11. Upskilling with Strategic Enterprise Education

GUEST: JON CARSON, CEO, COLLEGE GUIDANCE NETWORK.  Public high school counselors are overwhelmed, with caseloads of up to 700 students in the most extreme cases. At the same time, the college and career landscape is rapidly evolving, with new offerings such as bootcamps and certificate programs, and with rising costs making college seem less affordable each year. What's a high school senior to do? Amy talks with Jon Carson about College Guidance Network, a new content company that is helping to bridge the guidance gap.

GUEST: STEPHANIE MALIA KRAUSS, AUTHOR, Making It: What Today's Kids Need for Tomorrow's World.  Today's young people have had a childhood defined by "a relentless rotation" of economic stress and other risks to their safety and stability, such as school shootings, climate change, and the Covid-19 crisis. Technology is an ever present force in their lives, and the on-demand world they inhabit forces them to constantly operate at maximum cognitive capacity. To move forward in the world, they will need four key "life currencies": Competencies, Credentials, Connections and Cash. Stephanie describes these currencies and how they are critical as we transition into a learning economy.

Find Stephanie on Twitter @stephanie_malia or Instagram @wonder_and_wayfinding.

GUEST: CARRIE PURCELL, CEO, TECH-ADAPTIKA The pandemic has been a catalyst for change in higher education, forcing us to look at how little the brick-and-mortar experience has evolved over time. As the cost of attending college increases, new models are emerging, like free online courses, boot camps, and microcredentials. In order to survive, residential colleges will have to explore different approaches for how to reduce infrastructure costs and reach a broader audience. One new model is the virtual campus experience, which can facilitate the ability to interact spontaneously with peers,  promote a sense of community, and incorporate online learning.

GUEST: CARLA SMALL, CEO, EARLYBIRD EDUCATION. Research shows that 70% of children who were not reading on grade level in first grade continue to not be reading on grade level in eighth grade. Catching reading difficulties early is the key to intervening with reading support to get learners back on track. EarlyBird is technology platform based on brain research that identifies whether a child is at risk for reading struggles like dyslexia, even before they learn to read. Amy talks with Carla Small about the development of this game-based tool and how it has been used effectively to help early readers.

GUEST: JORDAN LEVY, FOUNDER, CAPSOURCE. Many students complete undergraduate and graduate degree programs without experiencing a career path or a company culture to determine whether it is right for them. Companies, in turn, hire young professionals without really knowing their potential fit or likelihood of success once they're on the job. CapSource is one of a number of new companies that provides not only experiential learning for students, but also experiential hiring for industry, promising both partners the essential ingredient for success- experience.

GUEST: MICHELLE WESTFORT, CHIEF UNIVERSITY OFFICER, INSTRIDE. When corporate leaders map the skills they need on their teams and provide pathways for employees and potential employees to cultivate those skills, it's a win-win. Managers are more successful at delivering against their goals, and workers feel actively supported and motivated to educate themselves and learn new skills. Amy talks with Michelle Westfort about the business value and social impact of Instride's strategic enterprise education, and how creating customized education that addresses specific organizational needs can have a meaningful impact. 

GUEST: KATIE NIELSON, PHD, CEO, VOXY ENGEN. By 2024, as baby boomers reach retirement age, 97% of net workforce growth will come from immigrants and their children. Join Amy and her guest Katie Nielson, PhD, Founder and Chief Education Officer of Voxy EnGen, as they talk about enabling these new Americans in the workforce. With access to meaningful and effective language training, immigrants and refugees can get better jobs and more educational opportunities. At the same time, companies that want to build their talent pipeline can make language learning part of a bigger body of skills-based training, drawing upon their existing pool of workers to fill open positions.  By upskilling incumbent employees, companies can save on recruiting costs and provide their employees with opportunities for economic mobility.

GUEST: KRISTIE SHELLEY, CO-CREATOR, ROSETTA STONE ENGLISH. Over 10% of America's school children speak a language other than English at home. In states like California and Texas, that number is closer to 20%. Yet instead of affirming these students for the diverse abilities and knowledge they bring to the classroom, schools often marginalize them. Join Amy and her guest Kristie Shelley, Co-Creator of Rosetta Stone English, as they talk about celebrating emergent bilinguals and approaches that work toward their academic success and integration.

GUESTS: KELVIN BENTLEY, LEARNING STRATEGIST AND NIKKI NAVTA, ENTREPRENEUR. Between social media and gaming, Gen Z learners are always one click away from distraction. In an era of remote learning, how can educators and ed tech product developers engage this generation of students? Join Amy as she talks with ed tech entrepreneur Nikki Navta and learning strategist Dr. Kelvin Bentley about the pedagogical trends and technologies that focus on maximizing engagement. 

GUEST: BEAU MCCOY, FOUNDER, SOLCADEMY. As COVID-19 exacerbates issues of equity and access in K12 education, how can teachers and schools respond? One approach is to find compelling virtual content that is relatable to students and motivates them to learn. Listen as Amy talks with ed-trepreneur Beau McCoy, founder of SOLcademy (SOL= Simple Online Learning). SOLcademy is an education technology platform that aims to ensure that no student gets left behind in the era of distance learning by helping to reduce teacher burnout, bridging the achievement gap, and supporting continuity of learning.