“Pathways to Prosperity”

The Pathways to Prosperity initiative was launched in 2012 as the result of several years of research conducted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The Harvard Graduate School of Education's (2011) report challenged the United States' education model, pointing to some of the merits of the European education paradigm, which has adopted a traditionally more flexible perspective. In the latter, college is not necessarily the “preferred” option for all high school graduates; preparation for middle skills jobs is seen as a viable alternative to 4-year degree programs. James Rydland, superintendent of schools, and Don Ringelestein, director of technology, from School District 129 in Illinois, are 2 key leaders heading up the Illinois Pathways to Prosperity initiative. They were interviewed to gain in-depth insight into this new initiative. Discussed were its main objectives; collaboration between industry partners, government, and local educators; anticipated results of the new initiative; getting educators to consider new educational paradigms, resulting in improved high school graduation; plus, trained workers to fill middle skills jobs that remain vacant in the United States.