New York

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Did you know that in New York:

  • 4.3 million children (under the age of 18) live in the state;
  • About 1 out of every 3 children live in a household with only one parent;
  • Only 15 percent of 3-year-olds and 59 percent of 4-year-olds were enrolled in state-funded pre-kindergarten, Head Start or a special education preschool program;
  • 70 percent of eighth graders are below grade level in math;
  • 65 percent of fourth graders are reading below grade level
Click here for the complete New York Child Fact Sheet.

Did you also know that in New York:

  • 23% of high school students fail to graduate on time.
  • Seven of every ten new jobs created between 2008 and 2018 will require some type of formal education beyond high school.
  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) jobs will grow by 10% in between 2008 and 2018, and 93% of STEM jobs will require post-secondary education by 2018.
 

Developing Necessary Skill Sets

 

To overcome the challenges of the skills gap, we must train and re-train our current workforce. We must also develop skills in young people to ensure that they enter the workforce better prepared.  To be equipped with the knowledge and abilities businesses now require, students must:

  •  Master Core Academic Content
  •  Think Critically and Solve Complex Problems
  •  Work Collaboratively
  •  Communicate Effectively
  •  Learn How to Learn
Click here to read a description of these skills.

 

 

Bringing Career Relevance to High School Classrooms

 “My experience in private industry and work force development has shown that when you invest in people at an early age, you build a solid foundation that remains with them throughout their life.”

-Gary M. Nicklaus, President, Career Connections, LLC, Albany, NY

An innovative education approach, often called “smaller learning communities,” integrates career relevance with a rigorous academic curriculum, equipping students with important skills highly valued by employers. This education approach:
  • Is comprised of a group of students who take classes together for at least two years and are taught by the same group of teachers
  • Provides a college preparatory curriculum based on a career theme that helps students see relationships and connections between academic subjects and their application in the real world.
  • Develops partnerships with employers, the community, and colleges.

One model known as “Career Academies” is being implemented in high schools across the country. Click here for information about how the Career Academies model can be a solution.

 

Our 2013 Policy Priorities

 

Education policy at the federal and state levels needs to address the range of knowledge and skills needed for all students to be fully ready for college and careers. Policy opportunities include:

  • Skill Development
  • Measurable Results
  • Accountability
  • Professional Development and Teaching Practice

Click here to view the policy actions in support of increased workforce skill levels in New York.

 

In 2013, our America’s Edge members will be urging their state legislators to:

  • Restore the expected loss of federal funding for child care subsidies and commit to establishing a long-term funding stream for child care.
  • Prepare New York for full implementation of QUALITYstarsNY, the state’s quality rating and improvement system for early learning programs.
  • Maintain the state’s commitment of $384.3 million to support pre-K services for nearly 99,000 four-year-olds in New York.

Testimony

 ”Too many students do not understand why they need to know what they are being taught, lose interest in school, and then do not develop the skills employers expect of them. America’s Edge recommends a concentration on innovative models in our high schools that can help students stay engaged and graduate with a real understanding of what they will need to succeed in college and on the job, thus better ensuring New York business leaders will have a workforce armed with the necessary skills to survive in a global marketplace.”

-F. Michael Tucker, President, Center for Economic Growth, giving testimony at the 2013 Joint Legislative Hearing with the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, January 29, 2013

Click here to read Michael Tucker’s testimony.

Sign-On Letters

 

“In the face of the current budget deficit, we need to do the math and make sure we look at all types of investments and determine which ones can give us the biggest return possible. I was surprised to learn that investments in quality early care and education is a very effective way to help jump-start New York’s economy. As the America’s Edge report points out, these investments increase sales in local goods as much or more as investments in other major sectors.”

-State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-NY), speaking at an America’s Edge press conference, March 11, 2010

America’s Edge Releases New Report in Albany

May 2013

Press Conference at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University of Albany

Capital Region business leaders released an America’s Edge report, entitled Ensuring the Capital Region’s Global Success: Reversing our “skills gaps” through high school education models, in Albany that outlines the current and anticipated “skills gaps” in the state’s workforce and urged support for implementation of college- and career-ready standards and evidence-based high school models that will help students develop the skills now needed in a global economy. The report shows that New York needs at least an additional 350,000 mid-level skilled workers if the state is going to fill the jobs of the future and continue to compete and succeed in the global economy.  The deficit of workers is particularly evident in the five-county Capital Region, where high-tech science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) companies have expressed concerns about filling jobs.

The following business leaders with America’s Edge and higher education leaders gathered in Albany at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering to release the report: Mark Eagan, President and CEO, Albany Chamber of Commerce; David Rooney, Senior Vice President at the Center for Economic Growth; John Cavalier, CEO (Retired), MapInfo; and Johanna Duncan-Poitier, SUNY Senior Vice Chancellor for Community Colleges and the Education Pipeline.

Click here to view the report.

 

America’s Edge Releases New Report on Long Island

 

February 2013

Three prominent Long Island business leaders, along with Sen. John Flanagan, Chair of the State Senate Education Committee,  released an America’s Edge report on February 20, 2013 showing that investments in high-quality early care and education have a “multiplier effect”: an immediate boost to New York businesses and long-term economic benefits through a more skilled future workforce. (Click here to view the report.)

Sen. John Flanagan, Chair of the State Senate Education Committee

Sen. John Flanagan, Chair of the State Senate Education Committee, participated in the release of an America’s Edge report at CA Technologies in Islandia, New York.

Participating in a news conference at the CA Technologies on-site child care center were America’s Edge members Lisa Mars, Vice President for Human Resources at CA Technologies, Kevin McCrudden, President of Motivate America, Inc., and Michael DeLuise, President of the Melville Chamber of Commerce. They were joined by Jenn O’Connor, New York State Director of America’s Edge, a national nonprofit business leaders organization.

The America’s Edge report cites research showing that key “quality components” of early care and education programs significantly contribute to both short- and long-term benefits for New York businesses, including on Long Island. The report shows that investments in quality early learning have an immediate economic impact, with every dollar invested generating a total of $1.86 in sales of local goods and services throughout the state.

 Click here to view the report. 

America’s Edge Releases New Reports in Albany

 

February 2012

On February 29, 2012, AMERICA’S EDGE released a new report entitled, “Boosting New York’s Economy: Short- and Long-Term Economic Gains through Quality Early Learning” which documents how the quality components of early care and education programs contribute to increased economic activity generated by investments in early learning, while laying the foundation for a highly skilled workforce for the future.

January 2010 

Business leaders see a major economic boost for New York by expanding Childcare and Pre-K.  Watch the video below for highlights from the news conference featuring America’s Edge members from New York.

 Click here to read the full report.

 Report Coverage

  1. March 12, 2010, Albany Times Union, “Childcare Payoff.”
  2. March 11, 2010, Legislative Gazette, “Toddlers can save New York.”
  3. March 11, 2010, WAMC, “Business leaders see major economic boost for NY by expanding child care and pre-K.”

 

America’s Edge in the News

 

  • ECE PolicyWorks mentioned America’s Edge in a blog post about the unique way in which business leaders can support education reform.  The post includes a video of business leaders speaking about why these programs are important for economic growth.  Click here to read the blog and watch the video.
  • America’s Edge member Robert Freaso, Vital Tools USA, wrote a letter-to-the-editor in response to the article, and it was published here: “Pre-K needs boost.”

 

*For more information, contact Jenn O’Connor, the New York State Director.

E-mail:jocconor@AmericasEdge.org