Education

In Charlottesville, 39 percent of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Living side-by-side with the University of Virginia, arguably the best public university in the country, we breathe education as big cities breathe pollution.

The education session was held at Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center -- CATEC. We were pitched the idea that the new approach to education can include technical school, providing students with a marketable skill, students who may go on to attend a junior college or obtain a four-year degree. Programs at CATEC include certifications in cosmetology, auto shop, brick laying, carpentry, barbering and culinary arts as well as IT skills. This alternative education path is one many of us recall as vocational school, bringing to mind scenes from Grease (Beauty School Dropout, Greased Lightening, etc.)

For the Charlottesville area, the workforce trained and dispatched from CATEC are critical to our economy. The issue that recurs, of course is the disparity between minimum wage at $5.15 and the living wage of our area, at $9.75. We're cultivating the working poor with our high cost of living and housing. The theory, however is these kids will do better with a certification in barbering, perhaps owning their own barbershop one day, than settling for a minimum wage fast food job that will never give them the advancement they'll need to remain in this community.

We heard from the superintendents of Charlottesville, Albemarle and surrounding counties' schools, sharing the challenges they face and the promise offered to students from programs like CATEC.

What education session would be complete without mention of No Child Left Behind and the Standards of Learning tests that plague our children, teachers and school administrators?

It's clear that our schools are good, clearer still that there are needs not being met. We're learning more about how students learn and what skills are not being taught, all drawing a straight line back to federal legislation that confounds and frustrates every parent and educator I've known all over the country.

Many of our classmates are involved in education and even more have a passion and interest in a project that supports education in our community. It will be fascinating to see how many projects fall in the education category, and who among us scramble to get involved.