reconfiguring involved in navigating an ever-changing system, Wilson, Leshinskie and Menzel left the discussion with an optimistic outlook.<\/p>\n
Scottsdale\u2019s education system is strong, the three panelists agreed, built on community support, institutional partnerships and a workforce pipeline they said is being deliberately maintained and expanded to meet the demands of a changing economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Education leaders Dr. Chad Wilson (left), Dr. Scott A Menzel (middle) and Dr. Eric Leshinskie (right) spoke on…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":877738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,22076,1587,213786,319038,1589,7600,117563,315163,25535,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-877737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix","tag-america","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-state-university","tag-az","tag-east-valley-institute-of-technology","tag-mark-stanton","tag-phoenix","tag-scottsdale","tag-scottsdale-area-chamber-of-commerce","tag-scottsdale-community-college","tag-scottsdale-unified-school-district","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116775609266320306","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=877737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/877738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}