Preparing Kids for Life After High School

Three education experts discuss how young people can find postgrad success (and it's not a 'one-size-fits-all' approach).

With high school graduation approaching, many young people across Washington state will be taking a big step toward adulthood. Whether they have all the information and encouragement they need to make a decision that is right for them is less certain.

For this episode of the Crosscut Talks podcast, we listen in on a conversation about the education-to-work pipeline with education advocates from throughout state, including Seattle Public Schools, Washington STEM and the state superintendent’s office.

Speakers Kelvin Dankwa, Angie-Mason Smith and Rebecca Wallace detail the challenges facing students in the talk, which took place during the Crosscut Ideas Festival in early May and was moderated by Angela Jones of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Wallace, from the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, suggests that there needs to be a better effort made to let students know that there are multiple pathways to success after high-school graduation, that the idea of 'one-size-fits-all' is failing students and their families. The panel also discusses "adult bias in education” and how it affects students' belief in what they can achieve after high school.

This conversation was recorded on May 4, 2023 at the Crosscut Ideas Festival in Seattle.

---

Credits

Host: Paris Jackson

Producer: Seth Halleran

Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd

Engineers: Resti Bagcal, Viktoria Ralph

---

If you would like to support Crosscut, go to crosscut.com/membership. In addition to supporting our events and our daily journalism, members receive complete access to the on-demand programming of Seattle’s PBS station, KCTS 9.