Platform for Success

On Thursday I spoke to the “Putting America Back to Work” conference hosted by the Texas Workforce Commission.

I must say this was well attended by a good cross section of Texans who want to see our economy tackle the tough issues of affordable and reliable energy, workforce development and a sound economic model to attract business, jobs and capital investment.

My message was a simple one: What are we doing to prepare our children to be competitive in an ever-changing economy that is constantly challenged by advancements from other countries?

Capturing our kids’ imaginations is the answer. We must do that with choices in our educational structure like those occurring at the East Williamson County Higher Education Center. There, a consortium of Taylor and Hutto school districts in partnership with Temple College, Texas State Technical College, Tarleton State and Texas Tech University has formed a group called Legacy College High School that will enable kids to graduate from high school with 60 hours of college credit. The students have the choice to pursue career and technical classes with rigor or the traditional academic route.

Local leaders took the initiative to develop this platform of success. We need local leaders partnering with state leaders to duplicate this success story all over Texas. We must prepare our children for successful futures and to meet future job demands – prepare them with rigor and accountability – as they go on to take the lead in Texas.